“Moments after former President Donald Trump was escorted off the stage after shots were fired at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, unfounded claims about the event swirled on major social media platforms.
The posts, including some written by US politicians holding elected office, claimed without proof that President Joe Biden had ordered an apparent shooting at the rally. Others baselessly stated that the incident was staged, or circulated posts misidentifying the shooter. …
On X, several politicians accused Biden or his campaign of being “directly” behind the apparent shooting, without providing evidence.
Georgia Representative Mike Collins posted simply, “Joe Biden sent the orders,” while Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, a top contender for Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, wrote on X that the Biden campaign’s rhetoric “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Texas Representative Ronny Jackson pointed to unnamed figures on the left whom he accused of being “directly responsible” for the events at Trump’s campaign rally. …
Earlier posts on X, Telegram and Gab, forums favored by many on the far-right, misidentified the shooter as a man called Mark Violets, calling him a “known Antifa extremist” which refers to the loosely organized leftist movement. According to NBC News, the misidentified person circulated in posts that included a photo was Marco Violi, an Italian YouTuber who has denied any involvement in the shooting.
Immediately after the shooting, hundreds of thousands of posts reaching millions of views circulated on X claiming the shooting at the Pennsylvania rally was “staged,” according to data from the social media platform — without offering any evidence. Despite being quickly debunked, many of the posts remained live on the platform.”
Bloomberg
Davey Alba
https://lnkd.in/eEQCShum
Professor at The Citadel
1moWhat’s most concerning is that they still can’t see it without being “shown.” Why is this so hard?