False flags, fake Secret Service agents: Conspiracies take over the internet after Trump assassination attempt
A Secret Service spokesman on Monday debunked one of the most prominent — and outlandish — claims that emerged in the darkest corners of the internet
A deluge of conspiracy theories flooded the web in the aftermath of Saturday’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, with social media users spreading outlandish claims about the shooting that shook the nation.
Authorities have confirmed there was only one gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who perched on a nearby rooftop and managed to squeeze off at least eight rounds from an AR-15 assault-style rifle before being shot dead by Secret Service snipers. The shooter killed one attendee, critically wounded two others, and bloodied the former president’s ear. A motive has not yet been determined, according to law enforcement.
Almost immediately after the attack, an alternate reality emerged online, creating a dark abyss of mis- and disinformation about the shocking attack.
On 4Chan, a cesspool of wild conspiracy theories and the original home of the QAnon movement, a post appeared from “Jonathan Willis,” who wrote, “I’m the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump’s rally.”
“I came here to inform the public that I had the assassin in my sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the secret service refused to give the order to take out the perp,” the post asserted. “100% the top brass prevented me from killing the assassin before he took the shots at president Trump.”
As has now become the norm, credulous responses flooded in.
“I want to believe you,” one said. “I’m sorry you were in that position. Thank you for coming forward.”
“I’ll be watching for this hero to be in a single car auto accident over the next week,” said another.
A Secret Service spokesman on Monday told The Independent that the claim was “categorically false,” and that the agency “has no employee by that name.”
Follow our live blog for updates on the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump
On the social network formerly known as Twitter, which has become a morass of ludicrous claims by thousands of users, a sitting GOP congressman floated a wild theory blaming the attempted assassination on the incumbent president.
“Joe Biden sent the orders,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) posted on X. (A “community note” quickly appeared beneath the post, stating, “There is no evidence that Joe Biden was involved in the shooting of Donald Trump.”)
The pile-on was swift, and served to demonstrate just how firmly entrenched conspiracy theories have become in the minds of many Americans in recent years.
“If you don’t think it was staged because ‘someone died,’ you’re really not paying attention. #staged,” X user “Nostradumbass” posted.
Another X-er, @KimJongUnDouble—who bills himself as “The world’s 1st professional Kim Jong Un lookalike and impersonator,” posted: “The ‘shooting’ of #Trump reminds of the time #Taiwan presidential candidate #ChenShuibian was also shot in 2004 but escaped with a scratch, the day before the election and won on sympathy votes. He then became one of Taiwan’s most corrupt leaders and was eventually jailed.”
“100% an inside job,” posted X user @ElatedTate.
Some of the conspiracies, as has come to be expected, veered into outright antisemitism. One used triple-parentheses, an antisemitic symbol in online parlance, writing, “Big if true… These (((people))) are open to whichever puppet administration/candidate gives them the most of what they want - and that can change at any time as they’ve demonstrated in the past. Perhaps Biden used antifa types since they act as a leftist/communist thug army.”
On TikTok, a man claiming to be a former Green Beret and “Level 1 sniper,” further claimed the shooting was “planned and coordinated inside our government,” offering zero proof for the wild assertion.
To that end, Reddit user Broseph247 posted: “Deep state took a shot at him to rile up the crazies in the MAGA cult. Someone MAGA related (real or recruited by deep state) takes out Biden. Kamala president, deep state still in charge. CIA has been doing this shit for decades to other countries.”
And fishystickchakra chimed in: “[T]he fact that it happened in the state that is home to so many hunters and gun owners is telling me that yes, this is a real event, but it was planned by the other party to not only take out Trump, but to also demonize us for fighting for our 2nd Ammendment [sic] rights.”
In an email sent to his network of contacts, a political adviser to Democratic donor and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, postulated, apparently without irony, “that this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash.”
“NOT ONE NEWSPAPER OR OPINION LEADER IN AMERICA IS WILLING TO OPENLY CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT TRUMP AND PUTIN STAGED THIS ON PURPOSE,” Dmitri Mehlhorn wrote. “Ask the question, people.”
In a text message on Sunday to The Washington Post, Mehlhorn was apologetic, saying he “drafted and sent [the email] without consulting team members or allies… We must unite in condemnation of such violence in every instance, without reservation. Any other topic is a distraction.”
Conspiracy theories “have gained increased traction in the political mainstream” on both sides of the aisle, thanks to both social media and distrust with “traditional authorities,” according to Jared Holt, a senior researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
As Holt told The Independent, “What happened online in the information gaps after the assassination attempt showcased how pervasive conspiratorial thinking is in American politics.”