Was There A Plot Behind The Trump Shooting?

Conspiracy theories have emerged online following the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The idea that President Biden was behind the shooting of Trump was the most dominant conspiracy theory to emerge. The assassination attempt has supercharged conspiracy theories and threats of political violence that have characterized this presidential campaign from the start.

Conspiration theories, false claims, and unsupported assertions exploded online Saturday after the shooting suspect opened fire. Social media users falsely identified the shooter and sparred over whether the assassination attempt was staged by the right or the left. Two very different conspiracy theories are spreading in the days following Trump’s attempted assassination.

When 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump on July 13, the American public was ready with conspiracy theories. In a video promoting her memoir, she declared “we need to uncover the truth about the assassination attempt on Trump”. As a frenzy has gripped all sides of the political spectrum following the assassination attempt, falsehoods have taken off online.

Right-wing lawmakers and candidates have made baseless suggestions that the shooting was orchestrated by Democrats or government actors who were involved in the assassination. After an initial period of relative restraint, the former president has begun blaming the shooting on his opponents and amplifying conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories that the assassination attempt on Trump was staged flooded the internet almost immediately after the shooting suspect opened fire.