Within minutes of the gunfire that marked an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on June 14, 2024 at a Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally, the internet exploded with a sea of claims. The incident, reflecting the polarized political climate in the United States, demonstrated how social media has become a dominant source of both information and misinformation.
Mentions of Trump on social media soared to 17 times the average daily amount in the hours following the shooting, according to cyber firm PeakMetrics. While many posts expressed sympathy and calls for unity, others spread unfounded and fantastical claims.
In the immediate aftermath, various specious claims surfaced, many attempting to blame Trump himself or even President Joe Biden for the attack. Some left-leaning voices suggested it was a false flag operation orchestrated by Trump and his campaign, while Trump supporters alleged that the Secret Service intentionally failed to protect Trump on orders from the White House.
Paul Bartel, a senior intelligence analyst at PeakMetrics, observed widespread speculation and unsubstantiated claims about the incident. He noted that various groups were being blamed without evidence, including the Chinese, Antifa, the Biden administration, and even the RNC. Bartel pointed out that in the absence of concrete information, people were turning to online platforms to seek answers and formulate theories, highlighting the prevalence of unfounded conjecture in the face of uncertainty.
When the video of the incident went viral on the platform, it rapidly garnered millions of views. Almost immediately, “staged” became the second most trending topic after “Trump,” with over 228,000 posts using the term. Within an hour, numerous posts on X alleging that the apparent shooting was staged were viewed millions of times. There is no evidence backing the claims that the shooting was staged. Trump was clearly injured, one spectator was killed, and another was injured.
The Secret Service responded on Sunday to the claims circulating on social media. “There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo” wrote agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi on X.
Videos of the shooting were quickly analyzed in partisan echo chambers, with both Trump supporters and detractors looking for evidence to support their beliefs. Some suggested that Secret Service agents moving audience members away from Trump before the shooting indicated an inside job. Conversely, images of Trump’s raised fist were used to argue that the event was staged.
Social media bots played a significant role in amplifying these false claims. Additionally, an image created using artificial intelligence, showing a smiling Trump moments after the shooting, circulated widely.
Users on X, Telegram, and various niche online platforms alleged that the misidentification stemmed from the Butler Police Department. They shared a photo of a man wearing sunglasses and a black hat, claiming it was a screenshot from a YouTube video posted before the attack, where the man purportedly declared “justice was coming.” All of these claims were untrue.
Conspiracy theories quickly emerged online, misidentifying the suspected shooter and blaming others without evidence. Some of these theories included antisemitic hate speech.
Before authorities identified the suspect, photos of two different people were widely circulated online, falsely identifying them as the shooter. In all the speculation and conjecture, others sought to exploit the event financially. On X, an account named Proud Patriots urged Trump supporters to purchase assassination-attempt-themed merchandise. “First they jail him, now they try to end him,” read the ad for a commemorative Trump Assassination Attempt Trading Card. “Stand Strong & Show Your Support!”
Longtime conspiracy theorist Alex Jones broadcasted live to an audience of hundreds of thousands on X following the incident. In a series of posts that were viewed millions of times on Saturday, Jones accused “the deep state.”
In a similar vein, X accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers, known for spreading QAnon conspiracy theories, garnered millions of views by naming high-profile Democrats and Republicans they alleged were “possibly colluding” with the CIA to orchestrate the incident. There is no evidence to support any part of this claim.
Following the shooting, some Republicans blamed Biden, arguing that sustained criticisms of Trump have created a toxic environment. They pointed specifically to a comment Biden made to donors on July 8, saying “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”
Trump’s own incendiary words have been criticized in the past for encouraging violence. His claims about the 2020 election and his call for supporters to “fight like hell” preceded the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, which led to his second impeachment on charges of incitement of insurrection. Trump also mocked the hammer attack that left 80-year-old Paul Pelosi, the husband of the former House speaker, with a fractured skull.
Surveys indicate that Americans overwhelmingly reject violence as a means of settling political differences. However, overheated rhetoric from candidates and social media can motivate a small minority to act.
The aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump illustrates the complex and volatile nature of political discourse in the United States. As misinformation continues to spread, the need for critical analysis and verification of information becomes ever more crucial.
