Washington: Misinformation surged across social media following US President Donald Trump's narrow escape from a weekend shooting, reviving accusations that he has faked assassination plots to advance his political agenda.
On Saturday, Trump and key administration figures were rushed from a Washington media event after shots rang out near the ballroom, the third attempt on the Republican's life in two years.
AFP's fact-checking team spotted multiple posts from anti-Trump profiles pushing a theory that the White House arranged the incident to shift focus from damaging stories, including the controversial US-Israeli war against Iran.
The posts racked up 80 million views on Elon Musk's X in just two days post-shooting, data from disinformation tracker NewsGuard shows.
Identical accounts had earlier insisted Trump's 2024 assassination tries in Pennsylvania and Florida were hoaxes.
This storyline largely traces to "BlueAnon," a left-wing conspiracy faction akin to the right's QAnon, as researchers describe it.
"Many of the anti-Trump accounts baselessly claiming that the WHCD (White House Correspondents' Dinner) shooting was staged made identical claims after the 2024 assassination attempts," NewsGuard's Sofia Rubinson told AFP.
"Some viral posts we've seen explicitly cite those earlier incidents as 'evidence' that staging shootings is part of Trump's playbook -- to generate sympathy and distract from unfavorable coverage."
Frenzy in Fast News Cycles
Breaking events like shootings ignite urgent social media scrambles for updates, often letting lies spread unchecked and amplifying confusion.
Investigators found zero evidence the Trump administration staged Saturday's attack.
The White House on Monday pinned blame on a "left-wing cult of hatred," as 31-year-old suspect Cole Allen eyes a possible life term for trying to assassinate Trump.
Post-incident, outlets tied to US foes Russia and Iran spread wilder theories -- like the gunman's supposed Israeli army connections -- per the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London.
Lately, rising numbers of MAGA voices -- echoing Trump's "Make America Great Again" mantra -- have floated conspiracies about the 2024 Pennsylvania rally attempt being self-orchestrated.
Experts say this reveals bipartisan vulnerability to wild theories, as media skepticism drives people to biased online guides.
Cash Drives Rumour Mills
"The staged assassination conspiracy theory has advocates on the left, particularly among liberal content creators. It's also starting to take off on the right as they lose faith in Trump," Mike Rothschild, a researcher who studies conspiracy theories, told AFP.
"The theory casts him (Trump) as a master manipulator," he said. "And it uses as 'evidence' either misconceptions, other viral videos, or things that people have just made up."
Uptake has grown as Trump draws fire from all sides -- including MAGA fringes -- over the Iran war's oil price hikes and casualty risks.
The offensive has fractured his coalition, prompting even stalwart conservatives like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to slam Trump's pivot from non-interventionism.
Theories thrive online amid lighter content controls on disinformation by tech firms.
Influencers chase eyeballs with shock claims, boosting followers and payouts on monetized platforms like X.
"The more irresistible the claim the better in terms of the business of political commentary. The actual politics of a party is now secondary to the monetization of the political brand," said Walter Scheirer of the University of Notre Dame.
"In the long run, this likely does weaken Trump's base," he said.