“Staged,” “Antifa activist,” “left-wing led attack”: Numerous conspiracy theories are circulating on the Internet following the shooting at Trump rally

After the shooting incident with former President Donald Trump at an election campaign rally a large number of conspiracy theories surfaced online, fueled by the FBI’s lack of information about the shooter’s motive. These unproven theories, which ranged from speculation about the shooter’s identity to claims that the incident was staged, quickly gained traction on social media platforms and garnered millions of views.
According to NBC News, the word “staged” became the second most trending topic on X. Within an hour of the incident, the term was used in over 228,000 posts. Although there is no evidence to support the claims that the shooting was staged, numerous posts promoting this belief have received several million views. Similar sentiments were echoed on Meta’s Instagram and threads, albeit by a smaller audience.
Follow live updates
Another trending topic on X was “Antifa,” as social media posts appeared to misidentify the gunman responsible for the shooting. Those posts blamed a “prominent Antifa activist,” Mark Violets, even though law enforcement had not released any information about his background.
Several reports also said that police officials said Trump was not hit by a bullet, but by shards or fragments of glass.
Some people pointed out that this incident may have been President Trump’s Presidential campaign against President Biden. The shooting has raised concerns about the increasing frequency of violent threats and attacks against politicians, especially amid the already heated election cycle.
Trump, 78, was shot in the ear during his speech, leaving his face covered in blood. His security guards quickly surrounded him before he emerged, raised his fist in the air and mouthed the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
He later shared on his platform Truth Social: “I was hit by a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. There was severe bleeding.”
The shooting occurred less than four months before the November 5 election in which Trump will face the Democratic president. Joe Biden in a rematch, with most polls predicting a neck-and-neck race between the two candidates.