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In the 24 hours since former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear during a rally in Pennsylvania, the reminder that we are living in a post-truth world has clanged louder than ever.
Here's what we know (although many of these facts are being hotly contested online as this article goes live):
- At around 6:13pm at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, loud noises were heard in the crowd.
- Videos show Trump clutching his ear before being tackled to the ground by Secret Service agents in order to protect him. He later released a statement confirming he was hit by a "bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear".
- Two people, including the gunman, were killed, and two remain in critical condition.
- The gunman has been named by the FBI as Thomas Michael Crooks - who is a registered Republican voter.
- The crowd member who was killed has been identified as Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter who was reportedly shot while attempting to shield his family from the bullets. So far, $700,000 has been raised for his family.
Of course, in our endless hunger for details, wherever there exists a vacuum of information, misinformation flourishes. In a presidential race already mired in conspiracy theories and deep public mistrust, it's little wonder that some wild ideas about what actually went on in Butler have taken hold.
Watch: US President Joe Biden addresses the nation following the Trump assassination attempt. Post continues after video.
Conspiracy theory #1: Biden ordered the hit.
Within minutes of news breaking about the alleged assassination attempt, X (formerly Twitter) was ablaze with both veiled finger-pointing and outright accusations. Republican congressman Mike Collines posted "Biden sent the orders" alongside a screenshot of a quote from President Biden in which he mentions "putting Donald Trump in a bullseye".
It has been posted thousands of times in the intervening 24 hours, and viewed over 13 million times, in spite of the fact that the quote Collins referenced as 'proof' of Biden being behind the shooting was taken out of context, and referred to targeting the former president politically, not physically.
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