Hours after the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the conspiracy theories have begun.

Within 24 hours of former President Donald Trump being shot in the ear during a rally in Pennsylvania back in July, the reminder that we are living in a post-truth world clanged louder than ever.

Now, a second attempt on Trump's life has taken place.

On Sunday US time he was on his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, when US Secret Service agents spotted a gunman in some bushes near the property line with an AK-47-style assault rifle.

They opened fire on the man but he managed to escape.

The suspect has since been apprehended and remains in custody.

Trump has since released a statement, saying he is "safe and well".

But that hasn't stopped the conspiracy theories.

Reports have emerged that the alleged gunman was a recent Democrat voter. X became flooded with accusations that the attempted shooting was "an inside job" and that the Democrats are to blame.

Trump's words have certainly added fuel to the fire. In a new email to fundraisers post-assassination attempt, he wrote: "There are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us. I will not stop fighting for you. I will never surrender."

Investigations continue into the second assassination attempt. Image: AAP.

The White House quickly released a statement today, saying President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed about the incident and were relieved to know that he is safe.

"Violence has no place in America. I am glad he is safe," Harris said on X.

It's a very similar picture to what we saw just months ago.

During the first assassination attempt in Pennsylvania at a Trump rally, 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 were seriously injured. The gunman was Thomas Michael Crooks.

Then a fresh barrage of conspiracy theorising emerged.

Conspiracy theory #1: Biden ordered the hit.

Within minutes of news breaking about the alleged assassination attempt, X was ablaze with both veiled finger-pointing and outright accusations.

Republican congressman Mike Collins posted "Biden sent the orders" alongside a screenshot of a quote from President Biden in which he mentions "putting Donald Trump in a bullseye".

The quote from Biden was taken out of context and referred to targeting the former president politically, not physically.

The theory that Biden — or at the very least, powerbrokers within the Democrats — ordered the hit grew louder. Trump supporters claimed the shooting was an attempt by the left to 'silence' Trump for his work trying to "take down elite satanic paedophiles", a reference to the Q-Anon conspiracy theory that Washington is home to a satanic cabal of child molesters and murderers.

The phrases "deep state" and "civil war" both trended on X in the hours following the shooting.

Conspiracy theory #2: Trump staged the shooting.

The fact that Trump escaped with a milder injury than your average six-year-old who dropped into Lovisa for their first pair of sleeper earrings had many suggesting that the entire thing was a fake orchestrated by the Trump campaign.

Subscribers to this particular theory differ somewhat in their thoughts as to a motive here — some claiming Trump faked it in an attempt to bolster support, others claiming it was an act to incite civil war or even to look anointed by God as he walked away virtually unscathed.

Watch: US President Joe Biden addresses the nation following the Trump assassination attempt. Post continues below.

The fact that three crowd members were also shot — one fatally — doesn't appear to dampen this particular theory.

While the realm of conspiracy theories has often been associated with far-right politics and Q-Anon, the increase in conspiracy theories on the left has been dubbed 'Blue-Anon', in what commentators say is worrying proof that neither side of politics has faith in public institutions or the media.

"This is how the Secret Service reacted in 1981 when Ronald Reagan was shot," posted author and former White House aide Keith Boykin on X, alongside a video showing security operatives shielding the former president with their bodies and refusing to get up again.

His post was met with a slew of comments agreeing that the reaction of Trump's protective officers didn't seem congruent with trained officials who perceived a real threat, including the reposting of an image that appeared to show Secret Service operatives smiling as they held a triumphant Trump aloft, his head and chest exposed.

The image, however, appears to have been doctored, with X's fact-check tool adding links to the original image, where no smiles are evident.

President Biden announced an independent review into the actions of the Secret Service, and how an alleged shooter was able to get nearly-catastrophic access to a presidential candidate.

Former US President Donald Trump was shot at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Image: AAP.

Conspiracy theory #3: A 1992 film predicted it.

Further fuelling speculation that the shooting was staged, conspiracy theorists unearthed the 1992 film Bob Roberts, pointing to its plot — where a conservative politician running for the senate in Pennsylvania stages an assassination attempt in order to win the election.

Tim Robbins, the film's star and director, was quick to lambast proponents of this theory, writing on X:

To anyone drawing a parallel between my film Bob Roberts and the attempted assassination of Trump, let’s be clear. What happened yesterday was a real attempt on a presidential candidate’s life.
Those that are denying the assassination attempt was real are truly in a deranged…

— Tim Robbins (@TimRobbins1) July 14, 2024

Conspiracy theory #4: Thomas Michael Crooks was not the real shooter.

While the FBI has confirmed the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Michael Crooks, who was fatally shot by police at the rally, speculation online questioning his identity ran rampant.

Images circulating of the ear of the shooter — covered in blood after he had been killed — and an earlier picture of Thomas Michael Crooks were compared, with some claiming it 'proved' the shooter was someone else entirely.

With Crooks' motive still unknown and a distinct lack of social media information about him online, the proliferation of misinformation and conspiracy theories reached a fever pitch.

Social media researcher and conspiracy theory specialist, Dr Joanne Gray agrees.

"I think it's really important that we be diligent about what we consume, and I think that requires slowing down," she told Mamamia.

"So this is really fast paced, and that's what digital technology allows us to do, lots of content, quickly, at scale worldwide. What we need to do is, when we are exposed to something by an algorithm, we really need to slow down and think, Is this credible? Do I need to consume it? Is this something that I need to share, and really just take time to process and step away from that environment, rather than getting swept up in the barrage of content that we have sent to us in our digital spaces."

Conspiracy theory #5: the Bible predicted it

Okay, this one is wild — but there was a theory gaining traction among the alt-right after Jack Prosobiec, best-known for publishing the #pizzagate theory about Hilary Clinton, posted the following on X:

"The bullets were fired at 6:11pm. Ephesians 6:11."

For those not well-versed in their biblical stories, Ephesians 6:11 reads: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Fellow right-winger and politico-religious activist Charlie Kirk responded to the post with his own biblical quote, writing:

"The next verse is this: 'For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

*Deep breaths*.

In spite of the fact that — as a friend pointed out — "there are heaps of 6:11 chapters in The Bible" — it sure makes Trump's claim that "God alone saved me" more meaningful to those who see him as some kind of modern deity.

In the wake of the two assassination attempts, which set of "facts" will end up reigning supreme still remains to be seen, which is in and of itself a truth just as terrifying as any other act of political violence.

This article was originally published in July 2024, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: AAP.