Our Planet Climate and Geopolitics
An event like the attempted assassination of Donald Trump is the ideal breeding ground for conspiracy theories. Unknowns include the shooter’s motive and thousands of attendees at the Pennsylvania rally can claim a personal connection to the event. Baseless claims circulating on X on Saturday included: “Joe Biden sent the orders” and “They tried to jail him and now they’ve tried to kill him.” Unlike most misinformation, those tweets weren’t posted by people on the fringes of society to a relatively small audience. They were statements by Representatives Greg Steube of Florida and Mike Collins of Georgia, respectively. Both remain online even though there’s not a shred of evidence of White House involvement in the shooting. How to control the spread of misinformation, particularly when it’s being parroted by elected officials? One of those who might answer is Elon Musk, the current owner of X. On Saturday, he implied – without evidence – that the failure of the Secret Service to stop Trump’s shooter may have been “deliberate”. Who will gatekeep the gatekeepers?
