General Discussion

Drum

(10,730 posts) Sun Apr 26, 2026, 11:55 PM Sunday

NYTimes: Rumors and Speculation Swirl Online After Shooting at Washington Dinner

Influencers jumped to fill the information void with conspiracy theories about the attack at the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday.

By Stuart A. ThompsonTiffany Hsu and Steven Lee Myers
April 26, 2026, 4:54 p.m. ET

Gift link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/technology/white-house-correspondents-dinner-shooting-conspiracy-theories.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eFA.j2Ak.8l8NWOsVyIdd&smid=nytcore-ios-share

Excerpt:

Almost as soon as gunshots were reported from the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday night, social media was flooded with conspiracy theories and finger-pointing over the attack. In a now-common phenomenon after such incidents, prominent influencers fill the information vacuum with speculation in a bid for attention and followers.

The miasma of falsehoods, rumors and conjecture has clouded multiple breaking news moments in recent years, including two previous assassination attempts against President Trump and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, then Venezuela’s president.

This time, users from across the political spectrum were participating in the chaos on platforms like X, Facebook and TikTok. Some users claimed that the attack was “staged,” suggesting without evidence that it was part of an apparent plot by Mr. Trump or others to distract from bad polling numbers or the war with Iran. The term “staged” surged to more than 300,000 posts on X by midday Sunday, according to data by TweetBinder, a social media analytics company owned by Audiense. (At least some of those posts refuted the notion that the attack was planned.)

Other users were quick to assign blame, tying the shooter to Israeli causes without proof, and using imagery that was apparently manipulated with A.I. tools to support their claims. RT, a Russian state news channel, amplified some of those claims on X.

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This is worth a read. There are a lot of posts here addressing this, both pro and con. Apologies If this was already posted.

-Drum

8 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

NYTimes: Rumors and Speculation Swirl Online After Shooting at Washington Dinner (Original Post) Drum Sunday OP

I figured it out. The REAL assassination attempt was to come at dessert time. usonian Yesterday #1

Lack of trust, credibility - That's the real story. legallyblondeNYC 23 hrs ago #2

A lack of trust and credibility that the nyt helped create. niyad 21 hrs ago #3

I think they are going to find Figarosmom 21 hrs ago #4

I find myself going down that rabbit hole. wcollar 7 hrs ago #5

"The miasma of falsehoods, rumors and conjecture" - Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. PeaceWave 7 hrs ago #6

Usually my friends aren't into false flag stuff, LeftInTX 7 hrs ago #7

"prominent influencers" a/k/a useless, clout chasing dipshits flvegan 7 hrs ago #8

usonian

(26,121 posts)

1. I figured it out. The REAL assassination attempt was to come at dessert time.

Reply to Drum (Original post)

Mon Apr 27, 2026, 12:06 AM

Yesterday

The “Bombe Surprise” failed to pass through the magnetometer.

legallyblondeNYC

(181 posts)

2. Lack of trust, credibility - That's the real story.

Reply to Drum (Original post)

Mon Apr 27, 2026, 12:14 AM

23 hrs ago

The activities of the administration have created an environment of deep mistrust. NYT -- that's the real story here. Not the proliferation of internet posts -- but WHY.

niyad

(133,419 posts)

3. A lack of trust and credibility that the nyt helped create.

Reply to legallyblondeNYC (Reply #2)

Mon Apr 27, 2026, 02:33 AM

21 hrs ago

Figarosmom

(12,714 posts)

4. I think they are going to find

Reply to Drum (Original post)

Mon Apr 27, 2026, 02:49 AM

21 hrs ago

More and more people that just don't give a damn about to blame about these attempts and they figure there will be many more. I think that most people don't even give a damn if one day someone is successful. They've just had it with this degenerate.

wcollar

(214 posts)

5. I find myself going down that rabbit hole.

Reply to Drum (Original post)

Mon Apr 27, 2026, 04:41 PM

7 hrs ago

Three attempts on Trump's life. Three failures. At this point I'm thinking my god, these would be assassins are as incompetent as Trump's Cabinet. Then I think, maybe the same guy hired all of them.....