As reportages on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump go viral on social media platforms, particularly on X, a conspiracy theory doubting the assassination has emerged, and tagged “Staged”.
Against the foregoing backdrop, an article published by the BBC, and titled “How Conspiracy Theories and hate dominated social feeds after assassination attempt on Trump” authored by Marianna Spring, Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent, partially reads: “Staged”.
“Within minutes of the news breaking about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that word was trending on X in the United States.
“It’s a word that has become synonymous with conspiracy theories on the fringes of social media, often to cast doubts on an attack or shooting. But in the last 24 hours, it has flooded into mainstream online conversation, and posts filled with evidence-free speculation, hate and abuse have racked up millions of views on X.
“Assassination attempts on US presidents have in the past been magnets for conspiracy, the killing of John F Kennedy in November 1963, most famously. This one was the first to play out in real-time, so it’s not surprising that unfounded rumors flourished.
“But what has stood out is how this frenzy gripped all sides of the political spectrum.
“It’s not been limited to committed groups of political supporters. Instead, it was actively recommended in users’ “For You” feeds as they tried to make sense of what had happened. And it was often posted by users who have purchased blue ticks, offering their posts greater prominence”.
Having drawn the attention of the foregoing article by BBC to a colleague in the office as I was no doubt stupefied, he responded, by emphatically saying that “Gun nor be catapult”, and which has become part of the title of this piece aimed at pondering over the conspiracy theory that has been trending on both traditional and new media platforms in the wake of the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
Absolutely! Guns and catapults are quite different as my colleague emphatically said. While both are tools used for launching projectiles, their mechanisms, purposes, and historical contexts vary significantly.
As a mechanism, gun use explosive propellant (such as gunpowder) to launch bullets or shells. The explosion generates high pressure, propelling the projectile out of the barrel, and it is primarily designed for combat, self-defense, hunting, and sport shooting.
On the other hand, catapult is mechanical devices that use tension, torsion, or counterweight systems to launch objects. It rely on stored energy (rather than explosives). And it this part of the world, it relies on mere gravel or stone.
Catapults were historically used in warfare (e.g., ancient siege engines) to hurl stones, arrows, or other projectiles at enemy fortifications. In fact, the history of catapults date back to ancient civilizations like the Greeks and Romans. They played a crucial role in battles and sieges.
Given the foregoing fact, my colleague was absolutely right as gun and catapult are incomparable in terms of ballistic force. So, he was right to have declared that Gun nor be catapult.
Back home, and in a similar vein, Nigerian singer, 2Baba, has insinuated that the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was staged.
Despite security agencies’ confirmation, 2Baba insisted that it was a “pure package”, and stated that ace Hollywood actor Jussie Smollett is still a learner compared to Trump’s acting skills.
On his Instagram account, he wrote: “Jessie Smallet dey learn. I go shock if I wrong but this sh*t na pure package.
“All black everything. Hollywood dey learn.”
In a similar vein, Veteran singer, Charly Boy, stylist Toyin Lawani, and American actress, Amanda Seales, and several others, have also expressed doubts about the assassination attempt on Trump.
As also gathered from the report by BBC, “As ever, the conspiracy theories sometimes started with legitimate questions and confusion. They centred on alleged security failings, with lots of users understandably asking how this could happen.
“How did the attacker make it to the roof? Why weren’t they stopped?
“Into that vacuum rushed a wave of disbelief, speculation and disinformation.
“It looks very staged,” read one post on X which racked up a million views. “Nobody in the crowd is running or panicking. Nobody in the crowd heard an actual gun. I don’t trust it. I don’t trust him.”
“The profile says it’s based on the southwest coast of Ireland. It’s since been labelled with a note on X pointing out the shooting was real.
“Once more footage and testimony from both inside and outside the rally was shared, the panic and fear of those there became all too clear.
According to NBC News in its report titled, “Conspiracy theories about the Trump rally shooting flourish online”, it says “Conspiracy theories, false claims and unsupported assertions exploded online Saturday after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“Wild theories about the attack, ranging from speculation about who the shooter was to claims about whether or not incident was planned, quickly accumulated millions of views on social media.
“With few details about what actually occurred, conspiracy theorists, political operators and social media opportunists took advantage of the open field, pushing out unverified or unsupported claims onto tech platforms that have largely stepped back from moderating posts about major political breaking news events.”
On X, conspiracy theories and false information about the incidents gained traction just minutes after the incident occurred.
“As video of the incident ripped across the platform, quickly accumulating millions of views, the word “staged” became the second-highest trending topic immediately after “Trump,” with over 228,000 posts on the platform using the word. In just an hour, numerous posts on X claiming the apparent shooting was staged were viewed several millions of times. There is no evidence to support any claims that the shooting was staged, Trump was visibly injured, and a spectator was killed, while another was injured.”
Given the foregoing doubts and insinuations that are inherent in the conspiracy theories that have been trending in the wake of the attempted assassination of the former American president, one cannot but ponder, and ask “Why the doubt?”, and “Why is the issue been politicized?”, and “Has the world lost its touch of humanity?” Be that as it may, there is no denying the fact that the truth would surely surface as the Americans are good at pursuing investigative matter to its conclusive end.
Be that as it may, it is germane to reecho my colleague’s affirmation that “Gun Nor Be Catapult” as not a few doubters are still insinuating that given the ballistic force of a gun, particularly on the ear, which no doubt is attached to the head, that the impact couldn’t have been a scratch on the face, even as it is equally argued that the dodged bullet ought to have hit someone near the former president as the gathering around him was thick.
