Last week’s assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate and former President of the United States, Donald Trump, is yet another act in the centuries-old political violence targeting key state officials or those striving to assume high offices.
Assassinations of American presidents have always been magnets for various conspiracy theories, and the attempt on Trump, which was broadcast live by the media led to a flood of unverified information, premature conclusions, and unfounded claims about the motives behind the attack.
At a time when there were no official details about the attacker’s identity and profile, our editorial team recorded several media and social media posts claiming that the assassination was carried out by a known “Antifa activist” and Italian sports journalist Marco Violi. Some online portals and social media users rushed to publish his photos, claiming that “the attacker sent a disturbing message before the attempt on Trump.” It turned out that this person had been in Rome the entire time and had nothing to do with the attack on the former American president. The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the suspect in the attack on Trump.
Where there is misinformation, there are also altered photos or videos.
To confirm one of the most frequent narratives following the attack on Trump – that it was a staged situation and everything was pre-planned – some social media users posted a photo showing smiling agents who formed a shield around Trump after the shooting. This image is photoshopped, as confirmed by comparing it with the original photo taken by an AP photographer.
Additionally, we noted posts allegedly showing Trump a few days after the shooting, without visible injuries, with claims that his “ear was as good as new” and that he was playing golf the very next day. In a separate analysis, we pointed out that the photo was taken earlier and does not show Trump immediately after the attack.
Apart from these, we saw social media posts claiming that Trump was “smeared with all sorts of things and red paint,” and that he was a “professional and premier actor.” In addition, some media wondered, “Where was Melania during the attack?”
While some Montenegrin politicians wished Trump a speedy recovery with words like “May God protect him in his fight for truth and justice,” others blamed different gods for his assassination attempt – the “gods of money, the global deep state, global banking fascists….”
And all this without evidence, witnesses’ statements, investigative findings, reports…
And this is not where things end. In the days ahead of us, we can certainly expect new disinformation and conspiracy theories about the attack on the former American president, which could be intensified in the period leading up to the November presidential elections when Trump will once again be on the ballot as a candidate.
Jelena Jovanovic
This project is funded by the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica. The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of State/Government.