On the 25th (local time), conspiracy theories rapidly spread on social media (SNS) in the immediate aftermath of the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, including claims that the incident was "staged."
According to the New York Times on the 26th, unfounded claims that the attack was not a real event but was orchestrated for political purposes are spreading on major platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and TikTok.
Some users even pushed conspiracy theories that President Donald Trump or a particular faction staged the incident to divert attention from poor polling or tensions with Iran. In particular, the keyword "staged" was posted hundreds of thousands of times, rapidly amplifying the controversy.
Alongside this, many posts sought to identify who was behind the attack. Some users tried to link the gunman to a specific country or political faction, and even circulated images that appeared to be manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI). The New York Times said Russian state media also joined in spreading some of these claims on social media.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, information that did not match the facts also spread quickly online. Posts claiming the attacker died at the scene drew millions of views, but it was later confirmed the attacker was arrested. Although some posters later issued corrections, the updated posts recorded lower view counts than the originals.
The New York Times analyzed that in recent years, false information and conspiracy theories have spread after major incidents, repeatedly distorting public opinion. In fact, even after time had passed following an assassination attempt targeting President Trump during a past U.S. presidential election, claims that it was a "staged incident" continued, and the conspiracy theories spread for a long period.
Experts said users' tendency to respond more readily to information that reinforces existing beliefs than to objective facts fuels this phenomenon. They also explained that a structure in which influencers spread unverified content to secure views, followers and revenue accelerates the spread of false information.
Cliff Lampe, a University of Michigan professor, noted, "People tend to reconstruct reality in the direction they want to believe is true." He added, "Rumors spread very quickly, but correcting them takes much longer."
Amanda Crawford, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut, said, "It takes time to establish the truth and build reliable information, but the public cannot wait," adding, "In the end, narratives that answer the questions people want to know are created immediately and spread based on the biases of those who share them."