A recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents' Dinner has triggered a wave of online disinformation, according to a report by France 24.
Moments after a would-be assassin attempted to storm the press gala last weekend, social media platforms were inundated with claims that the shooting was "staged."
France 24's media program, Scoop, examined how mainstream news outlets are responding to these claims. The program investigated whether traditional journalism is helping to combat these theories or inadvertently amplifying them.
Disinformation and the press
David Gilbert, a reporter at Wired who specializes in online extremism and disinformation, joined the program to discuss the spread of these narratives.
While the source material focuses on the media's role in the aftermath, the incident itself targeted the high-profile gathering of journalists and political figures.
Mainstream coverage is currently under scrutiny for its role in the digital information ecosystem. The report highlights the tension between reporting on breaking news and the rapid spread of unverified social media claims.
