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Tech firms must crack down on mad conspiracy theories destroying society

If you need more proof of how deranging our times have become just consider this.  The number of times the word “staged” was used in the hours after the White House Correspondents Association dinner shooting last Saturday.

This isn´t only a problem for social media companies.  It is a problem for our democracy.  And it is one we need to tackle.

While hundreds of journalists were sheltering in place on Saturday evening, and the entire chain of command of the United States was being raced out of the room in DC, social media platforms were having a field-day.

Analysis shows that in the hours after Saturday´s attack the term “staged” (as in that the latest attempt on the life of President Trump was “staged”) appeared in more than 300,000 posts on X (formerly Twitter).  Other platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube were filled with the same claims.  Many of these claims were unnaturally boosted.  Some by foreign accounts.

In case there is anyone reading this who does think that the most recent attempt on President Trump´s life was “staged” let me try to nip that in the bud.  If anyone was going to try to fake an assassination attempt on the President where would be worst place to do it?  I would think it would be in a ballroom literally filled with the world´s media: outlets which compete with each other, vehemently disagree with each other, and which come from every side of the political spectrum.  All of whom couldn´t wait to let their readers know if there was something suspicious going on.

Naturally there are some people who believe that this is all part of some dastardly plan.  A plan which would require the Trump administration and the most Trump-hating media to unite and keep a secret between themselves.  Not likely, in my view.

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Some online........

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