Thursday, October 23, 2025
INBV News
Submit Video
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Weather
  • World News
  • Videos
  • More
    • Podcasts
    • Reels
    • Live Video Stream
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Weather
  • World News
  • Videos
  • More
    • Podcasts
    • Reels
    • Live Video Stream
No Result
View All Result
INBV News
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

How Republicans Fed a Misinformation Loop Concerning the Pelosi Attack

INBV News by INBV News
December 6, 2022
in Politics
390 8
0
How Republicans Fed a Misinformation Loop Concerning the Pelosi Attack
548
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

WASHINGTON — Inside hours of the brutal attack last month on Paul Pelosi, the husband of the speaker of the House, activists and media outlets on the precise began circulating groundless claims — nearly all of them sinister, and lots of homophobic — casting doubt on what had happened.

RELATED POSTS

Pope warned of AI threat at G7 summit, met with Trudeau

Charlie Angus on leaving politics, NDP’s future | Front Burner

Some Republican officials quickly joined in, rushing to suggest that the bludgeoning of an octogenarian by a suspect obsessive about right-wing conspiracy theories was something else altogether, dismissing it as an inside job, a lover’s quarrel or worse.

The misinformation got here from all levels of Republican politics. A U.S. senator circulated the view that “none of us will ever know” what really happened on the Pelosis’ San Francisco home. A senior Republican congressman referred to the attacker as a “nudist hippie male prostitute,” baselessly asserting that the suspect had a private relationship with Mr. Pelosi. Former President Donald J. Trump questioned whether the attack may need been staged.

The world’s richest man helped amplify the stories. But none of it was true.

Listed below are 21 of the elected officials, candidates and other outstanding figures who spread misinformation or forged doubt on the attack.

In tweets, podcasts and TV appearances, these figures questioned whether the general public was being told the total story of what happened and in some cases spread theories that were unfounded.

Elected officials and candidates

Photo of Senator Ted Cruz

Senator Ted Cruz

Republican of Texas

Amplified doubts that each one facts were being disclosed.

Photo of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene

Republican of Georgia

Suggested Mr. Pelosi knew his attacker.

Photo of Representative Clay Higgins

Representative Clay Higgins

Republican of Louisiana

Suggested the attack involved male prostitution.

Photo of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson

Republican of North Carolina

Raised doubts about the small print of the attack.

Photo of Mary Williams Benefield

Mary Williams Benefield

Republican statehouse candidate of Georgia

Suggested the attack may need been staged.

Photo of State Senator Wendy Rogers

State Senator Wendy Rogers

Republican of Arizona

Suggested the attack may need been staged.

Photo of State Representative Anthony Sabatini

State Representative Anthony Sabatini

Republican of Florida

Suggested that the Pelosis are hiding vital information.

Photo of Representative Claudia Tenney

Representative Claudia Tenney

Republican of Recent York

Amplified a conspiracy theory about an extramarital gay affair.

Outstanding figures

Photo of Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck

Conservative commentator

Raised doubts about the small print of the attack.

Photo of Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson

Fox News host

Raised doubts about the small print of the attack.

Photo of Dinesh D’Souza

Dinesh D’Souza

Conservative commentator

Claimed the attack involved an extramarital gay affair.

Photo of Ryan Fournier

Ryan Fournier

Founder, Students for Trump

Claimed details concerning the attacker were fabricated.

Photo of Sebastian Gorka

Sebastian Gorka

Former Trump adviser and podcast host

Raised doubts about the small print of the attack.

Photo of Pete Hegseth

Pete Hegseth

Fox News host

Raised doubts that each one facts were being disclosed.

Photo of Megyn Kelly

Megyn Kelly

Talk show host

Raised doubts that each one facts were being disclosed.

Photo of Elon Musk

Elon Musk

Chief executive of Twitter and Tesla

Amplified a conspiracy theory about male prostitution.

Photo of Devin Nunes

Devin Nunes

Former representative of California

Repeated a false report that the attacker was in his underwear.

Photo of Michael Savage

Michael Savage

Talk show host

Raised doubts that each one facts were being disclosed.

Photo of Roger Stone

Roger Stone

Trump associate

Suggested the attack was staged.

Photo of Donald J. Trump

Donald J. Trump

Former president

Suggested the attack was staged.

Photo of Royce White

Royce White

House candidate of Minnesota

Claimed the attack involved an extramarital gay affair.

The flood of falsehoods showed how ingrained misinformation has turn out to be contained in the G.O.P., where the reflexive response of the rank and file — and even just a few outstanding figures — to anything which may forged a negative light on the precise is to deflect with more fictional claims, making a vicious cycle that muddies facts, shifts blame and minimizes violence.

It happened after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which was inspired by Mr. Trump’s lie of a stolen election, and in turn gave rise to more falsehoods, as Republicans and their right-wing allies tried to play down, deny or invent a distinct story for what happened, including groundlessly blaming the F.B.I. and antifa. Mr. Pelosi’s attacker is claimed to have believed a few of those tales.

“That is the dynamic because it plays out,” said Brian Hughes, a professor at American University who studies radicalism and extremism. “The conspiracy theory prompts an act of violence; that act of violence must be disavowed, and it could possibly only be disavowed by more conspiracy theories, which prompts more violence.”

The Justice Department moved swiftly to bring criminal charges against the suspect within the attack, David DePape, 42, who prosecutors said broke into the Pelosi home meaning to kidnap Ms. Pelosi and shatter her kneecaps, and assaulted her husband with a hammer, leaving him with a cracked skull. The San Francisco district attorney said it was imperative for prosecutors to present the facts to the general public, given the misinformation circulating widely concerning the case.

But by then, it was far too late. In a pattern that has turn out to be commonplace, a parade of Republicans — helped along by right-wing media personalities including the Fox Recent host Tucker Carlson, and outstanding people including the newly installed Twitter owner Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man — had already abetted the viral spread of lies concerning the attack, distorting the account of what happened before facts could get in the way in which. Finding life on far-right web sites and the so-called dark web, conspiracy theories and falsehoods leaped from the fringes to the mainstream.


Fringe Web sites and Mainstream Figures

Hundreds of posts containing conspiracy theories concerning the attack were shared on message boards, social media and in comments sections of popular far-right sites, in line with data from Pyrra, an organization that tracks fringe social media. Because the chatter picked up, several elected officials and mainstream right-wing influencers also shared their doubts concerning the attack.





Comments from fringe web sites mentioning …

“Prostitute” or similar terms

Other sex-related conspiracy theories

Doubts concerning the official account

12:23 p.m. A Fox affiliate in San Francisco

reports that the attacker was present in his

underwear. The error was later corrected.

A conspiracy theory circulates widely

that the attack was the result

of a sexual affair.

8:15 a.m. Elon Musk, the brand new owner of

Twitter, tweets a link to a conspiracy website

that baselessly claims that Mr. Pelosi was

attacked by a male prostitute.

Comments mentioning “prostitute” and

similar terms flood sites, reigniting

interest within the false theory.

5:06 p.m. On “The Big Sunday Show,”

a Fox News program, hosts raise doubts

concerning the official account.

10:04 a.m. Representative Marjorie Taylor

Greene, Republican of Georgia, repeats the

conspiracy theory circulated by Mr. Musk

and calls the media the “source

of misinformation.”

7:06 p.m. Jesse Watters, the Fox News host,

raises doubts concerning the official account of the

attack, saying that tumbler appears to be broken

from contained in the house.

8:43 p.m. Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host,

repeats the conspiracy theory shared by

Mr. Musk, joking that a outstanding liberal

influencer would claim that “Paul Pelosi

couldn’t be gay, not that it’s a foul thing.”

Comments from fringe web sites mentioning …

“Prostitute” or similar terms

Other sex-related conspiracy theories

Doubts concerning the official account

12:23 p.m.

A Fox affiliate in San

Francisco reports that

the attacker was present in

his underwear. The error

was corrected a

few hours later.

saturday, oct. 29

at 9 p.m.

A conspiracy theory

circulates widely that

the attack was the result

of a sexual affair.

8:15 AM

Elon Musk, the brand new

owner of Twitter, tweets

a link to a conspiracy

website that baselessly

claims that Mr. Pelosi

was attacked by

a male prostitute.

5:06 p.m.

On “The Big Sunday

Show,” a Fox News

program, hosts

raise doubts about

the official account.

10:04 a.m.

Representative Marjorie

Taylor Greene, a Republican

of Georgia, repeats the

conspiracy theory

circulated by Mr. Musk

and calls the media

the “source of

misinformation.”

7:06 p.m.

Jesse Waters,the

Fox News host, raises

doubts concerning the official

account of the attack,

saying that tumbler appears

to be broken from

contained in the house.

tuesday, nov. 1 AT 6 A.M.

8:43 p.m.

Tucker Carlson, the Fox

News host, repeats the

conspiracy theory shared

by Mr. Musk, joking that

a outstanding liberal

influencer would claim

that “Paul Pelosi couldn’t

be gay, not that it’s

a foul thing.”


Note: Roughly 9,500 comments that mentioned “Paul Pelosi” were analyzed from 16 web sites and a service that gives commenting technology for online platforms. Key terms, reminiscent of ”prostitute,” were grouped into the categories shown.

While many Republican leaders denounced the violence and a few, including former Vice President Mike Pence, expressed sympathy for the Pelosis, none of them publicly condemned the falsehoods their colleagues were elevating or did anything to thrust back on the false narrative. That left others to fill the void.

“Just produce the police body cam, — why is that so hard?” Mr. Carlson demanded on his show on Wednesday night. Addressing those criticizing the conspiracy theorizing, he added: “We’re not the crazy people; you’re the liars. There’s nothing mistaken with asking questions, period.”

The disinformation surrounding the attack on Mr. Pelosi presented lots of the standard elements of alt-right conspiracy theories, which relish a culture of “do your individual research,” casting skepticism on official accounts, and are inclined to give attention to lurid sexual activities or issues related to children, often driven by a fear of society becoming immoral.

Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation expert, said no amount of evidence — be it police body camera footage or anything — could get in the way in which of such falsehoods within the eyes of those that don’t want to consider facts.

“It doesn’t matter when there are documents or sworn testimony claiming something is, in actual fact, not the case,” Ms. Jankowicz said. “There can be an elaborate reframing effort. If the footage was released, people would claim it was fabricated. There’s no bottom.”

Most of the Republicans who amplified the fiction couched their comments as jokes, effectively pre-empting any criticism by suggesting they won’t be serious. Hours after the attack, Donald Trump Jr., the previous president’s son, shared online a viral image of a dressing up that included an oversized pair of men’s briefs and a hammer, remarking “the web stays undefeated.”

A spokesman for Mr. Trump said he “simply posted a joke meme and has at all times rejected political violence in all forms.”

Representative Claudia Tenney, Republican of Recent York, circulated a photograph on Twitter that showed a gaggle of young, white men holding oversized hammers beside a gay Pride flag, commenting simply: “LOL.”

Ms. Tenney didn’t reply to a request for comment.

It shouldn’t be clear whether the elected officials and media personalities who’ve trafficked in falsehoods consider the conspiracy theories they’re elevating, or just need to be rewarded by their right-wing base. In response to public polling, as many as 70 percent of Republicans still consider that Mr. Trump was the true winner of the 2020 election.

Mary Williams Benefield, a Republican running for a seat in Georgia’s statehouse, said she had responded online to a tweet suggesting the attack was staged because “the official narrative is unwilling to present all of the facts.”

“Possibly their daughter has a movie crew shooting a documentary on this too,” wrote the mother of three and former music teacher at a church school, making a reference to newly surfaced footage from a documentary Ms. Pelosi’s daughter Alexandra was filming that showed the speaker in a secure location in the course of the Jan. 6 riot.

In an interview, Ms. Benefield brought up a report that the police have debunked, which wrongly asserted that the intruder was dressed only in his underwear. The Fox News affiliate that originally reported the detail issued a correction saying the article had previously “misstated what clothing the suspect was wearing.”

That did nothing to vary Ms. Benefield’s mind.

“There’s a number of questions that have to be asked before there’s any legitimacy,” she said.

In response to federal charging documents, Mr. DePape was enthralled by the conspiracy theories which have portrayed Ms. Pelosi as an enemy of the country. His online activities show him ranting concerning the 2020 election being stolen, seeming to disclaim the gassing of Jews at Auschwitz and claiming that schoolteachers were grooming children to be transgender.

His attorney has said he planned to argue that Mr. DePape was so influenced by disinformation that it ought to be considered a mitigating circumstance.

0

Do most people have confidence in their politicians today?

Tags: attackFedLoopmisinformationPelosiRepublicans
Share219Tweet137
INBV News

INBV News

Related Posts

edit post
Pope warned of AI threat at G7 summit, met with Trudeau

Pope warned of AI threat at G7 summit, met with Trudeau

by INBV News
July 4, 2024
0

Pope Francis addressed G7 leaders on his concerns regarding artificial intelligence, saying that 'the onus is on politics to create...

edit post
Charlie Angus on leaving politics, NDP’s future | Front Burner

Charlie Angus on leaving politics, NDP’s future | Front Burner

by INBV News
April 15, 2024
0

Outspoken longtime NDP MP Charlie Angus is quitting politics. We speak about his profession, the longer term of his party,...

edit post
Ukraine ought to be included within the Polish missile strike probe: Poroshenko

Ukraine ought to be included within the Polish missile strike probe: Poroshenko

by INBV News
April 4, 2024
0

Former president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko joins Power & Politics to debate the fallout from the deadly missile strike on...

edit post
Alberta premier calls carbon tax hike 'punitive' | Power & Politics

Alberta premier calls carbon tax hike 'punitive' | Power & Politics

by INBV News
April 2, 2024
0

Conservative premiers are urging MPs to stop the upcoming carbon tax hike. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith tells Power & Politics...

edit post
Political Pulse panel weighs in on long-awaited online harms laws

Political Pulse panel weighs in on long-awaited online harms laws

by INBV News
March 25, 2024
0

Power & Politics' panel of party insiders is here to unpack one other busy week in Canadian politics. »»» Subscribe...

Next Post
edit post
McCormick projected to flip House seat in Georgia

McCormick projected to flip House seat in Georgia

edit post
Cooler Noses May Be Key to Winter’s Spike in Colds

Cooler Noses May Be Key to Winter's Spike in Colds

CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Podcast
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Videos
  • Weather
  • World News

CATEGORY

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Podcast
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Videos
  • Weather
  • World News

SITE LINKS

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Disclaimer
  • DMCA

[mailpoet_form id=”1″]

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Disclaimer
  • DMCA

© 2022. All Right Reserved By Inbvnews.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Weather
  • World News
  • Videos
  • More
    • Podcasts
    • Reels
    • Live Video Stream

© 2022. All Right Reserved By Inbvnews.com

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist