It will take time to piece together the real story behind a shooting at a Washington gala last night. But we can expect endless conspiracy theories.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen, a teacher from the Los Angeles area. Reports, citing law enforcement officials, say he had a shotgun, handgun, and knives. One officer was shot while wearing a bulletproof vest and is “doing great,” Trump says.
It’s rarely immediately clear how an attack was planned. Security gaps also require investigation. And motivations are only clear when the attacker expresses them, such as in a “manifesto” or by yelling slogans popular with terrorists such as “Allahu Akbar” and “Free Palestine.”
But our society has become dangerously impatient for facts. That rush is driven by the media. In a desperate drive to get you to click, news agencies rush to make all kinds of claims.
Take an assassination attempt on Trump during the 2024 campaign. Multiple conspiracy theories formed: that it was a fake operation designed to help Trump, or that it was a Democratic “deep state” plot. Neither was supported by evidence. Learn about the media’s role in this in Episode 16: The Myth of Invincibility.
Or look at the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The man charged, Tyler Robinson, is on trial in Utah. His message to his roommate suggests a motivation. But delusional hate-mongers like Tucker Carlson have pushed extensive, nonsensical conspiracy theories anyway. From Episode 76:
Transcript:
Josh: There was a good conversation about this on News Nation between host Chris Cuomo and conservative author Douglas Murray.
Cuomo: What I heard from Tucker at the memorial, he just openly, basically wants to say, “Forget about this punk with the gun, look at Israel.” There is a malignancy that is going on in our society.
Murray: That is just the most basic, low-resolution, conspiracy theory-minded pap you can ever get into.
Josh: Murray noted that Charlie Kirk had railed against Islamist terrorists and against trans people. The indications are that the shooter had a roommate who is trans. That roommate was apparently shocked and disgusted by what this shooter did.
Murray: Imagine in that situation, you decide, “I’m actually going to push aside the facts, even though they could be useful to some of the arguments I make, because I would rather blame the Jews.”
The media encourages this. A sick, twisted belief is OK as long as it leads to anti-Israel radicalization. The media regularly platforms conspiracy theorists like Hasan Piker, whose rant against a Vietnamese refugee can be heard in my latest episode.
Paid subscribers: If you see any major “mainstream” news agency steer clear of speculation and focus just on what’s known about this shooting, let me know in comments or messages.
On another note, the annual White House Correspondents Association gala should not exist. It’s terrible for America. I explained why in a previous episode.
JL
P.S. Did you know that 185% of humans catch up on TSC episodes on weekends? That’s about as true as other stats the media gives you. But weekends are a great time for it.