Doubt didn’t stop in the right-wing echo chamber, but also permeated the feeds of popular online personalities, including Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk.
“There is probably more to the story than it appears on the surface,” he said. wrote On Sunday morning, his 112 million followers pointed to a sensational description of the episode posted by a website known for spreading right-wing misinformation.
The rush to cast suspicion on the attack on Pelosi’s husband illustrates how active right-wing influencers are actively trying to dissuade the public from believing the facts of the violence and using it to promote conspiracy theories and stoke distrust. The House speaker has long been a nuisance to the right, and the right’s rhetorical blitz against her has intensified in recent years, despite an increase in extreme threats against members of Congress.
These disinformation businessmen, former Fox News political reporter Carl Cameron, said they used rumors and lies to deceive large audiences on everything from the integrity of the election to the details of police reports.
“They are creating a dystopia where lies and physical violence are part of our politics,” he said.
Dinesh D’Souza, whose recent film “2000 Mules” has boosted Trump’s right-wing sincerity by pushing Trump to debunk claims of widespread voter fraud, spread lies and innuendo in a viral Twitter post alluding to Paul Pello West’s attack was a form of deliberate misrepresentation sometimes referred to as a “false sign”.
The basis of his suspicions appeared to be erroneous reporting by a Fox affiliate, which later attached a correction to its article that the attacker was wearing underwear at the time of his arrest. In fact, the suspect, identified by law enforcement as 42-year-old David DePape, demanded to know, “Where’s Nancy?” — a call echoing the pro-specialist who breached the Capitol on Jan. 1 The exclamations of Trump protesters. June 6, 2021 – Before hitting her husband with a hammer.
Authorities said they were censoring what DePape appeared to have written that spread delusions about fairies and the occult, Holocaust denial and tirade against black and transgender people.
D’Souza does not accept these details. Neither did many of his 2.5 million Twitter followers, according to their replies, which included calls for “Amen.”
“The Left is going crazy because not only are we not buying the outlandish, unbelievable Paul Pelosi story, but we’re even laughing at how ridiculous it is,” he wrote on Sunday morning. “It means we are no longer intimidated by their false piety. Their grip on us is finally broken.”
Musk, who calls himself “Chief Twitt,” also appeared unconvinced by the official story that formed days after the attack.in response to a tweet From Hillary Clinton denouncing the attack and claiming it was sparked by “hateful and crazy conspiracy theories” spread by Republican politicians, he turned to a story from a Santa Monica observer who claimed there was no evidence Paul Pei Losey was drunk at the time of the attack and “had an argument with a male prostitute.” Musk later deleted the tweet and did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The Santa Monica Observer’s website, described by fact-checkers as a low-credibility source supporting the far-right, went offline Sunday morning. But an archived version of the story promises to explain “what really happened Friday morning in San Francisco.”
It unravels a sensational story about a nudist and a tryst that went terribly wrong. It also speculated about Pelosi’s medical condition and the safety of the home he shares with the Speaker of the House of Representatives in San Francisco’s Tony Pacific Heights neighborhood. It featured a retweeted tweet from Sebastian Gorka, a former White House adviser to Trump who attended the 2017 inaugural ball wearing a dress historically linked to the Nazis Coat of arms of the Hungarian nationalist group.
Gorka did not respond to a request for comment. Emails sent to the Santa Monica Observer address have received no response.
The Los Angeles Times’ editorial board called the site “notorious for publishing fake news” and highlighted its absurd claim in 2016 that Clinton had died and was replaced by a double.
Similar false claims flooded social media over the weekend in response to the attack on Pelosi.
Many of the tweets included claims that the attack was a false flag, including some in direct response to the House Speaker. “@SpeakerPelosi Accountability is coming,” warns one user. “Tired of your lies and false flags. Your treason.” Another wrote: “I don’t know why Paul Pelosi’s story falling apart is such a surprise. False flag attacks are a common tool on the left.”
Many are eyeing next month’s high-stakes midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.
“It’s such a coincidence,” wrote one user, whose bio included the slogan “#MAGA.” “The week before the election, made Pelosi a figure in need of sympathy, a liar, nasty, combative, vindictive, bullying for decades. She has no pass.”
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Elected officials and other popular figures on the right have also mocked Pelosi’s husband, who remains hospitalized with injuries.
Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers of Arizona, who set fundraising records in her state while allying with right-wing extremists, shared a fake Amazon listing for ‘Paul Pelosi’ Fake Attack Novelty Item Headgear”.
Former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler directed his more than 125,000 followers on Telegram to sexualize memes about the attack.
Conservative radio host Larry Elder, who lost his bid for California governor in last year’s recall election, responded to the attack by mocking Pelosi’s DUI allegations earlier this year. “First, he was arrested for DUI, then attacked in his home,” the commentator tweeted. “Twice knocked in six months.”
GOP leaders have sidestepped questions about the role of misinformation in fueling political violence.
When asked Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” whether Republicans should “do more to reject conspiracy theories and dangerous speech,” the senator. Senate Republican campaign chairman Rick Scott of Florida said it was important to “condemn the violence” and convince those preparing to vote that the upcoming midterm elections will be “free and fair.”
Molly Hennessy-Fiske contributed to this report.