Ashli Babbitt, a President Donald Trump supporter, was identified by US Capitol Police as one of the five people who died after a mob stormed …
Ashli Babbitt, a President Donald Trump supporter, was identified by US Capitol Police as one of the five people who died after a mob stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday. It didn’t take long, though, for conspiracy theorists to falsely claim the 35-year-old Air Force veteran was actually alive and well. On Parler, Facebook, Twitter and other sites, posts and videos suggested Babbitt’s shooting was a “false flag.” Some social media users shared a link to a QAnon-affiliated video of the shooting that racked up more than 371,000 views. Conspiracy theorists slowed down the speed of the video to sow doubt about whether Babbitt was shot. (QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory that falsely claims there’s a “deep state” plot against Trump and his supporters.) “You have been PLAYED. Chalk one more for the DeepState. Sheeple will still believe whatever they are told,” the captions in the video read. “In this Slowed Down and Stop Motion video you will witness with your own eyes the Capital Police Officer swings his gun in a different direction before firing.” The baseless conspiracy theory about Babbitt’s death is just one of many new online lies that social media sites are battling after the riot on Capitol Hill that shocked the nation. The outbreak of violence has served as another wake up call for social networks, which have long been criticized by politicians, celebrities, civil rights activists and others for not doing enough to combat misinformation and hate speech. That includes unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud posted by Trump, some of which fueled the deadly riot while Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden as the next US president. On Friday, Twitter took the unprecedented step of permanently banning Trump from the social network. Facebook has locked Trump’s accounts on the main social network and its photo service indefinitely. But unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, as well as other conspiracy theories, continue to spring up.
