Prominent left-wing users on social media cited recent photos of former President Donald Trump to prove that an assassination attempt against him didn't happen.
Since the attempted assassination of Trump more than two weeks ago, conspiracy theories have exploded online among liberals.
The photos, taken by press photographers over the past several days, only amplified those conspiratorial claims.
"Donald Trump doesn't want you to see this," X user David Leavitt wrote of one photo from the Associated Press (AP). "Do not share this picture of his ear."
Such posts racked up millions of views on X, prompting further speculation about Trump's ear.
"Trump speaking at Bitcoin Conference 7/27/24," another added. "His ear is miraculously healed in only 14 days after 'being grazed with a bullet.' Everyone should be questioning this."
Although already widely discussed, the issue blew up after Pete Souza, the chief White House photographer for former President Barack Obama, weighed in on the conspiracy theory.
In a post on Saturday, Souza insinuated that a bullet did not strike Trump, and encouraged his followers to "look closely at his ear" in a photo from the AP.
Souza's comments came just one day after the FBI clarified that it believed a bullet hit Trump.
Yet not long after making the post, Souza's account disappeared. The issue led left-wing users to double down by suggesting that X owner Elon Musk deleted Souza's account in order to help Trump.
"Presidential photographer Pete Souza posted this new AP photo of Trump's uninjured ear, so Elon kicked him off Twitter," one user wrote. "In case you're wondering how the free speech is going."
As noted by Mediate, however, Souza instead deleted his account. Still, left-wing Twitter users haven't let go of their belief that a cover-up is underway.
Some left-wing users have pushed back, though, and are calling out many of the conspiracy theories circulating online. Journalist Yashar Ali, among others, called out the claim about Souza.
"Just incredible… Resistance Twitter has gone from calling anyone who said Biden should drop out a fascist supporter and racist to now tweeting #FreePeteSouza which implies that Pete’s account was suspended," Ali wrote. "His account wasn’t suspended, he deactivated his account."
As for Trump's ear, "a detailed analysis of bullet trajectories, footage, photos and audio by the New York Times strongly suggests Mr. Trump was grazed by the first of eight bullets fired by the gunman," a finding that backs up those also given by the FBI.
Others online also argued that the photos did in fact show damage to Trump's ear, noting a divot on the helix.
As is the case with most conspiracy theories, though, it appears unlikely that many of Trump's detractors will let go. While it is certainly likely that Trump has utilized the assassination attempt to his political advantage, it nevertheless took place.
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