Conspiracy Theorists Aren’t Even Bothering With Biden’s Debate Performance

Over the past 18 months, Elon Musk’s X has go a hive of disinformation, peculiarly astir breaking quality events, specified arsenic the Gaza conflict and the Baltimore span collapse. But aft Thursday’s presidential debate betwixt President Joe Biden and erstwhile president Donald Trump, the expected torrent of disinformation and conspiracies flooding the platform ne'er materialized.

Instead of sharing conspiracies astir the debate, Trump conscionable posted aggregate undoctored clips of Biden’s responses to his level Truth Social.

“WOW—WHAT IS HE SAYING?!” 1 station read, featuring a clip of Biden making a nonsensical remark astir Medicare.

Another montage video of Biden’s worst statement moments shared by Trump connected Truth Social has subsequently been shared wide connected different platforms including X, Facebook, and Telegram, racking up millions of views.

In what was seen arsenic a captious accidental to reassure his supporters of his fittingness to service a 2nd word arsenic president, Biden’s statement quality was wide criticized by lawmakers, governmental pundits, and viewers from crossed the governmental spectrum for lacking vigor and coherence. Biden’s run squad tried to explicate distant the president’s show by claiming helium had a cold, and adjacent vice president Kamala Harris said that Biden had a “slow start.” And though Trump pushed conspiracies and disinformation during the statement astir issues similar immigration, abortion, January 6, astir of which went unchallenged, Biden’s quality became the astir discussed item of the evening.

On X, pro-Trump accounts who are typically blessed to stock adjacent the wildest conspiracies astir Biden, were alternatively gleefully sharing unedited clips of Biden from the statement stage.

Many Trump supporters besides slammed media outlets for their coverage of alleged inexpensive fakes successful the pb up to the debate, referring to video clips shared online that person been deceptively edited to marque Biden look old, fragile, and senile.

“Hey @PressSec was the full statement contiguous a “cheap fake” video? Need your analysis. Thanks,” right-wing vigor big Clay Travis posted connected X aft the debate. “Is the Biden squad going to assertion this full statement is simply a inexpensive fake?” governmental commentator Krystal Ball added.

As good arsenic sharing clips from the debate, Trump supporters online were besides wide sharing clips from left-leaning media outlets similar CNN and MSNBC wherever pundits described “panic” amongst the Democrats they were speaking to pursuing Biden’s performance.

Even connected much fringe corners of the internet, including pro-Trump connection boards and QAnon channels connected Telegram, the bulk of the posts being shared were of Biden’s responses, juxtaposed alongside Trump’s grimaces.

“The online assemblage has condensed the full statement into a fewer moments wherever Biden appears to mumble awkwardly, suffer his bid of thought, oregon look blankly astatine Trump successful split-screen shots,” Tauhid Zaman, a prof astatine Yale School of Management professor, tells WIRED. “What’s astonishing is the lack of immoderate viral clips favoring Biden. Instead, Democratic societal media users are criticizing Biden’s statement show and discussing imaginable replacements.”