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A quarter of Americans and 34% of Democrats believe the WHCD shooting was staged: NewsGuard/YouGov
The NewsGuard/YouGov survey found 32% were unsure and 45% said the shooting was real, underscoring a sharp partisan split.
- Nearly 30 percent of Americans believe at least one assassination attempt against President Donald Trump was staged, according to a YouGov poll of 1,000 adults conducted for NewsGuard from April 28 to May 4.
- Conspiracy theories alleging staged shootings have circulated since the July 2024 Pennsylvania rally, when social media users claimed Trump faked the incident with a 'blood pill,' intensifying after the April 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner attack.
- Democrats proved significantly more skeptical than Republicans across incidents: 34 percent versus 13 percent for the April dinner, while the Butler shooting showed a 42 percent to 7 percent gap. Younger Americans aged 18 to 29 were far more doubtful than those 65 and older.
- NewsGuard editor Sofia Rubinson told The Washington Post the results show people across the political spectrum distrust the Trump administration and press. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle dismissed the findings, stating 'Anyone who thinks President Trump staged his own assassination attempts is a complete moron.'
- Only 38 percent of Americans believe all three assassination attempts were authentic despite no evidence supporting staged claims, prompting experts including author Steven Brill to warn the poll reflects broader erosion of shared factual consensus.
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Bad times for reality in the United States. Approximately one in four Americans believes that the shooting that took place on April 25 at the Hilton Hotel in Washington during the White House Correspondents Dinner, a gala that Donald Trump presided over, was a montage. This is how it follows from a survey published this Monday by NewsGuard, a company dedicated to verifying news published on the Internet, along with the demoscopic firm YouGov.
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources34
Leaning Left11Leaning Right6Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution42% Left
Bias Distribution
- 42% of the sources lean Left
42% Left
L 42%
C 35%
R 23%
Factuality
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