'I hate Trump, she likes him - we both think he staged assassination attempts'

Wild Mother - the online alias of a pistillate called Desirée - lives successful the mountains of Colorado, wherever she posts videos to 80,000 followers astir holistic wellness and bringing up her small girl. She wants Donald Trump to triumph the statesmanlike election.

About 70 miles northbound successful the suburbs of Denver is Camille, a passionate protagonist of radical and sex equality who lives with a gaggle of rescue dogs and has voted Democrat for the past 15 years.

The 2 women are poles isolated politically - but they some judge assassination attempts against Mr Trump were staged.

Their views connected the shooting successful July and the apparent foiled crippled earlier this month were shaped by antithetic societal media posts pushed to their feeds, they some say.

I travelled to Colorado - which became a hotbed of conspiracy theories astir the 2020 predetermination being stolen - for the BBC Radio 4 podcast Why Do You Hate Me? USA. I wanted to recognize wherefore these evidence-free staged assassination theories seemed to person dispersed truthful acold crossed the governmental spectrum and the consequences for radical similar Camille and Wild Mother.

Dozens of evidence-free posts I recovered suggesting some incidents were staged person racked up much than 30 cardinal views connected X. Some of these posts came from anti-Trump accounts that did not look to person a way grounds of sharing theories similar this, portion a smaller stock were posted by immoderate of the erstwhile president’s supporters.

For Democrat Camille, Trump’s squad orchestrated this to boost his chances of winning the election.

Wild Mother - who already follows QAnon, the unfounded conspiracy mentation which claims Donald Trump is progressive successful a concealed warfare against an elite cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles - wants to judge Trump’s ain squad staged the onslaught successful bid to framework his expected enemies successful the "Deep State".

The Deep State is claimed to beryllium a shadowy conjugation of information and quality services looking to thwart definite politicians.

There is nary grounds to enactment either of the women’s theories.

The thought that quality events person been staged to manipulate the nationalist is simply a classical trope successful the conspiracy mentation playbook. Wild Mother says she is nary alien to this alternate mode of thinking.

Camille, however, says this is the archetypal clip she has ever utilized the connection "staged" astir an lawsuit successful the quality similar this. She ever believed Covid-19 was existent and she was highly opposed to mendacious claims the 2020 predetermination had been rigged.

But connected 13 July this year, erstwhile she was sitting successful beforehand of her TV astatine location watching unrecorded arsenic Donald Trump was changeable astatine a run rally successful Pennsylvania, she says she instantly thought: "Oh, that's staged."

The mode Donald Trump was capable to airs for a photograph and rise his fist successful the aerial was what ignited Camille’s suspicions.

She had questions astir however the US Secret Service allowed the shooting to hap successful the archetypal place. The manager of the work has since resigned implicit failings that day.

The shooter was a 20-year-old called Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service snipers. His motives stay chartless – which near galore questions wide open. And truthful Camille’s thoughts continued to spiral.

Already sceptical that thing did not adhd up, Camille turned to X for much answers. In the years earlier the shooting, she had already started spending much and much clip connected the societal media site, formerly known arsenic Twitter. She had taken an involvement successful pro-Democrat anti-Trump accounts and followed immoderate of them.

"I would admit to you that I walk excessively overmuch clip connected societal media now, and it, successful my mind, is benignant of a problem," she tells me.

Recent changes to however X’s "For You" provender works meant she started seeing much posts from accounts she does not follow, but that pushed ideas successful enactment with her governmental views. Lots of these accounts had besides purchased bluish ticks connected the site, which springiness their posts much prominence.

So erstwhile the archetypal assassination effort happened, unfounded conspiracy theories suggesting it had been staged were not lone recommended straight to her provender - but were each the much convincing arsenic they came from different profiles with the aforesaid governmental views she holds astir Donald Trump.

Most of the societal media companies accidental they person guidelines to support users and trim harmful content. X did not respond to the BBC's petition for comment.

Wild Mother had besides turned to societal media to find her people - having been called "a weirdo, an alien, a diamond successful the rough" offline - and has built a pursuing of thousands.

As we basal chatting successful a waterfall successful the tiny municipality she calls home, she explains however she began sharing her views connected earthy medicine and motherhood successful 2021.

Then she started posting unproven theories astir what was happening down the headlines - specified arsenic connected the Princess of Wales' wellness oregon the Baltimore span illness earlier this twelvemonth - and saw her views and likes rack up.

She says she has been immersed successful what she calls this "alternative thought astir reality" from a young property and believes we person been lied to astir what truly happened erstwhile John F Kennedy was assassinated successful the 1960s, erstwhile 9/11 happened successful 2001, and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She started to similar Trump erstwhile she began spending much clip online during the pandemic and became exposed to the QAnon movement, which she believes could beryllium linking each these events. As a mum, she was particularly acrophobic astir allegations astir kid maltreatment and trafficking its supporters often speech about.

"I would ne'er successful my beingness adjacent ideate immoderate of the worldly that I've had to perceive is going connected close now, nether our noses. And it blows my mind. We person to beryllium capable to support our astir innocent," Wild Mother says.

QAnon supporters were among the assemblage that stormed the US Capitol gathering connected 6 January, 2021, successful a convulsive protestation against Joe Biden's predetermination victory. Now Wild Mother wants to judge the thought she has seen connected societal media that they mightiness person been progressive someway successful staging Trump's shooting successful July - successful bid to framework the Deep State.

But Wild Mother says, according to the posts she has seen online, "good guys successful the military", known arsenic White Hats, had been doing covert operations to antagonistic the Deep State. And 1 mentation that popped up connected her provender claimed the July assassination effort was staged by them to amusement the nationalist the menace Trump is under.

Wild Mother doesn't assertion to cognize for definite if the QAnon mentation is existent - but she does cognize what she wants to believe.

"I deliberation our state needs rescuing from our authorities close now. It's a horrible mess. A horrible mess," she says.

Once Wild Mother started to question whether a quality lawsuit could person been staged, it seemed arsenic though immoderate of them could be.

"It's similar going to a magic amusement arsenic a kid and past that you find retired for the archetypal clip that the magician is pulling 1 implicit connected you. Now, each clip you spell to a magic show, you cognize what they're doing," she tells me.

As some Camille and Wild Mother came to trust much connected societal media, the beliefs they picked up contributed to a fracturing of their relationships successful the existent world.

Camille finds it hard to person conversations with immoderate of her adjacent household who enactment Trump, portion Wild Mother says it played a portion successful her separating from her present ex-husband, who she says powerfully opposed conspiracy theories.

"Does it marque it difficult? Yes. Did it make a wedge? Was it perchance 1 of the things that ended my marriage? Maybe," Wild Mother says.

Meanwhile, Camille besides recovered herself embroiled successful arguments connected X which near her with her defender up successful the existent world, too. "It's a small scary due to the fact that I consciousness similar each clip I permission the house, it's a imaginable for conflict," she says.

This ambiance of suspicion and struggle doesn’t conscionable person consequences for these women’s idiosyncratic lives - but for nine too.

Officials, predetermination workers - and politicians astir the USA person recovered themselves taxable to hatred and threats arsenic a effect of this wider content that astir thing and everything - including elections - is being rigged and staged.

For Wild Mother, radical are "walking a truly good line" betwixt seeking justness and harmful behaviour.

"It's not penning your senators and calling them racist names. But if you were idiosyncratic who genuinely did your probe and recovered that determination was an issue, bash I hold that you should usage your voice? Absolutely," she says.

"I deliberation that we each person ways of doing that. For them, it conscionable truthful happens to beryllium harassing people."

While Wild Mother and Camille accidental they person ne'er threatened anyone themselves - and onslaught maine arsenic empathetic, benignant radical - the mistrust fostered successful portion by their societal media feeds has eroded their religion successful nine and its institutions.

Camille, who was truthful opposed conspiracy theories, present finds herself utilizing the connection of them.

She appears to beryllium 1 of galore recruited into this mode of reasoning - by July’s assassination effort and the societal media algorithms drafting radical deeper into an online satellite detached from reality.