The recent invention of āMark Violets,ā a fake attacker of Donald Trump, is a clear example of how verified right-wing accounts can distort reality and deceive the public.
The Origin of the Myth
The rumor began to spread on social media through verified right-wing accounts. These accounts created and disseminated the narrative that āMark Violetsā had attempted to attack former President Trump. However, subsequent investigations revealed that no such person was linked to an attack.
Disinformation Strategies
Verified accounts used several strategies to lend credibility to the story:
- Coordinated Posts: Multiple verified accounts shared the same story simultaneously, creating an illusion of truth.
- Image Manipulation: Images and videos were edited to include āMark Violetsā in false contexts.
- False Testimonies: Fabricated quotes and testimonies from nonexistent witnesses confirmed the fake assault.
Impact on Public Opinion
The massive and coordinated dissemination of this information had a significant impact. Many followers of these accounts believed the story without question, leading to a wave of outrage and support for Trump, based on a nonexistent attack. This case demonstrates how disinformation can further polarize an already divided society.
How the Operation Worked
In a coordinated effort, these accounts, which have in common spreading far-right ideas, conspiracy theories, and anti-left sentiments, disseminated the fake identity of Mark Violets, supported by accounts that appear to be bots to amplify their disinformation. In the process, they used the identity of the Italian YouTuber Marco Violi to lend credibility and created an antifascist character to blame the left for the attack.
Although this has been documented in various forums and accounts, we will recount what the data tells us. For this, we used our Body Guard software, which identifies disinformation in real time.
On Saturday afternoon, while the world was in shock upon learning that former President Donald Trump was a victim of an attack in Pennsylvania, our program showed us enormous anomalous activity from inauthentic behavior accounts (in yellow) and coordinated accounts, something typical of trolls (in red).
Within minutes, in red and yellow, in English and Spanish, versions began to emerge regarding the attacker being Mark Violets:
And immediately, graphically, disinformation networks began to be created, both coordinated and inauthentic. What you see below are the networks of accounts that appear to be bots and those that act as trolls:
Although much of it was SPAM attempting to influence the conversation, it is in the inauthentic network where a series of X accounts were spreading disinformation that it was Mikel Violets, widely spreading photos of the Italian YouTuber:
In the list of amplified accounts, we can find the main accounts and also the BBC journalist @shayian86, who reported this strange activity. Both Shayan Sardarizadeh and journalist RubƩn SƔnchez highlighted the event:
Major blue-tick accounts are falsely claiming that "Antifa extremist Mark Violets" was the shooter at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania today, who earlier revealed his plan in a YouTube video.
The video shows Italian football fan Marco Violi, who has nothing to do with the shooting. pic.twitter.com/bh6YIbWQLI
ā Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) July 14, 2024
La ultraderecha difunde el bulo de que el autor del intento de asesinato de Trump se llamaba Mark Violets y pertenecĆa alĀ movimiento Antifa.
En realidad, su nombre era Thomas Matthew Crooks, un amante de las armas que estaba registrado como votante del Partido Republicano.
ā RubĆ©n SĆ”nchez (@RubenSanchezTW) July 14, 2024
In the following list of amplified narratives, you can see it in detail:
Top mentions in Inauthentic (unsplit data):
- Narrative:Ā RubenSanchezTW (Index 1)
RT @RubenSanchezTW: The far-right spreads the hoax that the author of the attempted murder of Trump was named Mark Violets and belongedā¦ - Narrative:Ā ElTrumpista (Index 1)
RT @ElTrumpista: šØ The shooter who tried to kill Trump is Mark Violets. The individual is a self-proclaimed communist and part of āAntifā¦ - Narrative:Ā ojocolombia2026 (Index 1)
RT @ojocolombia2026: šØ The shooter who tried to kill Trump is Mark Violets. The individual proclaimed himself a PROGRESSIVE LEFTISTā¦ - Narrative:Ā Shayan86 (Index 1)
RT @Shayan86: Major blue-tick accounts are falsely claiming that āAntifa extremist Mark Violetsā was the shooter at a Trump rally in Pennsyā¦ - Narrative:Ā TumultoBR (Index 1)
RT @TumultoBR: Mark Violets, left-wing member of Antifa ā the Trump shooter. https://t.co/TcIDJ48Q03 - Narrative:Ā Mompreneur_of_3 (Index 1)
RT @Mompreneur_of_3: The buzzards have come home to roost! Remember Trump mocked Nancy Pelosiās 82-year-old husband for being attacked withā¦ - Narrative:Ā TRobinsonNewEra (Index 1)
RT @TRobinsonNewEra: Reports the Trump shooter identified as Mark Violets, a well-known antifa extremist. He reportedly uploaded a videoā¦ - Narrative:Ā RealAlexJones (Index 1)
RT @RealAlexJones: The World Now Needs To Pray For President Trump. https://t.co/tJZqm8bcNL - Narrative:Ā narendramodi (Index 1)
RT @narendramodi: Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident. Violence has nā¦ - Narrative:Ā thelifeofcarro (Index 1)
RT @thelifeofcarro: āE quindi Moussolinho ha fatto un tweet in inglese in cui diceva che Marco Violi era lāattentatore di Trump, e tutte leā¦ - Narrative:Ā </a >MattWallace888 (Index 1)
RT @MattWallace888: šØBREAKING: VIDEO SURFACES OF TRUMP SHOOTER THOMAS MATTHEW CROOKS FROM BEFORE THE SHOOTING ā ļø Save this to your phone qā¦ - Narrative:Ā dom_lucre (Index 1)
RT @dom_lucre: š„šØBREAKING NEWS: Butler Police identified Donald Trump shooter as Antifa member Mark Violets. https://t.co/q0M9fI2YNF - Narrative:Ā ImMeme0 (Index 1)
RT @ImMeme0: šØ BREAKING: Butler Police Department confirms the arrest of Mark Violets, identified as the Trump shooter and a known antifa eā¦ - Narrative:Ā rebew_lexa (Index 1)
RT @rebew_lexa: BREAKING: šŗš² Der #Trump-SchĆ¼tze ist als AntiFa-Extremist Mark Violets identifiziert worden. Er ist jetzt tot https://t.co/ā¦
Trump - Narrative:Ā elonmusk (Index 1)
RT @elonmusk: I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery https://t.co/ZdxkF63EqF - Narrative:Ā CMDRVALTHOR (Index 1)
RT @CMDRVALTHOR: RMN JUDY NOTE: On Sat. evening 13 July 2024 a bullet grazed Donald Trumpās right ear at a rally in Penn. One bystander waā¦ - Narrative:Ā eduardomenoni (Index 1)
RT @eduardomenoni: šØ| ĆLTIMA HORA: Esta es la identidad del francotirador abatido por la policĆa que atentĆ³ contra Donald Trump, su nombreā¦ - Narrative:Ā WarClandestine (Index 1)
RT @WarClandestine: Trump just won the election. I already made this Trump hype video to āMany Menā by 50 Cent. Now it hits even harder.ā¦ - Narrative:Ā charliekirk11 (Index 1)
RT @charliekirk11: Another eyewitness describes seeing the shooter on top of the buildings just outside the Trump rally, going from one toā¦ - Narrative:Ā EricTrump (Index 1)
RT @EricTrump: This is the fighter America needs! https://t.co/77xES5kBRO - Narrative:Ā ByDebrey (Index 1)
RT @ByDebrey: Mark Violets. The shooter who tried to kill #Trump is a COMMUNIST. The individual is a self-proclaimed communist and part ofā¦
Trump - Narrative:Ā CollinRugg (Index 1)
RT @CollinRugg: BREAKING: Thomas Matthew Crooks IDād as the suspect who shot at Donald Trump at his PA rally. Crooks was 20-years-old fromā¦ - Narrative:Ā NewsLiberdade (Index 1)
RT @NewsLiberdade: šØURGENTE ā Elon Musk diz que o chefe do serviƧo secreto de Trump precisa ser demitido! āO chefe do ServiƧo Secreto e oā¦ - Narrative:Ā wendyp4545 (Index 1)
RT @wendyp4545: The US House of Representatives are interfering in the 2024 elections helping Joe Biden against President Trump and the lawā¦
These are verified accounts spreading an anti-left, anti-globalist discourse and actively promoting conspiracy theories. Some of these messages have already been deleted. Who is behind this international network?
The creation of āMark Violetsā is not just an anecdote about disinformation; it is a warning about the power and responsibility that sharing information entails in the digital age. Every social media user should be aware of the truthfulness of what they share, as the spread of fake news can have serious and lasting consequences.