LOS ANGELES — Donald Trump now joins the list of U.S. presidents and presidential candidates who have survived assassination attempts. However, this is the first one that has happened in the social media era. 

The news of the attempted assassination toward former President Donald Trump instantly flooded social feeds as people looked for answers to what happened.

Among those posts were memes, personal opinions and several conspiracy theories. Political Science Professor at California State University, Stephen Stambough, says that is not surprising given the political discourse and polarization found on social media.

Comparing it to past attempts and conspiracy theories, Stambough says this new platform becomes an issue to reducing misinformation. 

“Conspiracy theories have always been there, but there’s always been a counterweight of experts and evidence to show. It doesn’t convince everybody, but it convinces a lot and it changes the conversation. Now, it’s difficult in a social media environment to change that conversation,” said Stambough.