Conspiracy theorists accuse FBI of planting homemade bombs

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Welcome to the Monday edition of Internet Insider, where we deploy threads of disinformation online, one silly plot at a time …

A silly CONSPIRACY

Conspiracy theorists accuse FBI of planting homemade bombs

Conspiracy theorists accuse the FBI of planting homemade bombs in Washington, DC after the agency released new images of its prime suspect last week.

The suspect, who is accused of leaving two explosive devices on Capitol Hill the night before the Jan.6 riot at the Capitol, has so far eluded authorities.

In an update to the case, the FBI released new surveillance footage as well as a virtual map detailing the route taken by the suspect before homemade bombs were placed near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees. .

At one point, footage shows the suspect, whose face is covered in a mask, pulling out what appears to be a cell phone after briefly sitting on a bench.

The appearance of the alleged cell phone convinced conspiracy theorists that the homemade bombs were part of an elaborate false flag attack.

The claim appears to have been sparked in part by a tweet from Jack Posobiec, a right-wing expert who has shared conspiracy theories in the past. Posobiec suggested that the apparent presence of a cell phone should have guaranteed a positive identification of the suspect by the FBI.

The suicide bomber was on a cell phone at night and the FBI time stamped the video and still cannot identify him? Posobiec tweeted.

The followers of Posobiecs immediately took the innuendo of Posobiecs and ran with it.

They cannot release the identity as it is clearly an agent working for the FBI, said a response with nearly 600 likes.

But soon the conspiracy theory developed further.

The column continues below.

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It wasn’t long before the notoriously inaccurate blog, the Gateway Pundit, picked up the story as well.

Commentators on the article have also made far-fetched accusations despite the lack of evidence to support a conclusion about the suspect.

It might not even be the so-called bomber, one user wrote. It could be an innocent bystander they try to pin the whole incident on. This is the FIB!

The allegations are part of a larger narrative from supporters of former President Donald Trump, who attempted to blame the Jan.6 riot by claiming the FBI somehow orchestrated the whole event.

Ironically, Posobiecs’ tweet isn’t even his first about homemade bombs to spark widespread speculation online.

The far-right figure claimed on Twitter last year that 2 crates full of homemade bombs were discovered near the Korean War Memorial in DC

Like clockwork, this claim was also echoed and disseminated by the Gateway Pundit. The allegation turned out to be entirely false.

It remains unclear whether Posobiec fabricated the claim or received false information from one of the many alleged sources.

In fact, little is yet known about the bomb suspect or the alleged cell phone. Countless scenarios could explain why the presence of a cell phone might not be the silver bullet in identifying the suspect. For example: it could be a prepaid phone, bought in cash, which was thrown away afterwards.

Yet conspiracy theorists thrive most when information is scarce, allowing them to fill in the blanks to fit their worldview.

In a statement to the Daily Dot, the FBI confirmed that it was aware of the alleged cell phone in the video but was unable to provide details of its ongoing investigation.

The FBI claims to have “conducted more than 800 interviews, collected more than 23,000 video files and evaluated more than 300 tips related to this investigation” so far.

By Mikael Thalen, editor-in-chief

* First published: Sep 13, 2021, 11:28 a.m. CDT

Mikaël Thalen

Mikael Thalen is a Seattle-based tech and security reporter covering social media, data breaches, hackers, and more.

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