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Misinformation and the Jan. 6 insurrection: When 'patriot warriors' were fed lies
PolitifactPolitiFact reviewed court filings, news reports and other information for approximately 430 defendants arrested through June 1 on charges related to the insurrection. Many defendants saw their actions as patriotic, and the day as a turning point in American history. They believed they were on the frontlines of a new revolution or civil war.
In about half of the cases, the court documents shed light on how misinformed beliefs influenced the defendants’ lives ahead of the riot.
There was a music teacher in Washington, D.C., who amplified false conspiracy theories on his podcast and YouTube channel — that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting never happened, that former NBA star Kobe Bryant is still alive, that Earth is flat.
There was a 54-year-old woman from Pennsylvania who suggested on Facebook that people who "start researching" will find that Democrats "have been trafficking children for years," and who one witness said lost customers at the restaurant where she worked over her views on politics.
And there was a 32-year-old man from Ventura, Calif., who said in videos posted on YouTube and other platforms long before Jan. 6 that the Smithsonian Institution is hiding evidence of giants, and that we may be living in a simulation.
In about half of the cases, the court documents shed light on how misinformed beliefs influenced the defendants’ lives ahead of the riot.
There was a music teacher in Washington, D.C., who amplified false conspiracy theories on his podcast and YouTube channel — that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting never happened, that former NBA star Kobe Bryant is still alive, that Earth is flat.
There was a 54-year-old woman from Pennsylvania who suggested on Facebook that people who "start researching" will find that Democrats "have been trafficking children for years," and who one witness said lost customers at the restaurant where she worked over her views on politics.
And there was a 32-year-old man from Ventura, Calif., who said in videos posted on YouTube and other platforms long before Jan. 6 that the Smithsonian Institution is hiding evidence of giants, and that we may be living in a simulation.