Did Matt Fuller's Tweet Incite Tensions?
January 19, 2021 National File
Huffington Post congressional reporter Matt Fuller wrote a viral tweet during the U.S. Capitol protest in which he falsely accused President Donald Trump’s supporters of firing guns into the body of the United States Congress. The tweet remained live for many hours after Fuller’s narrative was debunked. By that time, Fuller had been retweeted by top political figures. Will the mainstream media face scrutiny for pushing disinformation during a time of crisis? Fuller currently remains employed with the Huffington Post.
“They’re shooting into the chamber,” Fuller tweeted during the Capitol protest on January 6. Low-rated MSNBC host Chris Hayes drew attention to the false narrative by jumping in to exclaim in reply, “shooting what!?!?!?!”
The construction of Fuller’s sentence made clear that he was accusing protesters of shooting into the chamber. In actuality, no protesters fired guns in the protest. Capitol Police shot unarmed protester and Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt in the neck and killed her, but that shooting did not take place in the Chamber. The photo Fuller shared showed law enforcement pointing guns but obviously no evidence of protesters firing shots.
Other journalists and media figures added to the hysteria in real time, based on Fuller’s tweet.
Fuller deleted the tweet but it is now archived for posterity. The tweet remained live after Fuller’s narrative was debunked, and was still live the next day.
Should Fuller face condemnation for his role in heightening tensions during the Capitol riot? Fuller’s Fake News — which he clearly posted with no regard whatsoever for the truth — helped dictate the media’s narrative that protesters were responsible for unspeakable violence, when in actuality the only shot fired came from a Capitol Police officer. Make no mistake: Fuller’s statement that “They’re shooting into the chamber” placed false blame on protesters outside the chamber. His message, when amplified by people in D.C. politics and media, was irresponsible at best.
The mainstream media is an arm of the crooked political establishment in Washington, D.C. Their sinister subversive narratives drive the globalist totalitarian takeover of the United States of America. The political class response to the Capitol protest signals acceleration on the part of the globalist authoritarians. Clearly, the Washington scribe media is happy to play their part.