CNN —
If there was a telling recent moment when it comes to how ugly our political discourse has become, it might well have been the brutal 2022 hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul.
Soon after the attack on the then-82-year-old man, misinformation flowed about Paul Pelosi and the attacker, David DePape. But it wasn’t just right-wing influencers leading the charge; it was also the likes of then-former President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and a coterie of prominent Republicans.
These theories generally held or winked at the idea that the attack was a “false flag,” and/or that Paul Pelosi had been engaged in a gay lover’s quarrel – even as he was recovering from nearly being killed.
These claims were baseless and highly suspect at the time, and they were ultimately disproven by audio and video evidence. Musk even offered a brief apology.
But that episode did nothing to dissuade some observers from doing it again. And again.
The lure of quickly politicizing a violent attack with misinformation and speculation has proven more tempting than being circumspect and sensitive about a tragedy.
Some on the modern right apparently can’t allow that someone on their side could be responsible for such violence, so they’ve again leapt to link the attacker to the other side with innuendo and falsehoods.
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