Like a match on a tinder-dry woodpile,the erroneous story fed the unfounded speculation and conspiracy theories that have been swirling around the incident.
Might an all-party tour to Taipei offend Beijing? No doubt it would,but that’s no reason to shrink from a proud demonstration of Australia’s liberal democratic values.
What would it take for spirit of contrarianism and rebellion - so prevalent in the US today - to aim,not simply at transgression,but at the whole of truth?
The former US president says attacks will continue until elected officials from all sides condemn the extremism and conspiracy theories fuelling the problem.
Politicians must stop playing partisan games and restore faith in democracy by quickly accepting the results of free and fair elections.
The gruesome attack on the husband of the House speaker is being mocked and dismissed in conservative,far-right social media,even among some Republicans leaders.
Elon Musk’s now-deleted post comes days after his purchase of Twitter fuelled concerns that the social media platform would no longer seek to limit misinformation.
The man who clubbed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in the head with a hammer faces attempted murder charges.
The attack on the 82-year-old husband of Nancy Pelosi is just the latest atrocity in a divided nation overrun by bad spirits.
The intruder allegedly shouted “where is Nancy,where is Nancy?” before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer.
The 42-year-old suspect in the attack appeared to be swimming in the cocktail of conspiracy theory and grievance that has marked US politics in the era of Donald Trump.