Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero/The Daily Beast/Getty
If we weren’t living in a post-truth world before last week, we definitely are now. The violent attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, coupled with the almost immediate invention of a conspiracy theory (boosted by billionaire Elon Musk, the brand new owner of Twitter), leaves no doubt that an alternate reality future is now our actual reality.
By now, you probably know the story. In response to a tweet by Hillary Clinton, Musk editorialized that “there is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story.” Those words were tweeted along with the link to a sketchy outlet alleging that “Paul Pelosi Was Drunk Again, And In a Dispute With a Male Prostitute Early Friday Morning.”
Musk has since deleted his tweet, but he has not issued a correction or an apology. Likewise, Donald Trump Jr. has advanced this narrative, using social media memes, in an even sleazier manner.