Baseless claims that the incident was staged swirled almost immediately. By the next day, the idea had spread across social media. Even Trump noted the speed.

NBC News | April 27, 2026

Story originated and pitched by Gibran Caroline Boyce and co-written for NBC News digital, helping position the network among the very first to report on how misinformation spread at scale in real time. The story was picked up as a news package across multiple NBC News broadcast shows and platforms, with over 232,000 views on social media alone.

Reporter: Julie Tsirkin