Push of Conspiracy Theories Target Biden

“A conspiracy theory that Joe Biden would wear an electronic device in his ear during the first presidential debate went wildly viral Tuesday in the hours before the debate, and the theory was later amplified by mainstream conservative news outlets that claimed without evidence that Biden had backed out of an ear ‘inspection,'” NBC News reports.

“The earpiece conspiracy theory is an example of what disinformation experts call ‘trading up the chain,’ where the sheer virality of a meme or conspiracy theory forces mainstream outlets to cover it, giving it a patina of credibility it otherwise would not have.”