2024-08-25 10:13:23
On August 9, US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plane encountered… Mechanical issuesA spokesperson for Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport confirmed that the flight was not destined for Bozeman.
Trump was scheduled to hold a large campaign rally in Bozeman, but due to mechanical problems, the plane was diverted and landed more than 100 miles east of Billings.
As news of the emergency landing spread, rumors began to circulate on social media, claiming that the plane was unable to land in Bozeman because Trump owed the airport more than $12,000 in landing fees.
The accusations sparked widespread controversy as they were shared by numerous accounts on the X platform (formerly Twitter), adding to uncertainty about the truth of the incident.
However, the Trump campaign was quick to categorically deny the accusations, according to the agency Reuters.
“The post that there were unpaid dues is completely untrue because the plane was diverted due to a purely mechanical issue,” Carolyn Levitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, said in a statement to Reuters.
Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport CEO Brian Spriger confirmed that the airport was aware of the false information being circulated on the Internet and that no bills were owed by the former president or his campaign.
He added: “The aircraft was diverted solely for mechanical reasons and reports of anything else are baseless.”
It later emerged that the rumor started as a joke from a sarcastic account on the X platform called @RepRichDangler, which describes itself as humorous.
BREAKING NEWS: Bozeman officials are preparing to seize Trump’s plane as collateral for money he owes the city and failed to pay for a previous rally.
So he flew to Billings https://t.co/rtji8u6NUs
— Rep. Richard Dangler (@RepRichDangler) August 9, 2024
However, the hoax led to the spread of false information among a large number of users, prompting some users to believe it and take the propaganda seriously.
Reuters stressed that all the facts confirmed that the plane was diverted due to mechanical failure and not due to unpaid financial charges as the Trump campaign and Bozeman Airport management had stated.
The incident shows how quickly misinformation can spread on social media and how it can create erroneous perceptions among the public.
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