WEB EXCLUSIVE

One year ago today, the infamous January 6 insurrection occurred at the Capitol building.  Millions of viewers watched in real time, as riotters stormed the building in attempts to “stop the count”. 

Egged on by former president Donald Trump, thousands of far right supporters gathered around the Capitol building that morning to protest the counting of electoral votes. Within hours, rioters were able to breach security and invade the building, causing Congress to lockdown and pause the count. Following the riot, many were left injured and five dead. 

In the months since, much has changed. Just a few weeks following the insurrection, President Joe Biden was inaugurated with a peaceful crowd. However, Biden’s presidency began with a rocky start, as there was much resistance to his inauguration, with theories of a ‘stolen election’ circling the internet. 

Now in January of 2022, the U.S. still has the same problems we had at the beginning of 2021: an out of control virus paired with millions of citizens resisting any sort of public health compliance regarding Covid. The Omicron variant is spreading rapidly throughout all 50 states, leaving hospitals without beds, schools without teachers, and employers without workers. 

Throughout Biden’s presidency, COVID-19 has continually been a prominent source of controversy. However, the insurrection seems to have set a precedent that in America, the government cannot tell its citizens what to do. 

So, where did we go wrong? Many turn to blame Trump for cries of stolen election or the Democrat’s ‘new hoax’. Others say social media: specifically Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, and the far right app Parler. 

Surely, former president Trump is partially to blame- since the start of the pandemic, he joked about the virus calling it the ‘Kung Flu,’ holding large rallies amidst outbreaks, and severely downplayed Covid as whole; causing supporters to refuse compliance with CDC guidelines. During the 2020 election, as electoral votes came in, Trump called the right to “stop the steal,” claiming that the election was stolen from him. Supporters stormed the Capitol just hours later. 

Fellow lawmakers such as Ted Cruz and Ron DeSantis have sided with Trump throughout the past year, continuing to claim the election was stolen, and that Trump should still be president. 

Although Trump and his allies are a prominent source of misinformation, news outlets and social media platforms are guilty as well. Fox News was sued numerous times in 2021 for spreading lies about the election. 

It’s come to the point where these lies have caused violence, Covid outbreaks, and a further divide between parties. The insurrection seemed to be just the beginning of something much worse, but a year later, it’s clear that this has been brewing for quite some time. The outcomes of misinformation are blatantly evident in both the media and citizens responses to January 6 and Covid alike.