While events in Washington DC on Wednesday night shocked the US and the rest of the world, they were the culmination of years of growing distrust of public figures, fuelled in large part by disinformation and social media.
While the rioting in Congress related to President Donald Trump’s claims, without evidence, that the election was stolen from him, this is not the first falsehood that has led to significant consequences in real life.
Here is a look back at the relationship between Mr Trump and online conspiracy theories.
– The ‘birther movement’
Before he even became Republican nominee, Mr Trump was one of the most prominent drivers of a conspiracy theory claiming that incumbent President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.