A social media post that strongly aligns with one’s political beliefs or desires — in this case, a message perpetuating the conspiratorial and untrue claim that the attack on the Capitol was organized by the government — can easily gain traction online as confirmation bias leads people to like and share the post. But a quick evaluation of these tweets often reveals red flags indicating these messages may not be worth engaging with.

For example:

• “BREAKING NEWS”: This term is often abused by purveyors of misinformation to give their claims an unearned air of importance.
• “JIM JORDON”: While typos happen, poor grammar and misspelled names may indicate a source is unreliable.
• NO SOURCE: This tweet does not contain any links or evidence to support its claim, an example of a sheer assertion.
• PURCHASED VERIFICATION: Clicking on this person’s profile revealed that their check mark was purchased through Twitter Blue, the platform’s subscription service. While this blue check mark once verified that a news organization or poster was credible, it’s now possible for bad actors to misuse it to make content feel verified. Approach accounts displaying the symbol with caution.

Also, even a brief search for “Ray Epps” and “Jim Jordan” would quickly debunk this claim and explain the history of conspiratorial theories surrounding Epps.