A disturbing conspiracy theory is trending online Read more: 👇👇

The other conversation was something entirely different — a rapidly spreading web of conspiracy theories stating the whole thing was staged.

Both conversations are worth examining. Yet they are not equal, and it matters which one is grounded in verifiable evidence.

What actually happened
To be clear about what the facts are: at approximately 8:35 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday night, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old mechanical engineer and teacher from Torrance, California, charged through a security checkpoint in the foyer of the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner was being held.