WASHINGTON, April 28 -- A flood of misinformation exploded online after US President Donald Trump escaped a weekend shooting scare, fuelling renewed - and unfounded - claims that he has staged assassination attempts to boost his political fortunes.

Trump and his top administration officials were evacuated Saturday from a media gala in Washington after gunfire erupted outside the ballroom, marking the third assassination attempt targeting the Republican in two years.

AFP's fact-checkers identified a series of social media posts from anti-Trump accounts circulating an unsubstantiated theory that the White House staged the shooting to distract attention from unfavourable news, including the unpopular US-Israeli war with Iran.

Posts advanc...