Davey Alba | (TNS) Bloomberg News

Moments after former President Donald Trump was escorted off the stage after shots were fired at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, unfounded claims about the event swirled on major social media platforms.

The posts, including some written by U.S. politicians holding elected office, claimed without proof that President Joe Biden had ordered an apparent shooting at the rally. Others baselessly stated that the incident was staged, or circulated posts misidentifying the shooter.

In the aftermath of major news, the facts of an event are not always immediately clear. Law enforcement, including the Secret Service, the FBI, Pennsylvania state police and the Justice Department have said they are continuing to investigate the shooting, including the possibility it was an assassination attempt.

Experts urged caution before sharing unsubstantiated information.

“In any fast developing event, there is inevitably a high influx of false or unverified information, especially on social media,” said Graham Brookie, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, which studies social media misinformation.

On X, several politicians accused Biden or his campaign of being “directly” behind the apparent shooting, without providing evidence.

Georgia Rep. Mike Collins posted simply, “Joe Biden sent the orders,” while Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, a top contender for Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, wrote on X that the Biden campaign’s rhetoric “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”

Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson pointed to unnamed figures on the left whom he accused of being “directly responsible” for the events at Trump’s campaign rally.

Collins, Vance and Jackson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Their posts on X altogether garnered more than 7.3 million views on Saturday evening, according to data from the social media platform.

As of late Saturday evening, the shooter’s name had not been released to the public though NBC News said authorities have tentatively identified the man as approximately 20 years old and from Pennsylvania.

Earlier posts on X, Telegram and Gab, forums favored by many on the far-right, misidentified the shooter as a man called Mark Violets, calling him a “known Antifa extremist” that refers to the loosely organized leftist movement. According to NBC News, the misidentified person circulated in posts that included a photo was Marco Violi, an Italian YouTuber who has denied any involvement in the shooting.

Immediately after the shooting, hundreds of thousands of posts reaching millions of views circulated on X claiming the shooting at the Pennsylvania rally was “staged,” according to data from the social media platform — without offering any evidence. Despite being quickly debunked, many of the posts remained live on the platform.

In the past year, content moderation efforts on major social media platforms have been weakened, as social media analysis tools have been shelved by Meta Platforms Inc. and others, and efforts from academic teams tracking misinformation, such as the Stanford Internet Observatory, have wound down.

(Daniel Zuidijk contributed to this report.)

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One can’t help but wonder why bands choose to share the billing with Earth, Wind and Fire, because they pretty much always blow everyone else off the stage as they did yet again Saturday night at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.

About 12,000 people showed up for the third date on EWF’s latest dual-headlining tour with Chicago and just like in 2016 (and 2009), EWF handily won the night with a smooth as silk and seductively funky set stuffed with highlights.

At first glance, the two acts may seem like an odd pairing. But they’re both from Chicago and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, are currently built around three longtime members and augmented by a half dozen or more extra players, made songs that remain staples of wedding receptions and aren’t afraid to lean on the horn section when necessary.

The two bands are swapping spots each night and Saturday, Chicago took the stage first. They sounded much better than back in 2016, largely because vocalist Jason Scheff is no longer in the group. The band hired him back in 1985 after Peter Cetera flew the coop. While he ended up being the longest-tenured lead singer in the band’s history, by 2016, his voice was largely shot and it often sounded like he was singing through his nose.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Chicago opened the show Saturday, July 13, at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center on a dual-headlining bill with Earth, Wind and Fire. (Joe Lemke / Special to the Pioneer Press)

Founding member and keyboardist Robert Lamm now handles most of the leads and he proved to be an ideal choice with a strong, confident voice that also harmonized beautifully with his bandmates. During “You’re the Inspiration,” he held one note long enough to earn cheers from the crowd. That said, he did sound a bit winded during the next one, the excellent “Beginnings,” but it was still impressive considering the guy has been in the band since 1967.

Lamm and fellow longtimers Lee Loughnane and James Pankow expertly led the hired hands, the longest-tenured of which is drummer Walfredo Reyes Jr., who joined the band a dozen years ago. But, as always, Chicago’s biggest weakness is the group’s notorious over-reliance on saccharine ballads. I guess it’s just a hard habit for them to break.

Led by founding member bassist Verdine White and vocalist Philip Bailey and drummer Ralph Johnson, who both joined in 1972, Earth, Wind and Fire delivered an evening of hits and deeper cuts with a timeless elegance that made hearing classics like “Shining Star” and “Fantasy” feel every bit as fresh as the day they were released.

Now 73, Bailey sounded as good, if not better, than his previous two shows with Chicago. It helps that he’s got his golden-voiced son Philip Doron Bailey in the band to help him when he needs it. At just 70 minutes, EWF’s set could have easily been longer, but it also meant there wasn’t much time wasted. And when they hit “That’s the Way of the World” and “Let’s Groove” at the end of their show, it was nearly impossible not to swoon along.

For the encore, both bands took the now-crowded stage for a fun, if sometimes overblown, set of songs that included EWF’s “Sing a Song” and Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4.”