U.S. Capitol Attack | Narrative Tracking

NUNA is closely monitoring the media cycle and narrative changes around the attack at the Capitol and are pulling insights as well as an analysis report that is forthcoming.

Check back here for updates and reports as we rapidly update this page on media coverage and online response to the January 6 attacks.

Questions? Need more in-depth insights? Email info@nunaconsultgroup.com.

Narrative Tracking:

White Paper Analysis

Updated 1/15/2021 @ 1:30 P.M. PST

How Long Does It Take a Narrative to Change?

A White Paper on U.S. Capitol Attack Media & Narrative Analysis through Quantifiable Communications Strategy by NUNA Consulting Group, LLC

Date Published: January 15, 2021
Analysis by NUNA Consulting Group, LLC
Authors: Ricki McCarroll, Harper Estey, and Ashley Fassell McCandless

On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the country watched citizens swarm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. in one of the most shocking broadcasts on U.S. news channels in history. Between January 5 and January 13, 2021, there were more than 17 million online mentions of the Capitol Attack, coming from more than three million unique authors. Mentions on the day of the attack surpassed 4.5 million mentions, with each subsequent day seeing at least one million mentions.

NUNA has compiled this media listening report using our minute-by-minute timeline, compiled in real time through reports on Twitter and news broadcasts, as well as the Brandwatch social media analytics tools. Using this data as a starting point, we have created the following analysis of how the discussion around the Capitol Attack evolved as events unfolded, as well as how they have impacted the news cycle over the past week.

Media Coverage & Narrative Timeline | January 6, 2021

  • 11:58 A.M. EST: Trump begins speaking, 1:28 P.M. EST Trump concludes speech
  • 1:30 P.M. EST: Crowd begins marching from Trump’s speech to the Capitol Complex
  • 1:56 P.M. EST: Rioters (“Protesters”) getting rowdy, bomb threat at the Capitol Hill Club results in Congressional Offices evacuated 
  • 2:16 P.M. EST: Huffington Post reporter Igor Bobic tweets that “protesters have breached the Capitol,” along with photos
  • 2:44 P.M. EST: Huffington Post reporter Matt Fuller tweets a photo of Secret Service Agents with guns drawn, pointed at the barricaded door of the Senate Chamber
  • 2:47 P.M. ESTHuffington Post reporter Igor Bobic tweets a photo of rioters in the House Chamber
  • 2:55 P.M. EST: Washington Post reporter Aaron C. Davis tweets that the DoD denied request by DC officials to deploy the National Guard
  • 3:01 P.M. EST: Fox Local D.C. reporter Lindsay Watts tweets that a DC paramedic source tells her one person was shot in the Capitol, and that CPR is in progress
  • 3:04 P.M. EST: Huffington Post reporter Matt Fuller tweets “they are clearing the Capitol”
  • 3:06 P.M. EST: Verbage of news broadcasts changes from “protesters” to “rioters,” to “insurrection”
  • 3:20 P.M. EST: Political Twitter starts trending with “Nazi” 
  • 3:37 P.M. EST: National Association of Manufacturers urges VP Pence to “seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy.”
  • 3:42 P.M. EST: Timothy Burke tweets a video from a rioter’s live stream that shows Capitol Police taking a selfie with the rioters
  • 3:51 P.M. EST: Huffington Post reporter Matt Fuller tweets that the Sergeant at Arms says they expect it to take “half an hour or an hour” to clear the Capitol
  • 3:52 P.M. EST: Washington Post reporter Aaron C. Davis tweets that the DOD “reversed course” and the National Guard “will be deployed to the Capitol”
  • 4:05 P.M. EST: President-elect Joe Biden gives a live speech calling on President Trump to “go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution by demanding an end to this siege.”
  • 4:17 P.M. EST: President Trump posts a video to Twitter from the Rose Garden telling the rioters “you have to go home now, we have to have peace,” while insisting “we had an election that was stolen from us”
  • 4:38 P.M. EST: Representative Ilhan Omar announces on Twitter that she is drawing up Articles of Impeachment against President Trump
  • 5:34 P.M. EST: Sergeant at Arms says the Capitol is secure
  • 7:02 P.M. EST: Twitter requires the removal of three of President Trump’s tweets from the day, including his video from the Rose Garden, and locks his personal account for 12 hours

    White House Resignations

    • Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

    • Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao

    • U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney

    • Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger

    • Senior Adviser Hope Hicks

    • Chief of Staff to the First Lady Stephanie Grisham

    • Acting Chair, White House Council of Economic Advisers Tyler Goodspeed

    • Assistant Secretary for Mental Health Elinore  McCance-Katz

    • Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Intelligence and Security John Costello

    • Russia Adviser Ryan Tully

    • Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews

    • Social Secretary Anna Christina Niceta Lloyd