When the Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed in the early morning hours of Tuesday, there was almost immediately chatter on social media about potential conspiracy theories. In reality, the bridge collapsed because a container ship lost power and crashed into a column, causing it to tumble into the river below. But many of the internet’s dumbest minds think they’ve found the “real” reason.
The ridiculous ideas that have circulated since the bridge collapse have become so routine at this point that you can pretty much guarantee they’ll happen after every news event. Did you spot a touched-up family photo of a princess? She must be an AI-generated clone. Your favorite team didn’t win the Super Bowl? It must be a “CIA psyop.”
What really happened to cause the bridge collapse on Tuesday, according to the loudest voices on social media? We’ve compiled a list with some of the dumbest theories, including everything from the idea that explosive charges were scattered across the bridge to the theory that Ukraine was somehow responsible for the collapse.
There’s also the conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was behind it. Why on Earth would people believe such a thing? Because Obama was a producer on the 2023 Netflix movie Leave the World Behind, which has a scene where a giant ship crashes into a beach. Incredibly, this is the first time conspiracy theorists have pointed the finger at Obama over his association with the apocalyptic thriller. People were saying the same thing when AT&T had a nationwide outage about a month ago.
