Ruth Bader Ginsburg appearing in public somehow doesn't convince conspiracy theorists she's alive
You would think Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg appearing at a public event would be enough to squash baseless conspiracy theories that she's secretly dead. But you'd be wrong.
On Monday, Ginsburg appeared in public for the first time since her cancer surgery, going to a concert held in her honor at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington. This event, and Ginsburg's appearance, was widely reported on by outlets like The Washington Post, The Associated Press, and CNN.
In spite of this, conspiracy theorists continued to latch on to their evidence-free claims that Ginsburg has actually died. On The_Donald, the pro-Trump Reddit community with more than 700,000 users, one of the top posts on Tuesday doubted the reports because "there are no pics of her." AP had reported photography wasn't allowed at the event. Several popular comments asserted that nobody saw Ginsburg at the event, despite the Post making clear that many people did see her, including the Post reporter himself.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Twitter, links to news articles about Ginsburg's appearance similarly faced skeptical replies, including from one user whose smoking gun was that the photo used of Ginsburg in CNN's report was not from the event, even though CNN never claimed it was and clearly captioned the picture as being from April 2017.
The baseless theory took root after Ginsburg first publicly announced health issues in late December, reports The Daily Beast. As they continue to grasp at straws, online conspiracy theorists will likely next latch on to Ginsburg potentially not appearing at the State of the Union on Tuesday night — even though, as the Post points out, she didn't go last year, either. But considering people at one point claimed former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had been literally replaced with a body double, the conspiracy may rage on despite all evidence.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June



