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Analysis
Conspiracy theorists have become convinced that Vice President Kamala Harris may actually be a fish.
Seriously.
Footage of Harris attending President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Wednesday is being shared across social media and described as suspicious by far-right users.
In a tweet with more than 1.7 million views and over 5,000 shares, a seeminglyinnocuous clipof Harris was highlighted as proof that something mysterious was afoot.
“Maybe this is why Kamala didn’t care when her husband and Jill kissed in front of her… was it even Kamala?” a user asked. “What is going on here? Lol.”
While it remains unclear what even is being pointed out in the footage, users appeared certain that the individual on stage was somehow not the normal Harris.
One user questioned why the footage, which came from a phone filming a TV playing the State of the Union, made both Harris and Biden’s eyes appear “so black.” Another user responded that it was proof that the pair were taking amphetamines.
Others questioned whether the vice president was wearing a mask while comparing the footage to year’s old photos of Harris. Some argued that Harris had received plastic surgery. Others said she had been replaced by a “body double.” The Biden administration frequently is at the center of body double conspiracy theories.
But perhaps the most bizarre claim arose after users began stating that Harris undoubtedly had fish gills on the sides of her neck.
“What the hell is up with Kamala’s gills?” one user asked.
“Holy fecking jeebuz!” another added. “Either the mask is falling off at the neck or the evil Lizard actually does have gills…”
It goes without saying that all such claims are absolute nonsense. They do, however, highlight just how many modern day Republicans have fallen victim to conspiracy theories that once would have been considered totally fringe.
Body doubles, face masks, clones, and lizard people are now regularly cited by those who are convinced that every insignificant event in life is somehow tied into a nefarious global plot against them.
Why it matters
The fact that so many users on Twitter would seemingly believe that Vice President Kamala Harris was wearing a mask or had sprouted gills based on innocuous wrinkles on her neck shows just how pervasive conspiracy culture has become.
Mikael Thalen
Mikael Thalen is a tech and security reporter covering social media, data breaches, hackers, and more.
