One Dumb Conspiracy is a weekly column that debunks the mostly wild conspiracy theories swirling around the web and runs on Mondays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
Analysis
Conspiracy theorists are blaming former President Barack Obama for the recent drowning death of his personal chef. But none of the claims being made are backed up by any evidence.
Late last month, the body of Tafari Campbell was located in the Edgartown Great Pond near a home owned by Obama in Martha’s Vineyard.
Campbell had been paddle boarding and was witnessed by another paddleboarder dipping in and out of the water before ultimately disappearing. The chef was not wearing a life jacket at the time of the incident.
The witness, who attempted to save Campbell but was unsuccessful, swam to shore and immediately alerted authorities. After a two-day search, Campbell’s body was located.
Yet conspiracy theorists have twisted the facts of the case to blame Obama. Countless users across social media questioned how Campbell could have drowned in the pond.
“So the verdict is in,” one Twitter user wrote. “Obama’s chef drowned in 3.5 feet of water, 100 feet offshore.”
Ian Miles Cheong, a prominent conspiracy theorist on Twitter, likewise described the body of water as a “shallow pond.”
Despite the claims, Campbell’s body was found 8 feet below the surface, not 3.5.
Another popular claim pointed to a photograph taken three days after Campbell’s death of Obama golfing. Conspiracy theorists pointed to bandages on the former President’s fingers as proof that he had been injured while killing his chef.
“Take a close look… There are bandages all over his fingers and his left eye appears to be bruised,” one pro-Trump account wrote. “It looks like Barack was in a physical altercation with someone.”
There’s just one problem: The Massachusetts State Police confirmed that Obama was not at home during the time of Campbell’s passing. Not only that, but the bandages on Obama’s fingers are for protecting against blisters while playing golf.
Obama has been wearing bandages during golf games for years and has been pictured wearing them as far back as 2015.
Obama’s left-eye is not bruised in the photo either, despite the allegations circulating online.
Once again, conspiracy theorists are taking advantage of a tragic death in order to push outrageous claims based on no evidence.
Why it matters
Any death even remotely linked to a figure that conspiracy theorists deem unsavory will always be exploited. Unsurprisingly, deaths of individuals tied to those that conspiracy theorists admire will never be questioned.
Either way, conspiracy theorists will ignore facts that challenge their views and invent their own facts in order to bolster their claims.
Mikael Thalen
Mikael Thalen is a tech and security reporter covering social media, data breaches, hackers, and more.
