Misinformation Is Widespread In The Wake Of Bridge Collapse

(NewsSpace.com) – The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, took the country by surprise. The Dali, a cargo ship that lost its propulsion, called in a mayday to officials before it struck a support on the structure, sending it careening into the river below in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 26. Yet, some people are saying there’s a more sinister reason behind the collapse, and they’re spreading conspiracy theories online.

Promoting misinformation or conspiracy theories in the wake of such a disaster isn’t anything new. People have spread misinformation about several key tragedies in the United States for decades in an attempt to sow confusion and discord. Yet, now they have a more viable platform: X, formerly Twitter, and that’s where the latest stories have spread despite authorities saying there is no indication that terrorism is at work.

Among the stories being spread on social media is the speculation that the cargo ship was hit with a cyberattack. Others have posted a sped-up video of the accident and said it made a hard left that directly took aim at one of the supports holding the bridge up. Then, there are the stories coming out of left field that diversity and inclusion policies were to blame and X users that insist Israel was behind the “attack.”

But it’s not just social media users spreading the theories, either. For example, Fox News host Maria Bartiromo suggested that the accident was a result of the “wide open border.”

Authorities are investigating what caused the crash, including looking into the inspection history of the Dali to see if there were prior concerns about the ship’s functionality.

While officials were able to stop traffic at both ends of the bridge, road workers were present when it collapsed. Search and rescue workers were able to rescue two of the eight people that fell into the river. In the days after, they recovered the bodies of Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, 35, who was from Mexico, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Guatemala. The four others are presumed dead.