The J. Paul Getty Museum in southern California is renowned for its design and art collections, but a claim circulating on social media alleges it houses something much more sinister underground.
"Underneath the Getty Museum is a network of tunnels and underground bunkers according to former CIA/NSA contractor Steven D. Kelley," reads an Oct. 18 Instagram post, which has been liked more than 100 times. "Child trafficking hub. 100,000 kids in cages.”
But local police and the Getty Museum say this claim is baseless. Kelley, who did not author the post but has made similar claims in various blogs and podcasts, also did not provide tangible evidence to support his claim when contacted by USA TODAY.
The user who shared the post on Instagram told USA TODAY the account exists to "aggregate material created by or featuring deranged individuals." The post referencing the Getty conspiracy shows a screenshot of a reddit post making the claim.
"We'd like to think our followers understand that and primarily follow for comedic reasons," the user said.
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Rumors of children being held under the Getty Museum have circulated for years, although there has been no credible evidence to support this claim or even spark an investigation.
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