What do Sen. John Fetterman and Avril Lavigne have in common? A body double conspiracy theory, at the very least.
Over the weekend, new baseless misinformation that the Pennsylvania Democrat has been replaced with a lookalike began circulating on social media. He hasn’t. The rumor’s origins are unclear, but QAnon supporters and dozens of conservative commentators boosted the claims, earning the theory millions of views on Twitter.
The conspiracy theories stem from a side-by-side comparison of two photos of Fetterman that were taken nine months apart.
In a tweet seen over 10 million times, the popular right-wing troll account, Catturd — reportedly a “VIP” account that gets boosted visibility on the platform — falsely wrote that, “In only 3 weeks, John Fetterman got a total head replacement.” While the tweet suggested the photos couldn’t possibly be of the same person, they were both Fetterman. One is a headshot from February Fetterman shared on Twitter. The other was taken in May 2022 as he was leaving Lancaster Hospital after having a stroke.
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Fetterman’s health was a common talking point from his GOP opponent, Mehmet Oz, and other Republicans on the campaign trail. Five weeks ago, he checked himself into the Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment for clinical depression, which doctors say is common among stroke survivors.
The false claims that Fetterman has a body double began circulating around the same time as reports that he was getting ready to leave...
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