‘That’s not her’: First Lady’s appearance at Trump rally sparks fresh ‘fake Melania’ claims
Melania #Melania
Lifestyle
31 Oct, 2020 01:58 AM 3 minutes to read
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The video stills that sparked a fresh round of ‘Fake Melania’ rumours.
Wild “fake Melania” conspiracy theories are circulating on social media for the second time this week, sparked by fresh footage of the US First Lady at a campaign rally alongside husband Donald Trump.
The footage in question shows Melania – who has frequently been the target of bizarre rumours suggesting she uses lookalike body doubles to stand in for her at some public events – kissing her husband on stage during the rally.
The couple’s faces are partially blocked by a teleprompter, but as the clip continues, Melania moves back into frame, her face partially covered with large dark sunglasses:
Many online are convinced it’s not Melania they’re seeing in the 15-second clip:
However, other photos taken at the same rally may make conspiracy theorists think twice:
A photograph shared online earlier this week sparked similar conjecture about whether or not viewers were seeing the “real” Melania: the photograph, taken on October 22, showed Melania again in large dark sunglasses, boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington with her husband.
Conspiracy theories claiming Trump used body doubles to stand in for his wife have circulated for years now, despite having been widely debunked – back in 2018, some were convinced this was a ‘fake Melania’ exiting Air Force One:
The First Lady’s body double rumours first went viral back in October 2017, after actor and comedian Andrea Wagner Barton posted her theory on Facebook.
And Melania isn’t the only US political figure to be accused of using a decoy.
Footage captures the pair walking off the stage hand-in-hand before Melania can be seen tugging her hand away from the president. Video / C-SPAN
In 2016, there were claims Hillary Clinton had been replaced by a body double after she collapsed at a 9/11 memorial service in New York after a battle with pneumonia.