Collapse of Baltimore Bridge Constructs Conspiracy
In the early morning hours of March 26, the cargo ship Dali struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge when leaving the harbor. The ship was bound for Sri Lanka when at 1:24 a.m., it experienced a power failure. The crew reported the power failure, causing authorities to stop traffic from crossing over the bridge. The report is credited with saving many lives that morning, as minutes later the ship slammed into a pylon of the bridge; within seconds, the structure crumbled down.
Following the crash, six workers were reported missing and presumed dead. As of April 6, three of the six missing workers’ bodies were found by dive teams working to clear away the debris and wreckage of the collapse. The three men found have been identified. The first two were Alejandro Fernandez and Dorlian Castillo, who were both found in a red pick-up truck the day following the incident (Reuters). The third most recent man found has been identified to be Maynor Yassi Suazo Sandovar. All six men that were on the bridge the morning of its collapse were immigrants, either from Mexico or Central America (Reuters).
The ethnic backgrounds of the employees on the bridge, along with the speed at which the bridge collapsed, has sparked an onslaught of varying conspiracy theories. The initial theories after the bridge collapse pertained to a potential cyber-attack targeting the ship’s power grid. CNN has reported that some went as far as to say the ship captain suffered an impairment from the Covid-19 vaccine. Israel and the Obamas have also been included in theories of involvement (CNN). A common theory that has spread through X (formerly known as Twitter), and Facebook is that the bridge was intentionally destroyed to allow immigrants to construct it, thus threatening the framework of America.
Theories of such robust nature are spun effectively due to a lack in quick and thorough fact-checking software on such social media sites. The theories have also illuminated the faltering trust in the government from American citizens. Andrew Tate, a social media influencer with nearly nine million followers on X, took to the app with the statement that the incident on March 26 was due to a cyber-attack (CNN). He went on to explain the bridge collapse was a sign that foreign powers are attacking the infrastructure of America, and this was one of the first phases. Tate’s theory, along with Alex Jones’ assertion that the collapse was the first sign of World War III (CNN), have both been proven false.
