Following the authorities' announcement on Tuesday evening to suspend search operations for six missing people after a bridge collapse in the American city caused by a container ship collision, conspiracy theorists and right-wing extremists blamed nearly everything and everyone for the tragedy. The phrase commonly used by conspiracy theorists to describe nefarious plots went viral online after the incident, with these individuals attributing the bridge collapse to a non-exhaustive list of factors according to their accounts on Telegram and X, including President Biden, Hamas, ISIS, P Diddy, Nickelodeon, India, former President Barack Obama, aliens, Sri Lanka, the economist, the United Nations, Ukraine, foreign aid, the CIA, Israel, Russia, China, Iran, COVID vaccines, DEI, immigrants, and lockdowns, according to The Guardian.
Although conspiracy theorists struggle to pinpoint the exact cause of the collapse, the one thing they agree on is that this incident is a "Black Swan event," a term that has been around for decades used to describe a significant global event, particularly in financial markets, which can cause major harm to a nation's economy. In recent years, this term has been co-opted by conspiracy-minded individuals to explain events triggered by the so-called deep state that might indicate an imminent revolution, a third world war, or another horrific disaster.
One of the earliest individuals to describe the bridge collapse as a Black Swan event was former U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who wrote on X: "This is a Black Swan event. Black swan events usually come out of the world of finance and not the military; there are port masters for each of these crossings in America responsible for ensuring safe navigation, start from there."
Furthermore, the misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate, who has been charged in Romania with rape and human trafficking, posted on X early Tuesday morning: "Nothing is safe. A Black Swan event is imminent." Soon, conspirators, extremists, and right-wing legislators began to devise explanations for what the implications of a "Black Swan event" are.
It should be noted that authorities in Baltimore announced on Tuesday evening the suspension of search operations for six people missing after the bridge collapse due to a collision with a container ship, indicating that the six missing individuals are now considered deceased. Coast Guard Deputy Admiral Shannon Gilreath stated at a press conference that, "Based on the duration of the search and the water temperature, we now do not believe we will find these individuals alive."
Since the collapse of the crucial Francis Scott Key Bridge on the East Coast of the United States, authorities have resorted to drones, helicopters, and divers, which allowed them to find two survivors, one of whom is seriously injured. The vessel's crew had alerted authorities prior to the incident about a technical problem that temporarily caused the ship to lose propulsion, according to Maryland Governor Wes Moore, which allowed the suspension of part of the traffic on the bridge and saved lives. Surveillance footage showed the container ship colliding with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was inaugurated in 1977, leading to the collapse of several arches of the bridge into the river.
