The fake Melania conspiracy theories are being widely circulated on social media for the second time this week, triggered by new footage of the First Lady at a campaign rally alongside husband Donald Trump.
The video shows Melania, who has on several occasions been the target of bizarre rumors suggesting that the president uses her body doubles to stand in for her at some public events, exchanging kisses with Trump on stage during the rally.
The couple's faces remain partially blocked by a teleprompter, but as the clip continues, Melania moves back into frame, wearing large dark sunglasses as she stands beside the president. Watch the video below:
who the fuck is that pic.twitter.com/BqlgfjnuYM
— BenDavid Grabinski+ (@bdgrabinski) October 30, 2020
The video has since gone viral on Twitter, amassing more than 3.5 million views on the platform and although there is little evidence to support the "body double" claim and despite multiple fact-checks by USA Today and Snopes, social media is once again abuzz with theories that the woman alongside Trump is not Melania.
'That's Not Melania'
While some users pointed out notable differences in facial features between the "fake" Melania or "Fauxlania" and the First Lady, including the nose, forehead, and jawline, others drew attention to the fact that the woman in the video was being more affectionate towards Trump than normal and that her body language towards the president was "different."
"Her nose is totally different, its more bulbous and shorter on Fauxlania. Also her chin and jawline is a clear give away. That's not Melania," wrote one user, while another commented, "I hate to even buy into this but it seriously looks like a prosthetic nose."
"Mouth and nose ..... I've been skeptical before about the fake melanias but this is pretty damn obvious," tweeted a third user. "Also, she showed WAY too much affection. Do we have real Melania showing same level of affection any time recently?"
Here are some of the other reactions on Twitter:
I'm not the best at face recognition, but they don't look like the same person to me pic.twitter.com/pvyoXLeYFO
— weakChirp (@WeakChirp) October 30, 2020
Only her hairdresser knows for sure. lol pic.twitter.com/SgyXkb1q3Q
— The Democratic Party is NOT the Left (@DanVTown) October 30, 2020
— least racist in the room (@tweetsbyenikki) October 30, 2020
Why doesn't she ever take her glasses off? Cause you can fake the hair and facial profile, but the eyes will always give it away. That and the fact that this one does not recoil in disgust as the orange man touches and kisses her
— Spaceforce Lady😂😎 (@dlophilly61) October 30, 2020
As soon as I saw her show affection towards him I knew it was the double.
— Burt Macklin, FBI (@scmurph01) October 30, 2020
The 'Fake Melania' Conspiracy Theory Is Being Pushed For Years
A photograph that was shared on social earlier this week sparked similar speculation about whether or not Trump is using a body double. The picture, taken on Oct. 22, showed Melania again in large dark sunglasses, boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington with her husband, as previously reported.
The only thing I'll miss from this administration is them swapping in new Melanias and just pretending we won't notice like a 4-year-old with a guppy pic.twitter.com/8J0A4E9z5H
— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) October 25, 2020
Conspiracy theories claiming Trump is using body doubles to stand in for his wife have circulated for years now. For instance, back in 2018, some were convinced this was a "fake Melania" exiting Air Force One:
This new Melania double is weak sauce. #wheresmelania pic.twitter.com/yAsbR7CuQJ
— Johnny KILLoran w/ "Kill" in all caps bc Halloween (@metroville) July 10, 2018
The First Lady's body double rumors first went viral in 2017, after actor and comedian Andrea Wagner Barton pushed the theory on Facebook. Melania is not the only political figure to have been accused of being a decoy. In 2016, there were claims that 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.
