Fact check: Manipulated photo of Hillary Clinton's Met Gala dress references baseless conspiracy theory

Ana Faguy, USA TODAY
·4 min read

The claim: Hillary Clinton wore a dress to the Met Gala with references to baseless conspiracy theory

For the first time in 21 years, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the Met Gala in early May.

Soon after, a picture began circulating online showing Clinton with a dress covered in names.

Since her appearance at the annual event, the dress she wore has garnered attention on social media, including one photo of Clinton in her gown posted to Facebook that was shared more than 2,000 times in four days.

The photo shows Clinton walking the red carpet in her off-the-shoulder wine-colored dress with the names of conspiracy theories and individuals – like Jeffery Epstein, JFK Jr. and Paula Jones – written on top of her dress.

Various posts with the photo were shared thousands of times on social media.

Clinton's actual dress did have names subtly stitched on it, of dozens of famous women. But this picture was digitally manipulated to reference an array of conspiracy theories around Clinton, including baseless claims connecting the deaths of various people close to her and former President Bill Clinton.

Commenters generally recognized the image as modified but seized on the photo to resurface an array of claims about those conspiracy theories.

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USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the claim for comment.

The modified image is tied to conspiracy theories

Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton

Photos from the Met Gala show that Clinton's dress did not feature these names.

The dress Clinton wore did have 60 names embroidered onto it of famous women who inspire her, including Lady Bird Johnson, Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman.

The names featured on the dress in the modified image are ones Clinton is often tied to on social media as part of the baseless Clinton body count conspiracy theory: the idea that the Clintons secretly killed their political enemies.

For years, fact-checking and news organizations have debunked claims of this nature, but that hasn't stopped their consistent spread online.

The theory has a long history, dating back to 1993, when Linda Thompson, an Indianapolis lawyer and militia movement activist, created a list of 34 people connected to the Clintons who had died.

For example, Vince Foster, a former Clinton associate who died by suicide, was included in both Thompson's list from 1993 and the altered image of the dress that circulated on Facebook.

In 2016, Vox detailed why the Foster conspiracy theory had no basis in fact: Foster was found in a park with a bullet in his head and a gun in his hand, and both the U.S. Park Police and the FBI said he died by suicide.

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Jefferey Epstein’s name is also featured on the dress multiple times, a nod to the connections between Bill Clinton and Epstein. After Epstein's death in 2019, conspiracy theories spread online connecting his death to Hillary Clinton. Days after his death, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said his cause of death was suicide by hanging.

Our rating: Satire

Based on our research, we rate SATIRE the claim that Hillary Clinton wore a dress to the Met Gala with names of people and conspiracy theories. The photo was digitally manipulated to include names of individuals from the baseless Clinton body count conspiracy theory and other conspiracy theories surrounding Clinton. Fact checkers and news organizations have repeatedly debunked the claims that the Clintons are to blame for an array of deaths.

Our fact-check sources:

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online.

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Hillary Clinton Met Gala dress included tribute to women

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