RBG Death Conspiracy Theories From QAnon Encouraged By Sebastian Gorka
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is alive and well, contrary to what Sebastian Gorka has suggested. Image by Getty/Forward Montage
By Ari Feldman February 1, 2019
Former White House advisor Sebastian Gorka is encouraging conspiracy theories that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is either dying or dead, the Daily Beast reported.
Ginsburg has cancelled public appearances since undergoing surgery to remove cancerous growths in her lungs.
The filmmakers behind the Oscar-nominated documentary “RBG” told CNN last week that they spoke with Ginsburg by phone, and that she sounded “sounded strong and cheerful” and was working on opinions for the court.
The theories reportedly originated in the online forums dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory, which holds that there is a “deep state” that controls the country. The theories began to spread across social media in the days leading up to President Donald Trump’s planned State of the Union speech on February 5.
“Still no sign,” Gorka wrote in his Twitter post.
Still no sign.
6 days left until Ruth Bader Ginsberg has to make her official appearance at @realDonaldTrump’s State of the Union. pic.twitter.com/zY1gSW54N6
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) January 31, 2019
When reached for comment by the Daily Beast, Gorka responded, “go outside and lick a metal street lamp.”
The Forward broke the story in 2017 that Gorka was a sworn member of a Hungarian group with historic Nazi ties. Gorka has denied that he is anti-Semitic.
Fox News also fanned the flames of the theories last week when it accidentally broadcast a graphic claiming that Ginsburg was dead. Many pro-Trump and conspiracy-peddling social media figures have been tweeting with the hashtag #WheresRuth.
Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
