What Is Going On With The Baltimore Bridge Collapse? Conspiracy Theories About A 'Cyber Attack' And DEI Mandates Causing The Crash Explained

The recent tragedy involving a cargo ship hitting the Baltimore Bridge has sent shock waves through the nation, with many wondering how an accident of such magnitude could ever take place.

The incident took place late Monday night, with a large ship carrying many storage units veering into one of the Baltimore Frances Scott Key Bridge's piles and causing a length of the entire structure to come crashing into the freezing waters below.

The event sparked many discussions about workplace safety regulations and the state of American infrastructure, with internet users leveraging their own theories long before official details about the event rolled in. While people like Andrew Tate put forth the idea that the bridge collapse was a cyberattack "Black Swan event," some blamed DEI or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies to imply that subpar labor caused the accident.

Tinfoil hat theories aside, the disaster has led to an outpouring of support for the people affected by the event, and speculation about what could have caused it and how it can be avoided in the future. Here's a recap of everything involving the bridge in the past few days.

What Happened To The Baltimore Scott Key Bridge?

In the early hours of March 26th, 2024, nearly an hour after midnight, a container ship struck one of the piles that held up the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The impact caused a part of the structure to collapse and fall into the river, sending seven cars tumbling down alongside debris.

According to Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace, initial reports indicate that the ship seemingly lost power before it got to the bridge. However, a full investigation is set to be conducted to determine exactly what caused the accident.

BREAKING: Ship collides with Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse pic.twitter.com/OcOrSjOCRn

— BNO News (@BNONews) March 26, 2024

X user @ChaudharyParvez was one of the first to tweet a video of the crash and collapse, taken by a livestream camera nearby, gaining over 1,200 likes in less than a day, but many more people learned about the incident with the Baltimore Bridge through a video posted by @BNONews that gathered over 41 million views and 92,000 likes in a day.

What Were Some Initial Reactions To The Baltimore Bridge Collapse?

Initial reactions to the bridge's collapse on X / Twitter ranged from shock that such an incident could happen and speculation about what was going to come next. X user @iloveiyosias wrote, "oh my god I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bridge collapse like this," while X user @VDAREJamesK posed the question, "Can modern post-America even build a new bridge?"

Meanwhile, Redditor /u/SlayerPipeDaddy shared a 4chan greentext story to /r/greentext in which an anonymous user wrote, ">be american / >fall to the ground.""

What Are Some Conspiracy Theories Surrounding The Bridge's Collapse?

Initial concerns about the bridge's collapse revolved around footage showing the cargo ship veering right into one of the bridge's legs, leading one X user to speculate that the collision was "intentional." Others warned people against jumping to such conclusions, saying that news reports about the ship losing power were already circulating.

Conservative manosphere influencer Andrew Tate weighed in with his takes, asserting "This ship was cyber-attacked. .. Black Swan event imminent." Tate's tweet received a Community Note that clarified his statement was speculation, but that didn't stop other internet users from backing him up.

Some internet users used the bridge collapse as an example of their own bias against "DEI" or Diversity Equity and Inclusion practices as mandated by the federal government. One conservative user went so far as to call Baltimore's mayor a "DEI" mayor; a confusing statement considering that Brandon Scott was elected, not appointed, many years after the bridge was built.

DEI is when Black person exists https://t.co/r3QDhpGbhT pic.twitter.com/LZWgxRTxxE

— Drew Savicki (@DrewSav) March 26, 2024

For the full history of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.