Fake Melania Trump Conspiracy Theories Re-emerge

Over the weekend, a woman in thick black glasses, a long black dress and a smile that many did not recognize boarded Air Force One with President Donald Trump. Inside Edition, who published the video, claims the woman is First Lady Melania Trump, but some online aren't so sure.

The video, according to Inside Edition, Melania Trump's first time joining President Trump on the campaign trail since 2019. However, while many supporters appeared happy to see the First Lady in the video, many online don't think that's actually Melania.

I'm going full q on the fake Melania conspiracy pic.twitter.com/befdQnrc9b

— Bolivian Union-John (@LikeAndBlock) October 25, 2020

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

There is legit a fake Melania walking around with the President of the United States and we’re all just like “okay,cool.” I’m legit losing my mind at how we’ve gotten to such a batshit crazy normal that the Country is just giving a shoulder shrug emoji to this INSANITY. https://t.co/EN3tbY5NZh

— Josh Gad (@joshgad) October 25, 2020

Some even believe that the body double is former White House aide Hope Hicks.

That’s not Melania that’s Hope Hicks wearing a wig think about it, I’m right ! pic.twitter.com/qw32ueWlwW

— Mayday Mindy🌊 (@maydaymindy9) October 25, 2020

i am 99% sure the fake melania IS hope hicks

what do you think? pic.twitter.com/EKXZTP2Aku

— Jinxie Clark (RESISTANCE) (@JinxieClark1) October 25, 2020

This isn't the first time that people have wondered about Melania's body double or her true identity. In October 2017, many questioned whether Melania actually escorted her husband to Puerto Rico.

In the past, the fact-checking website Snopes investigated the body-double theory. According to the site, video distortion caused photos of a "Fake Melania" from 2017, altering her nose and head shape. They write:

The footage above was captured by filming a television screen showing a CNN report from 13 October 2017. When compared to the actual video available on CNN‘s website, it’s apparent that the strange visual was caused by the TV screen and not a faux first lady.

Here’s a screenshot from the Facebook video (left) compared to a still from the video available on CNN.com. Note that Melania’s face is slightly shrunken, distorted, and rounder in the Facebook video:

Is that the case here? Is it a body-double, Hope Hicks or, you know, just a weird picture of Melania? The truth is hard to discern, but based on past examples, it's probably just a weird picture.