Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was hit with a community note on X, formerly Twitter, after suggesting that the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge should be investigated as a potential terrorist attack.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, a Singaporean freighter ship called Dali lost power while departing from Baltimore, Maryland's, Inner Harbor and collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a 1.6-mile structure spanning the Patapsco River. The collision caused a complete structural failure, which saw the bridge collapse into the river, a dramatic and tragic scene captured in numerous videos and photos shared across social media.
Patrick Penfield, professor of supply-chain practice at Syracuse University, has told Newsweek that the disruption to Baltimore's port due to the collapse could cost roughly $9 million per day. President Joe Biden said in a statement that he intends to have the U.S. government provide the funds necessary to rebuild the bridge.
While the sequence of events that led to the Key Bridge collapse have been well-documented and confirmed by officials, some conspiracy theories have begun to form online. Greene, a Georgia Republican, has been known to express conspiratorial speculation and leanings. In a post to X, she called for an investigation into the collapse to determine if it was an intentional act.
"There should be a serious investigation into the horrifying tragedy of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland," Greene wrote. "Is this an intentional attack or an accident?"
Greene's post was later hit with a community note, a feature that allows X users to provide corrections or missing context to the posts of others. In this case, the note cited a statement from Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley in which he said there is "absolutely no indication" that the collapse was the result of an intentional act. It also cited Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who confirmed that the Dali's crew had sent a mayday alert prior to the crash after the vessel lost power.
"There is absolutely no indication that there's any terrorism, that this was done on purpose," Worley said.
In Moore's statement, he credited the Dali crew's alert for helping officials halt the flow of traffic over Key Bridge before the collision.
"These people are heroes," Moore said. "They saved lives last night."
Newsweek reached out to Greene's office via email on Tuesday evening for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.