Description: Some people believe that the 2020 president, Joe Biden, is actually played by actor Jim Carrey while the previous president, Donald Trump, remains in power.

Background: The informant hears about crazy conspiracies constantly from their mother, who legitimately believes all of it.

Transcript:

TS: My mom thinks Biden is a body double played by Jim Carey who’s actually in a Hollywood set, being broadcast by the satanist hollywood elites to make people think he’s actually president, when really Trump is still in control. Maybe the Jim Carey stuff is iffy, but the general vibe is he’s a body double/clone or something.

Me: Is there a reason for there to be a body double and not just have trump win the election instead?

TS: No, so (she believes) Trump is a good guy and the elites are the bad guys. They’re scrambling cuz “oh no trumps still in power we got to make it seem like he isn’t”. So they have “fake Biden” to try and trick people. I think that’s the thought process? It’s wild because all the conspiracy stuff makes no sense or contradicts itself. My mom will be upset about stuff the Biden admin is doing, but it’s like “He’s not the real president tho why are u upset?”. It’s also like “If the illuminati cabal is so strong how did they even let Trump in in the first place?” Apparently that was because “so many people voted for Trump that he broke the algorithm to rig the vote”, which is LAUGHABLE as someone who deals with code stuff. She says the same thing happened in 2020, but this time like they’ve just been able to lie about it (unlike in 2016?). I could go on and on about this garbage, it’s funny but it’s also sad cuz my mom believes it and is terrified by it

My thoughts:

This is one of the most recent and relevant pieces that I have encountered. Conspiracy Theories stem from people’s distrust of the government since they do hide an enormous amount of information from us. This is a piece of Folklore that is currently having an effect on our nation’s political climate and the well being of other people. Because of these beliefs, the rights and life of people is placed into question. This of course, is also often discussed in regards to censorship. Should misinformation be allowed a place to exist? It’s interesting to hear a second hand account of these theories as it shows us the logic that people are willing to jump through in order to deny being wrong. In the end, I think these theories stem from a combination of Denial and a fragile ego. People making justifications in order to remain in a reality that they are correct. People who believe it also tend to be those who are either emotionally vulnerable or just very easily accept certain dogmatic beliefs.