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Snakes in the White House? No, US presidents aren’t reptiles.
If Your Time is short
- Claims that politicians are reptilian are part of an unfounded and long-standing conspiracy theory.
Politicians can seem cold-blooded sometimes. But according to one Facebook video, they are downright inhuman.
"Every president we ever had in the United States of America was a draconian reptilian," the speaker in the Oct. 22 video said. "They are all blood-related. That's why every president is related; it's the 13 bloodlines."
The bloodlines come from "draconian reptilians that invaded our planet," he continued. The 13 red stripes on the American flag, the 13 original colonies, and even math from the face of a clock are all marshaled as evidence of this snaky secret.
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Vice has looked into the man making claims in the video, who goes by Rashad Jamal but whose full name is Rashad Jamal White. The magazine described White as a "New Age prophet" with a large following across several platforms. White also runs a website called the University of Cosmic Intelligence, where he sells videos of lectures, crystals and jewelry.
Vice reported that White was recently convicted of child molestation and cruelty to children in Georgia. Georgia Department of Corrections’ records confirm a person by that name is incarcerated after convictions on those charges.
Claims that celebrities, royalty and politicians are reptilian or "lizard-people" are unfounded and part of a long-running conspiracy theory. We have checked similar claims about Queen Elizabeth II, Pfizer’s CEO, King Charles III, President Joe Biden, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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The theory was popularized by former BBC reporter David Icke, who in 1998 published "The Biggest Secret," claiming the British royal family were reptiles. But since then, conspiracies of hidden scales have slithered to other popular figures.
Lizard people are thought to come from outer space, specifically the constellation "Draco" which is shaped like a serpent, reported Vox – hence "draconian reptiles."
Although President Theodore Roosevelt had a pet snake living in the White House, he was human – along with the other U.S. presidents.
We rate the claim that all U.S. presidents have been reptiles Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook Post (archived), Oct. 22, 2023
The Guardian, "Conspiracy craze: why 12 million Americans believe alien lizards rule us," April 7, 2016
Vice, "An Online Prophet With a Huge Following Has Been Convicted of Child Abuse," Aug. 21, 2023
Georgia Department of Corrections, "Find an Offender," accessed Nov. 1, 2023
PolitiFact, "Reptilian conspiracy theory continues after queen’s death," Sept. 12, 2022
PolitiFact, "No, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla isn’t a reptile," Dec. 1, 2022
PolitiFact, "His Royal Reptile? Video makes unfounded claims about King Charles III," Aug. 9, 2023
PolitiFact, "No, this video doesn’t prove Biden isn’t human," March 22, 2021
PolitiFact, "California Gov. Gavin Newsom is a human, despite what social media posts say," Oct. 5, 2023
TIME, "The Reptilian Elite - Conspiracy Theories," accessed Nov. 1, 2023
NBC News, "Like QAnon's Capitol rioters, the Nashville bomber's lizard people theory is deadly serious," Jan. 12, 2021
Vox,"Lizard people: the greatest political conspiracy ever created," Feb. 20, 2015
National Park Service, "The Roosevelt Pets - Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site," Nov. 22, 2020
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Snakes in the White House? No, US presidents aren’t reptiles.
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