Baseless clone claims replicate on social media

Pity politicians aging in the public eye, for they may someday be accused of relinquishing their lives to a "body double" or "clone," as a recent Instagram post suggests. 

"Ohhh nothing is happening you say," the caption on the July 9 post says, alongside images comparing different photos of high-profile people including former Vice President Mike Pence, King Charles III and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The hashtags include #bodydouble and #clone.

 One image of Charles is labeled "clone."

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on March 24, 2024 in a Facebook post

Nickelodeon's splat logo design is based on the shape of Epstein Island.

Claims that lawmakers and others have been replaced by body doubles or clones are long-running and unfounded. The claims compare photos in which the people pictured are at different ages, shot from different angles, in different lighting and so on. Some of the photos are higher quality and others lower quality. 

In short: it doesn’t amount to evidence that these public figures have been replaced. And at PolitiFact, the burden of proof is on the person — or post — making the claim. 

We rate this one Pants on Fire!