The late President Abraham Lincoln famously noted that you can always fool some people. Thanks to social media, it is increasingly easy. No day goes by without something truly outlandish and nonsensical being posted. Unfortunately, much of it goes viral, spreads as fact, and is accepted as such.
Where Did the Misinformation about the USS Nimitz Come From?
Such was the case on Monday afternoon, after it was reported that the US Navy’s nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Nimitz was steaming to the Middle East to support her sister carrier, USS Carl Vinson, which had been operating in the region for several weeks. This will be the latest dual flattop deployment to the area this year, but some on social media believed a more nefarious purpose could explain why the USS Nimitz’s scheduled port visit to Vietnam was canceled.
The latest conspiracy theory to make the rounds on the online networks suggested that USS Nimitz will be sunk, and possibly not even by Iran or the Tehran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. Instead, the supercarrier, which is now likely on her final deployment, could be sunk as part of a carefully coordinated “false flag” operation, the goal of which is to force the United States into a full-blown war with the Islamic Republic.
“If it is true that the USS Nimitz is out in the Middle East right now, I fear the false flag will hit this ship, because it was supposed to be decommissioned this coming year. Watch out for a USS Liberty scenario,” wrote @Maxhedroom23 on X.
Yet, it wasn’t just someone with a fake name (based on a TV show from the 1980s, no less) who perpetrated this theory; seemingly “legitimate” account holders also shared a similar thought.
Independent journalist and documentary filmmaker James Li posted, “Many know Israel “mistakenly” attacked the USS Liberty in 1967. Few know it may have been part of a CIA-Mossad false flag op called ‘Project Cyanide’ to spark regime change in Egypt. With the USS Nimitz headed to Iran, you have to wonder: is history repeating itself?”
Sharmine Narwani, a columnist for The Cradle Media, shared a similar sentiment.
She wrote, “The USS Nimitz is being sent to the region for Israel to sink it, for US politicians to blame Iran, and then launch direct war on Iran. You NEVER send big targets like aircraft carriers into waters when your adversary has missiles that can easily target an expensive asset.”
The Planned Destruction of the USS Nimitz Is “Fake News”
Many wild conspiracies are based on known facts, where the “dots are connected” to reveal the “truth” that the mainstream media simply can’t see or ignore. In this case, the evidence is that USS Nimitz is scheduled to be retired and sent to Norfolk, Virginia, next year for recycling. That is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take five years or more.
Thus, the conspiracy suggested that the US Navy would directly benefit by not having to deal with an expensive recycling effort. Likewise, Maxheadroom23 and Li noted the USS Liberty. This US Navy technical research ship was monitoring the situation during the 1967 Six-Day War when it came under fire in a case of mistaken identity.
Israel claims it believed the vessel to be an Egyptian warship and launched a combined air and sea attack that killed 34 crew members. However, nearly 60 years later, there are theories that Israel knew it was an American vessel.
Where this latest conspiracy theory loses some steam is that it would be unclear who is expected to “sink” the carrier!
Narwani suggested, “You NEVER send big targets like aircraft carriers into waters where they could be attacked, but that’s untrue. The US Navy has rotated numerous carriers to the region for decades, even as Iran’s and its proxies’ capabilities have increased considerably. The airlines aren’t sent alone, but are accompanied by a strike group that includes guided-missile destroyers to shoot down those missiles!”
The idea that the US Navy would allow it to be sunk is nonsensical. Beyond the loss of life of more than 3,000 sailors, aviators, and Marines, the ship carries assets that far exceed the cost to recycle the vessel. The loss of a nuclear-powered carrier would be an environmental disaster, but it would also be a severe blow to the prestige of the United States Navy.
If an enemy can simply hit a carrier, it would embolden America’s foes. That’s a risk no one would take, even to find an excuse for America to be dragged into another conflict, something the Trump administration has vowed it won’t allow.
“I don’t know how people come up with this,” suggested technology industry analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics.
“History is full of clairvoyant soothsayers, and predictors that the sky is falling, and they have generally been wrong,” Entner, who regularly tracks trends on social media, told The National Interest.
Social media has increasingly been touted as a legitimate news source, serving as an alternative to traditional media, which is purported to be free from bias or agenda.
However, Angeli Gianchandani, global brand strategist and adjunct instructor of marketing and public relations at New York University and a graduate of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, told The National Interest that social media now acts as both a megaphone and a manipulator, especially during geopolitical crises.
She warns that various platforms allow unverified claims, including those supported by AI-generated images and originating anonymously, to go viral before fact-checkers can determine if the information is correct.
At the same time, the algorithms on these platforms reward engagement rather than information. Thus, posts that spark fear or outrage related to tribal identity have been shown to spread faster than actual news.
“Every time geopolitical tensions rise, so do conspiracy theories. But today, social media turbocharges these claims,” Giachandani explained. “A single tweet or video suggesting a ‘false flag’ involving the USS Nimitz can reach millions in hours, because the platforms are designed to reward what is outrageous, not what is accurate.”
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Merissa Daley.
