The Baltimore bridge disaster puts the worst of the internet on show

A 948-foot cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland at 1:27 a.m. this morning, causing it to collapse. Within minutes, all of X/Twitter suddenly became experts on cargo and supply chains. As rescue workers plunged into the chilly waters in the early morning darkness, accounts were driving clicks from the comfort of their beds with rumors of engine failure, foreign intrigue and Pete Buttigieg’s incompetence. 

Some on the far right have already determined the crash was a terrorist attack, beating both the Department of Transportation and local government to any official pronouncement. “This ship was cyber-attacked,” Andrew Tate posted on X from his Romanian exile, leading the charge. “Lights go off and it deliberately steers towards the bridge supports. Foreign agents of the USA attack digital infrastructures. Nothing is safe. Black Swan event imminent.”

Alex Jones added that World War 3 has started: “A cyber-attack is probable.” The claims were quickly reposted by an army of un-checkmarked users. 

Others believe the crash is the opening of American front of the Israel-Hamas war. “Israel Cancels its visit to Washington after the US allows the UN Gaza cease-fire resolution to pass and then the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is attacked,” said Gabe, a family therapist and free-speech enthusiast. “This is not a coincidence, nor was it an accident.”

Even users who didn’t outright call terrorism implied that something was foul. “Definitely looks deliberate,” wrote one user while another asked, “How does a cargo ship magically lose all its power?”

Cockburn is surprised no one has yet accused the Danes, who chartered the vessel, of attacking the bridge. Something is rotten there, after all.

There’s also been a lot of questioning of the physics of the accident, as if a 200,000-ton vehicle wouldn’t destroy anything in its path. “You mean to tell me the driver of this ship randomly fell asleep or had a malfunction and completely hits SPOT ON TO WHERE THE ENTIRE BRIDGE WOULD COLLAPSE,” asked @RedPilAries. 

And of course, politicization for likes has been rampant. Users are calling on transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg to resign for his failure to prevent the freak accident. Esteemed man of letters Dr. Sebastian Gorka posted a video of the crash captioned, “Is there a better encapsulation of Biden’s America?” The bridge opened in 1977 when Jimmy Carter was president. Among the vitriol, DC mayor Muriel Bowser’s terse “Oh no,” in a now deleted post, is one of the less insensitive responses Cockburn has seen.

The likeliest cause of the crash, of course, was that the ship simply lost power. The video shows the lights flash on and off twice before careening into the bridge. Maryland governor Wes Moore confirmed that the ship’s crew issued a mayday which allowed authorities from stopping further traffic onto the bridge. “These people are heroes, they saved lives last night,” he said.  

According to data from the Electronic Quality Shipping Information System, the cargo ship has had machinery issues in the past. Since 2015, it has been inspected twenty-seven times and been found to have two deficiencies. In June 2023, Chilean authorities gave the ship a “deficiency” for “propulsion and auxiliary machinery.” The most recent inspection in New York City, however, found nothing wrong.

In any case, this morning’s tragedy showed that while American supply chains might be at risk, our engagement-farming industry is thriving.