Fact Check: NO Evidence Clarence Thomas Was Poisoned -- He Was Diagnosed With An Infection

Fact Check

  • by: Marlo Lee
Fact Check: NO Evidence Clarence Thomas Was Poisoned -- He Was Diagnosed With An Infection No Evidence

Was Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas poisoned? Is that why Thomas was admitted to the hospital on March 18, 2022? No, neither are true: There is no evidence that Thomas was poisoned. A press release from the Supreme Court stated that Thomas was diagnosed with an infection after experiencing flu-like symptoms.

The story originated from an article published by Real Raw News on March 26, 2022, titled "SCJ Clarence Thomas Poisoned!" (archived here), which opened:

Stories that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was admitted to Sibley Hospital in Washington D.C. after physicians diagnosed him with a viral infection are mostly false, said a high-ranking 'White Hat' military source who claims our nation's tenured conservative justice ingested a near-lethal dose of thallium.

Users on social media saw this title, description and thumbnail:

SCJ Clarence Thomas Poisoned! - Real Raw News

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A press release from the Supreme Court sent out on March 20, 2022, alerted the public that Thomas was admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. after experiencing flu-like symptoms. After a few tests, doctors diagnosed him with an infection and he was treated with antibiotics.

Real Raw News has a long history of publishing false claims in mock news stories, many of them about convictions and executions of various public figures at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. For example, the site reported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hanged (she wasn't); former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was executed (he wasn't); and that "the military" convicted former Attorney General William Barr on charges of treason (it didn't).

The website for Real Raw News includes a disclaimer that warns readers not to take its content too seriously. Specifically, it says:

Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel.

Real Raw snip.jpg

(Source: RealRawNews.com screenshot taken Tue Aug 3 16:39:48 UTC 2021)

Lead Stories has covered claims published by Real Raw News in the past. Previous Lead Stories debunks of Real Raw News items are collected here.

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Marlo Lee is a fact checker at Lead Stories. She is a graduate of Howard University with a B.S. in Biology. Her interest in fact checking started in college, when she realized how important it became in American politics. She lives in Maryland.

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