Has Stephen Hawking Died And Been Replaced With A Puppet? Conspiracy Theorists Say ‘Yes’

Some conspiracy theorists believe that Stephen Hawking isn't who he claims to be.

Has Stephen Hawking been replaced with a government-controlled impostor
Dennis Van Tine / AP Images
Odd

Stephen Hawking is one of the most well-known physicists on the planet, from his theories that have changed humanity’s collective understanding of life on Earth and the goings-on of space and time to his enduring spirit that has allowed him to survive and even thrive for decades with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) while a physics professor at Cambridge University. Professor Hawking’s form of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is of the early onset, slow-progressing variety. At the time of his diagnosis in 1963, Stephen Hawking was just 21 years old and given two more years to live.

He is now 76.

While many describe Professor Hawking’s 50-plus-year survival with ALS as miraculous, particularly considering disease degeneration that has rendered him utterly dependent upon medical, scientific, and computer technology for communication (Hawking is able to operate a communication device with his cheek muscles) and mobility (his wheelchair is controlled by small movements of his chin), some internet conspiracy theorists claim that there is more to it than that.

According to some conspiracy theorists, the “real” Stephen Hawking died decades age, back in 1985. What’s more, Daily Mail reports that the same conspiracy theorists believe that Hawking has been replaced with a puppet or lookalike by the “political and scientific elite.” The reason for the subterfuge? To steer and control the scientific beliefs of the masses.

In an attempt to support and substantiate their theory regarding the idea of a puppet Stephen Hawking, conspiracy theorists have cited six points that they claim prove that today’s Professor Hawking cannot be the same as the original.

His Looks

According to those who believe that a faux-Hawking has been foisted on the world for nefarious purposes, one need only look closely at the Cambridge professor to see that he’s not the man he used to be. Many say that photographs of Stephen Hawking indicate that he looked older in 1982 than he did in 2017. Not to mention hair that has gotten blonder and ears that have appeared to grow smaller.

Stephen Hawking Young Replaced With Imposter
Stephen Hawking in 1986. Banks / AP Images
Stephen Hawking Old Replaced With Imposter
Stephen Hawking in 2015. Frank Augstein / AP Images

While some may cite the disfiguring nature of ALS when explaining the changes in Stephen Hawking’s appearance, the die-hard puppet conspiracy believers claim that the professor’s teeth are something that can’t be easily explained away. Namely, why have they been so badly neglected, and how has their basic structure seemingly transformed without major and inexplicable dental work?

Most Hawking conspiracy theorists say that his teeth have been obviously changed over the years with the bottom teeth longer and the top appearing to have been filed down almost completely, begging the question, “Why?”

His Prognosis

While some may call his continued survival an incredible feat of modern medicine while others call it a miracle, Stephen Hawking’s online trove of focused conspiracy theorists believe there is something decidedly fishy about the fact that he’s still alive. He’s survived for 55 years, despite having a prognosis of just two years to live at the time of his diagnosis, and nobody can explain precisely how or why.

Which is why some believe that’s it’s not true, that Professor Hawking didn’t really survive at all.

The Wedding Pics

In photos of his second wedding, some discerning armchair detectives believe that it’s not the same Stephen Hawking in every snapshot. Of the photos available of his wedding day with Elaine Mason, each shows his bride in a different wedding ensemble, and the images appear to depict her as older and with different hair in one of them.

In one photograph, Elaine appears with Hawking. In a second, she appears with someone who is supposed to be Hawking, but whom conspiracy theorists believe is a lookalike. The images can be viewed here. According to those who believe that the real Professor Hawking passed away in the 1980s, the people behind the Hawking charade gradually and methodically phase out old photos of the real Stephen Hawking with photoshopped versions featuring their replacement scientist.

His Computer Voice-Synthesizer

Conspiracy theorists claim that the technology behind Professor Hawking’s voice-synthesizing computer doesn’t add up, that twitching a cheek muscle could never give the physically disabled physicist the ability to speak quickly, eloquently, and with such a wide range of vocabulary. What’s more, many have pointed out that his face isn’t always moving when Hawking is “speaking.”

Instead, those who believe that Stephen Hawking is a puppet and/or impostor claim that he isn’s really speaking at all, but that words are fed into Hawking’s computer by “NASA astrophysicists” with a vested interest in telling the masses lies, or whatever else the shadow government wants them to believe.

Those Theories, Though

While Stephen Hawking has become something of a scientific and even popular culture mainstay in Western society, the truth is that he deals in theories that are difficult, if not impossible, to prove. As TIME reports, not all of Hawking’s theories have panned out, but that hasn’t stopped the professor from sharing them and even working his way into decidedly “unscientific” communication platforms, such as modern TV shows The Simpsons and Star Trek, among others.

In reality, the complexities of most of Hawking’s theories make them incomprehensible to the masses. Still, he puts them (and his opinion) out there. Combined with the widely honored title of “smartest man in the world,” much of what Stephen Hawking has to say is taken as virtual gospel, despite lack of substantiation or even understanding.

The Reason For The Deception

Stephen Hawking is widely believed, and not just when he’s talking about physics-related topics. From global warming to universal healthcare to artificial intelligence to the end of the world to Donald Trump, Hawking’s fans and supporters tend to follow his cues on virtually any topic, making him, according to conspiracy theorists, the perfect tool for the so-called shadow government to “push science and lose God.”

Conspiracy theorists claim that the fake Stephen Hawking is now being used to make the world’s population fearful, and therefore easier to manipulate. In recent years, the professor has prominently promoted the ideas that the end of humanity could come within the next century and that extraterrestrials are likely real and dangerous, among other things. The so-called “puppet Hawking” has also become extremely political of late, and has embraced an anti-Donald Trump, anti-Brexit stance, and because of his status as being one of the most intelligent people ever to have lived, the masses have no qualms following his lead, claim conspiracy theorists.

Despite the intricacy of the theory, there is absolutely no proof that Professor Stephen Hawking is anyone other than who he claims to be. That is, a brilliant physicist suffering from a terrible, debilitating disease for much longer than anyone ever believed possible when he was diagnosed.