FACT CHECK: Did A Supreme Court Order Reveal The Smithsonian Was Involved In A Cover-Up To ‘Protect The Mainstream Chronology Of Human Evolution’?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook claims that the Supreme Court ordered the Smithsonian Institution to disclose it had destroyed “giant human remains” in the early 1900s to “protect the mainstream chronology of human evolution.”

“History is being tampered,” reads the caption.

Verdict: False

No such Supreme Court ruling exists. The story likely comes from a satire article published in 2014.

Fact Check:

Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution is a large museum and research complex with 17 museums, galleries and a zoo in the Washington, D.C. area, according to its website. (RELATED: Does This Photo Show The Crowd At The ‘Storm Area 51’ Event?)

The Facebook post, which has been shared more than 100 times, claims that the Supreme Court ordered the Smithsonian to disclose that it destroyed giant human skeletons to “protect the mainstream chronology of human evolution.”

However, the Daily Caller did not find any news reports of the Supreme Court ruling on such a case, and resources like the Supreme Court database turned up no matches either. The only two Supreme Court cases related to the museum complex – Smithsonian Institution v. St. John and Smithsonian Institution v. Meech – had nothing to do with evolution.

The story, debunked by Snopes in 2014, likely stems from an article on World News Daily Report, a site that publishes “satirical” and “fictional” content, according to its disclaimer. The article, entitled “Smithsonian Admits To Destruction Of Thousands Of Giant Human Skeletons In Early 1900s,” offers a similar but more detailed story of a supposed evolutionary cover-up.

Various hoaxes about the discovery of giant human remains have been circulating online since at least 2002, according to the National Geographic Society.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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