Anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theorists are claiming that today’s solar eclipse is a ‘sign from God’

The 2024 solar eclipse is happening today (8 April), and while most people accept it to be a natural phenomenon, some are trying to claim that it is a “sign from God” related to the immoral nature of today’s world.

Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is notorious for regularly spouting anti-LGBTQ+ views, went viral after posting about the eclipse on X, and suggesting we should all “repent”.

She wrote: “God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent. Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come. I pray that our country listens.”

The post came after a 4.8-magnitude earthquake hit New Jersey and shook skyscrapers in New York City.

Someone added a community note to Greene’s post, clarifying that the eclipse had been “predicted hundreds of years ago” and was not “caused by contemporary actions”.

31.6 million people across the US will be in the path of the biggest solar eclipse since 2017. Additionally, earthquakes are extremely common.

Greene doubled down on her thoughts, writing in another post: “Many have mocked and scoffed at this post and even put community notes. Jesus talked about that in Luke 12:54 – 56.

“Yes eclipses are predictable and earthquakes happen and we know when comets are passing by, however God created all of these things and uses them to be signs for those of us who believe.”

Rather than repenting, most LGBTQ+ people seem to have kept themselves entertained by making memes about the upcoming total eclipse, as well as wondering what it means for their star sign.

Even though Greene didn’t specify what the US needed to “repent” for specifically, it’s not hard to make a connection between this post and other tweets about various things she disapproves of: a list which includes vaccines, immigration and, of course, the LGBTQ+ community. In February, she referred to LGBTQ+ people as “groomers” in a post backing controversial X account LibsofTikTok, which targets LGBTQ+ people.

Right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ commentator Alex Jones also added to the online conspiracy theories by saying the “globalists” are intending to use the eclipse to kick start their “nefarious plans” on X (formerly Twitter) Spaces – but did not say what those “nefarious plans” are.

Jones has, amongst many other things, blamed the Pulse nightclub shooting on LGBTQ+ communities, accused Michelle Obama of secretly being a man and argued that chemicals in the water are turning frogs gay.

Others have claimed the eclipse is the beginning of the “end of days”, due to flimsy evidence about the path of the eclipse covering at least two US towns called Nineveh – a city associated with sin and vice in the Bible.

Many of these theories have been debunked online by other influencers, including a religious academic named Dan McClellan at the University of Birmingham.

In a TikTok video, McClellan said: “The 8 April eclipse means absolutely nothing other than the moon is in between the Earth and the sun.”