Story highlights The rumor is "a ridiculous non-story," per the East Wing

The bizarre rumor grew out of a Twitter post

Washington (CNN) No, Melania Trump doesn't have a body double -- despite what you may have seen on the internet.

The bizarre rumor grew out of a Twitter post from a California man, who, according to his bio, sells hemp syrup. The tweet implied the first lady standing beside President Donald Trump last week wasn't actually the first lady, but an imposter. He compared an older image of the first lady to a tight shot of her -- as though this provided evidence that there are two different Trumps.

The East Wing dismissed the obvious falsehood, chastising those pursuing it.

"Once again, we find ourselves consumed with a ridiculous non-story when we could be talking about the work the first lady is doing on behalf of children, including the opioid crisis that is gripping our nation ," East Wing communications director Stephanie Grisham told CNN.

Nonetheless, the social media engine roared, conspiracy theorists latched on, pointing to photographs of the first lady trailed by a Secret Service agent who has facial similarities, and the assumption grew that a body double exists.