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The inspiration behind Blake Lively, Kim Kardashian's Met Gala gowns

The Met Gala returned to the first Monday in May, and USA TODAY's Anika Reed was on the red carpet as the stars arrived to the "gilded glamour" bash.

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For the first time in 21years, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the Met Gala in early May.

Soon after, a picture began circulating online showing Clinton with a dress covered in names.

Since her appearance at the annual event, the dress she wore has garnered attention on social media, including onephoto of Clinton in her gown posted to Facebook that was shared more than 2,000 times in four days.

The photoshows Clinton walking the red carpet in her off-the-shoulder wine-colored dress with the names of conspiracy theories and individuals like Jeffery Epstein, JFK Jr.andPaula Jones writtenon top of her dress.

Various posts with the photo were shared thousands of times on social media.

Clinton's actual dress did have names subtly stitched on it, of dozens of famous women. But this picture was digitally manipulated to reference an array of conspiracy theories around Clinton, including baseless claims connecting the deaths of various people close to her and former President Bill Clinton.

Commenters generally recognized the image as modifiedbut seized on the photo to resurface an array of claims about those conspiracy theories.

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USA TODAY reached out to the userwho shared theclaim for comment.

Photos from the Met Gala show that Clinton's dress did not feature these names.

The dress Clinton wore did have 60 names embroidered onto it of famous women who inspire her,includingLady Bird Johnson,Clara Barton andHarriet Tubman.

The names featured on the dress in the modifiedimage are ones Clinton is often tied to on social media as part of the baselessClinton body count conspiracy theory: the idea that the Clintons secretly killed their political enemies.

For years, fact-checking and news organizations have debunked claims of this nature, but that hasn't stopped their consistent spread online.

The theory has a long history, dating back to 1993, when Linda Thompson, an Indianapolis lawyer and militia movement activist, created a list of 34 people connected to the Clintons who had died.

For example,Vince Foster, a former Clinton associate who died by suicide, was included in both Thompson's list from 1993 and the altered image of the dress that circulated on Facebook.

In 2016, Vox detailed why the Foster conspiracy theory had no basis in fact: Foster was found in a park with a bullet in his head and a gun in his hand, and both the U.S. Park Police and the FBI said he died by suicide.

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Jefferey Epsteins name is also featured on the dress multiple times,a nod to the connections between Bill Clinton and Epstein. After Epstein's death in 2019,conspiracy theories spread onlineconnecting his death to Hillary Clinton.Days after his death, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examinersaid his cause of death was suicide by hanging.

Based on our research, we rate SATIRE the claim thatHillary Clinton wore a dress to the Met Gala with names of people and conspiracy theories. The photo was digitally manipulated to include names of individuals from thebaseless Clinton body count conspiracy theory and other conspiracy theories surrounding Clinton. Fact checkers and news organizations have repeatedly debunked the claims that the Clintons are to blame for an array of deaths.

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online.

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Fact check: Hillary Clinton Met Gala dress included tribute to women - USA TODAY