Eve: The Clone That Never Was (Or Was She?)

The Raëlian PR Rollercoaster

📅 December 27, 2002 – The Big Reveal

Brigitte Boisselier, Clonaid’s CEO (and Raëlian “bishop”), announces in Hollywood, Florida: “Eve, the world’s first human clone, has been born.” The baby is supposedly a clone of a 31-year-old American woman, delivered by C-section. She promises DNA proof “within a week.” Cameras flash. Scientists roll their eyes.

📅 December 28–30, 2002 – Global Frenzy

Every major outlet runs the story. Governments, ethicists, and the Vatican issue statements. Lawyers in Florida scramble to file motions for a guardian to protect baby Eve (in case she’s real).

📅 January 2003 – The Vanishing Evidence

Boisselier says the DNA testing is delayed because the parents are nervous about publicity. Clonaid refuses to say where Eve is, citing “privacy.” The court motions stall because no baby is produced.

📅 Mid-2003 – The Quiet Fade

Clonaid claims more cloned babies are born (“five total”), but no proof surfaces. Journalists who follow up hit dead ends. Scientists call the whole thing a likely hoax.

📅 Years later – The Afterglow of Mystery

The Raëlians still point to Eve as “proof of concept,” but with zero scientific validation. The story lives on as one of the strangest cult-meets-science publicity stunts ever.

Why Start a Conspiracy if It’s Fake?

Because the press ate it up. Publicity, recruitment, money, and political theater — that’s the fuel. Whether or not Eve existed, the Raëlians won the only prize they cared about: attention.

Bottom Line

Clonaid didn’t just play God with science — they played God with narrative. They didn’t need DNA proof to win headlines; they just needed one microphone and the audacity to say: “We cloned Eve.”

https://clonaid.com/

Where Are They Now?

👽 The Raëlians

Still around, still preaching that humans were created by extraterrestrials called the Elohim.

They lean hard into transhumanist vibes: cloning, sensual meditation, tech-meets-immortality.

Numbers? A few tens of thousands worldwide, but mostly fringe. Their biggest spotlight since Eve was probably when they protested against religion in public spaces dressed like space-age cultists.

🧬 Clonaid

The company still has a website (yes, really), advertising “cloning services” and banking on the mystique of Eve.

No credible scientific proof has ever been produced for Eve or any subsequent claimed clone.

They occasionally resurface in media cycles, but always with the same playbook: bold claims, zero receipts.

🎤 Brigitte Boisselier

The face of the Eve announcement. After the media storm cooled, she faded from mainstream news but remains tied to Raëlian activities. Still used as a spokesperson, but not in the spotlight like she was in 2002–03.

⚖️ The Legacy

Politicians in multiple countries cited the Eve claim when pushing cloning bans or tighter bioethics laws.

Scientists still use the story as a textbook case of how not to make a groundbreaking scientific claim.

For cult-watchers, Eve is Exhibit A of how movements can manufacture myth to recruit, fundraise, and stay culturally relevant.

Clonaid didn’t clone the future — they cloned headlines.

Eve may never have existed, but the myth of Eve is immortal.