His statement, however, consisted of a basic outline. Many consider the experiment to be hypothetical and that it did not occur at all. One argument to support that claim is that Franklin did not even provide a first-hand account of the experiment, whereas later experiments, like the one by French scientist Jacques de Romas,  did so in detail. De Romas had his findings recognized by the Bordeaux Academy and the Académie française in Paris as a result. Meanwhile, Franklin had not much to say.

Additionally, modern scientists know that if Franklin had touched the key afterwards to feel the spark, he would have died on the spot. Some interpret his statement differently, however, saying that the kite only picked up an "ambient electric charge", explaining why he wasn't directly hit and killed.