Donald Trump

Did Donald Trump announce that people who had cosmetic surgeries would no longer be eligible for any form of government assistance starting in March 2026? No, that's not true:There were no news stories about any such announcement from Trump, despite claims in a viral video. Neither the White House nor Trump's social media accounts showed anything looking like such an…

Did Barack Obama say that he wants to return to the White House in 2028 as president through "legal avenues" or as a "proxy candidate"? No, that's not true: Contrary to the posts citing his "exclusive interview on a major news network" on December 7, 2025, the former president did not talk to any TV stations on that day. He…

Did Melania Trump glare at Donald Trump when he chatted with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum at the FIFA World Cup Final Draw? No, that's not true: The footage showing Melania looking annoyed is not real and has been edited. Donald Trump chatted with Sheinbaum and Mark Carney, as well as the first lady during the event. The altered video was…

Did the United States send $45 million in freshly-printed cash to the Taliban in Afghanistan on a chartered flight on December 8, 2025? No, that's not true: The photo used to make the claim was published in 2023 in a report about United Nations cash shipments to Afghanistan as humanitarian aid. The UN -- not the US -- has sent…

When I received an invitation last month to come to Macedonia to talk with the fact checkers and journalists at the Metamorphosis Foundation about Lead Stories' experience with our automatically generated short-form fact checking videos, I didn't hesitate for a moment. Ever since 2019 when I wrote about a network of Macedonian fake news websites operating out of the town…

Was Pete Hegseth's nameplate at the December 2, 2025, cabinet meeting misspell his title as "SSECRETARY OF WAR"? Yes, that's true: Photos and video recorded by several media agencies and on the White House website confirmed that an image showing that spelling is real. The photo appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on December 2, 2025. The…

Did Elon Musk acquire Donald Trump's Truth Social for $10 billion in November 2025? No, that's not true: A message purporting to be from Donald Trump's Truth Social account was fake. The person who posted a fake screenshot of the fake message wrote that they did so to entertain themselves. There are no news reports of Musk buying Truth Social…

Do viral posts about a confrontation between AOC and Donald Trump's son Barron, with the involvement of Louisiana Senator John Neely Kennedy, describe a real-life event? No, that's not true: Contrary to the claim, there is no video recording of an exchange that allegedly happened on the Senate floor. The posts appear to be part of foreign-operated networks that share…

Did Barron Trump announce a 2028 run for U.S. Senate at an event that "broke Washington in half"? No, that's not true: Barron Trump would still be too young to qualify for service in the U.S. Senate in 2028. A viral Facebook post contained verifiably false details about a viral hashtag and there being actual news reports about such an…

Did Donald Trump write a letter to Nancy Pelosi on December 20, 2019 which contained a hidden message, "FUck YoU CUNT," spelled in the first letter of every line? No, that's not true: A search of the Trump White House archives did not produce a match for the screenshot which was posted on social media. There is no official record…