Michelle Obama

False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. Here are our most read fact checks of the past year, reflecting our reader's interest in finding out the truth about various viral stories. If you see something suspicious in 2026,…

Was former first lady Michelle Obama videotaped executing a barbed takedown of Donald Trump on the 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' show in the fall of 2025? No, that's not true: As of November 12, 2025, no such video recording existed. Michelle Obama hadn't been on Kimmel's show for years at that time. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

Did the late Charlie Kirk say "Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously" as social media posts claim? No, that's not a precise quote: Attacking affirmative action, Kirk slammed by name four prominent liberal Black women . On his podcast, he specifically criticized Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, TV host Joy Reid, Supreme Court…

Did Barack and Michelle Obama sell their Martha's Vineyard estate to Les Wexner, a money management client of Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true. The home that Wexner purchased on Martha's Vineyard in July 2025 had been rented for Obama summer vacations from 2009 to 2011, while Obama was president. Though they later bought an estate on Martha's Vineyard, that…

Did a federal judge order Michelle Obama to hand over "her financials from her time as First Lady" to DOGE? No, that's not true: That story originated on a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The image appeared in a post (archived here) with a meme published…

Did Michelle Obama reveal in a podcast interview that she was in therapy because she is "transitioning" sexually? No, that's not true: The former first lady explained to interviewer Jay Shetty on his "On Purpose" podcast in April 2025 that she sought therapy to help her navigate the "next phase" of her life in which she is 60 years old…

Did an April 2025 video show former First Lady Michelle Obama referring to herself "as a Black man"? No, that's not true: Obama was addressing Marlon Wayans, a Black man, and introduced her question to him with that preface. Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, interviewed Damon and Marlon Wayans on their podcast "IMO." The claim appeared in an April…

Did the federal government pay Barack and Michelle Obama $30 million over the course of the Biden administration, from 2021 to 2025? No, that's not true: That claim originated in an April 2025 post by a Facebook account that labels its content as satirical in nature. We found no corroboration whatsoever for the claim. The story appeared in the form…

Does a social media post stating "Never seen anyone fall off harder" show how Michelle Obama looks in March 2025? No, that's not true: The image in the viral social media post has been edited. The altered promotional Image for "IMO," a podcast featuring Michelle Obama and her older brother Craig Robinson, has the faces of the two hosts switched.…

Did DOGE discover that the General Services Administration has been paying Michelle Obama $122,000 per month since 2009? No, that's not true: The story originated on a website named "The Dunning-Kruger Times" which has a clear disclaimer it publishes satire. It is run by a man who runs a network of sites and Facebook pages designed to trick conservatives into…