Did the U.S. State Department deny Dr. Anthony Fauci's passport renewal application in March 2025? No, that's not true: The original source of that claim about the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was an article on a website that describes its own content as "fiction" and "satire." The article attributed quotations to two fictional members of Congress.
The claim appeared in a March 24, 2025, post on X (archived here) along with a meme bearing the following caption:
The US State Department has DENIED Anthony Fauci's passport renewal application:
"We have a referral from Justice that disqualifies him from international travel."
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
The X post also included a link to the original source of the false claim -- a March 21, 2025, post (archived here) on the website Dunning Kruger Times, which is part of a network of self-described satire websites and social media accounts.
The Dunning Kruger Times website contains the following disclaimer:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.
In keeping with the fictional nature of the story, the article included quotations attributed to two non-existent politicians: "Congressman Joe Barron" and "Senator Art Tubolls."
