Did the U.S. Coast Guard find a brother of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, named Matthew, on board a boat carrying $1.2 million worth of fentanyl? No, that's not true: Although shared widely in April 2025, the story originated from a website that describes its output as satirical. Ocasio-Cortez's brother is named Gabriel, not Matthew.
The claim appeared in a widely-shared video posted to TikTok on April 21, 2025 (archived here). Against the backdrop of what appeared to be a news article, a speaker summarized the claim, saying:
AOC's brother has just been charged with trafficking fentanyl -- $1.2 million worth of it.
He was caught on Lake Superior, and he is now being held in a federal facility on charges...
The video can be watched below:
@mamawendi.4 #greenscreen #aoc #fentanylawareness #lakesuperior #drugbust ♬ Break My Stride - Matthew Wilder
The story was fake.
The text in the backdrop came from an April 21, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here) on the "America's Last Line of Defense" page, as shown below:
(Source: Facebook screenshot)
The post linked to a story on the website Dunning-Kruger Times, which features the following disclaimer about its content:
Dunning-Kruger-Times.com is a subsidiary of the "America's Last Line of Defense" network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery...
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.
In reality, Ocasio-Cortez does have a brother, but his name is Gabriel, not Matthew.
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For previous Lead Stories fact checks involving the Dunning-Kruger Times, click here.
For previous fact checks relating to AOC, click here.
