Media Bias Fact Check selects and publishes fact checks from around the world. We only utilize fact-checkers that are either a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) or have been verified as credible by MBFC. Further, we review each fact check for accuracy before publishing. We fact-check the fact-checkers and let you know their bias. When appropriate, we explain the rating and/or offer our own rating if we disagree with the fact-checker. (D. Van Zandt)
Claim Codes: Red= Fact Check on a Right Claim, Blue = Fact Check on a Left Claim, Black = Not Political/Conspiracy/Pseudoscience/Other
Fact Checker bias rating Codes: Red = Right-Leaning, Green = Least Biased, Blue = Left-Leaning, Black = Unrated by MBFC
MOSTLY TRUE
Claim by Mark Warner (D): “They are not getting the traditional five months training. … The training for the ICE agents now is 47 days.”
PolitiFact rating: Mostly True (ICE training has been significantly shortened from roughly five months to about eight weeks conducted six days per week — about 48 days — though reports vary slightly and DHS has not provided full clarity.)
Claim Via Social Media: An oil company executive said Donald Trump smelled like rotten roast beef during White House meeting and farted audibly dozens of times.
Claim via Social Media: U.S. Vice President JD Vance said, “I think we’re going to see those deportation numbers ramp up as we get more and more people online, working for ICE, going door-to-door and making sure that if you’re an illegal alien, you’ve got to get out of this country.”
Snopes rating: Correct Attribution (I think we’re going to see those deportation numbers ramp up as we get more and more people online, working for ICE, going door-to-door and making sure that if you’re an illegal alien, you’ve got to get out of this country and if you want to come back, apply through the proper channels.)
Claim via Social Media: A video shows Donald Trump criticising Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and saying he’s “too busy worrying about everyone else’s problems”.
Full Fact rating: False (There is no evidence Donald Trump said this. The audio in this clip is not authentic and was generated using AI.)
Disclaimer: We are providing links to fact-checks by third-party fact-checkers. If you do not agree with a fact check, please directly contact the source of that fact check.
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In January 2026, the U.S. Postal Service issued a letter to its employees that could be shown to law enforcement to verify their status as essential workers.
Rating:
Context
While the letter was authentic and sent to USPS employees, it didn’t signal a new policy or a departure from normal practices. The letter is regularly reissued to postal workers, according to a spokesperson for the American Postal Workers Union.
In January 2026, socialmediapostscirculatedanimage of a letter allegedly sent to U.S. Postal Service workers. The letter stated it could serve as proof that the postal worker was classified as an essential employee, exempting them from certain state or local government restrictions, such as curfews and some evacuation orders.
Some social media users who shared the letter said it could be “hinting at a possible crisis ahead” because it explained that postal workers were exempt from movement restrictions implemented in response to “large-scale emergencies,” including epidemics, hurricanes and civil unrest.
Snopes readers searched our website and wrote in asking whether the letter was real. Statements from both the Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union confirmed it was authentic.
In an email to Snopes, Postal Service spokesperson Jim McKean indicated the letter was real and had been sent to employees, calling it “a reissuance of our Essential Services letter.” His response contradicted social media posts suggesting that the letter signaled a new policy or a departure from normal practices.
The union directly confirmed the letter’s authenticity and sent Snopes a copy, which is visible below. The language in the APWU’s copy exactly matched what appeared in the social media posts.
A spokesperson for the union also told Snopes that the letter is regularly reissued to postal workers.
The letter, dated Jan. 5, 2026, was signed by Doug A. Tulino, who serves as the Postal Service’s deputy postmaster general, chief operating officer and chief human resources officer, according to the agency’s website.
Federal law prohibits interference with mail delivery
Federal law requires the Postal Service to deliver the mail six days a week in most areas of the country and makes it illegal for anyone to obstruct the delivery of mail. This can create confusion when a postal worker is stopped by local law enforcement.
During emergencies, local or state authorities may impose curfews, restrict access to certain areas or order evacuations. At the same time, federal law prohibits interference with mail delivery, potentially putting local law enforcement actions in conflict with postal workers’ required duties.
The letter notes that while most relevant local and state restrictions provide an exemption for essential services such as mail delivery, some do not. It asks for postal workers to keep the letter and their Postal Service ID with them while at work, including during their commute, so they can show it to authorities if they encounter issues during an emergency.
Some commenters responding to posts sharing the letter suggested it was sent out to protect postal workers in response to President Donald Trump’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in states led by Democrats. The APWU spokesperson told Snopes that a union representative who viewed the letter before it was reissued raised concerns about the timing of its release on similar grounds.
It is important to note that the letter was dated Jan. 5, days before an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. In other words, the letter was not a response to Good’s killing or protests that followed it.
Sources
“18 U.S. Code § 1701 – Obstruction of Mails Generally.” LII / Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1701. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
“39 U.S. Code § 101 – Postal Policy.” LII / Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/101. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Deng, Rae. “ICE Shooting of Renee Good Was 1st Recorded Minneapolis Homicide of 2026.” Snopes, 9 Jan. 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/renee-good-ice-shooting-2026-minneapolis-homicides/.
Deputy Postmaster General, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer Douglas Tulino – Who We Are/Leadership – About.Usps.Com. https://about.usps.com/who/leadership/officers/dpmg-coo-chro.htm. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Maney, Nicole Foy and Sarahbeth. “More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.” ProPublica, 16 Oct. 2025, https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will.
Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer David Steiner – Who We Are/Leadership – About.Usps.Com. https://about.usps.com/who/leadership/officers/pmg-ceo.htm. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
An image authentically shows Minneapolis ICE shooting victim Renee Nicole Good mocking the 2025 assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Rating:
In the days after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026, social media users circulated an image appearing to show Good mocking the 2025 death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot in the neck.
The image spread on X, Threads and Facebook (screenshot). Snopes readers also wrote in to ask if the picture was real.
The image was accompanied with the words, “Here is her is celebrating Kirk getting shot” and “KARMA…”
This picture was doctored, either with photo editing tools or artificial intelligence, to make it seem like Good had mocked Kirk. The creator of the image edited Good’s head onto a screenshot from a video of a different woman. As such, we have rated it as fake.
Multiple reverse-image searches did not determine the creator of this image.
The fake image appeared to use a photo from Good’s maternity shoot that has been widely circulated by national and global news outlets. A side-by-side of the two pictures shows the expression on Good’s face and the curl of her hair in the fake image matches the credible image of her:
(X user @Memere269/Knot & Anchor Photography)
The bottom half of the doctored image appeared to be taken from a video that social media users spread in October 2025, shortly after Kirk was killed. Social media users claimed that clip showed a Chicago teacher mocking Kirk, but Snopes previously found little to no verifiable evidence about the incident.
The shirt and parts of the background of the fake image match the video that circulated online. Some of the background features of the original screenshot appear to be missing, added to or moved around in the fake image, including an American flag and other protesters with signs. That suggests the image of Good at the protest was likely created with artificial intelligence.
Speaking in Detroit, President Donald Trump said unearthing and ending fraud nationwide would eliminate the country’s deficit.
Trump criticized public services fraud by Somalis in Minnesota and also said there is fraud in “many other places.”
“If we stop this fraud, this massive fraud, we’re going to have a balanced budget,” Trump said Jan. 13 at the Detroit Economic Club. We also fact-checked other statements from that speech.
In Minnesota, investigators have identified fraud involving federal money for housing programs, autism services and child nutrition. Federal prosecutors charged dozens of defendants beginning in 2022 — before Trump’s current term — and have filed more charges since Trump took office in 2025.
So far, the Minnesota fraud charges involve a minimum of hundreds of millions of dollars. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who led Minnesota fraud prosecutions, said in December that Medicaid fraud in the state could reach $9 billion, although not all of that would be federal money. (Thompson resigned Jan. 13.)
Adding the dollars lost to fraud in Minnesota to federal losses elsewhere — which have been estimated as high as $521 billion annually — would not come close to the amount of the federal deficit. The fiscal year 2025 deficit — that year’s difference between revenues and spending — was $1.775 trillion.
“You can’t balance the books on waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Steve Ellis, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group that tracks the federal budget. “It’s important to root it out, but the only way you get anywhere close to a balanced budget is fiscal restraint.”
The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this article.
Federal report in 2024 found hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud
In April 2024, the Government Accountability Office, during the tenure of former President Joe Biden, produced what it called a “first-of-its kind, government-wide estimate of federal dollars lost to fraud.”
The office estimated $233 billion to $521 billion lost in fraud per year, based on 2018 to 2022 data from agency inspectors general and fraud reports submitted to the Office of Management and Budget.
The GAO’s topline figure included not only official fraud findings from legal proceedings but also estimates based on individual agencies’ findings of fraud. The agency also extrapolated figures it believed represented undetected fraud.
The estimated annual losses amounted to 3% to 7% of what the government spent on average in those years.
Joshua Sewell, director of research and policy at Taxpayers for Common Sense, previously cautioned that the GAO report is filled with caveats, including its overlap with the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in increased spending.
Still, “it’s very, very unlikely that there is enough fraud in the federal government to balance the budget,” said Chris Towner, policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscally hawkish group. “For the $1.775 trillion deficit for that year to have been due to fraud, it would mean that one-quarter of federal spending was fraudulent, or some combination of fraudulent lost tax revenue and federal outlays totaled that amount.”
Another challenge is that fraud is not easy to root out entirely. Historically, “only a small percentage of tax dollars lost to fraud are ever actually recovered by the government,” said Bob Westbrooks, a fraud and corruption risk expert who served as executive director of the federal government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
Trump administration has sought to investigate fraud in blue states
In recent weeks, Trump has spotlighted fraud in blue states such as Minnesota. But there have been notable high-dollar fraud investigations in other states, too.
In Mississippi, a solidly Republican state, a trial is underway in a welfare scandal that auditors said resulted in the loss of $100 million in federal money from 2016 to 2020.
In 2024, the U.S. Sentencing Commission pointed to the Southern District of Florida as the nation’s top district for fraud, adding that nationwide government benefits fraud offenses had increased 242% since 2020. Florida is also a red state.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services froze access to certain child care and family assistance funds for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York — all blue states — saying it was related to fraud concerns. A federal judge blocked it temporarily.
Our ruling
Trump said, “If we stop this fraud, this massive fraud, we’re going to have a balanced budget.”
The amount of fraud committed against federal programs is large, but the dollar amount does not come close to equalling the dollar amount of the federal deficit.
The highest nationwide fraud estimate puts fraud losses at $521 billion. If all of that could be recouped, it would still be less than a third of the 2025 deficit.
Gov. Ron DeSantis told Floridians that under his leadership the state’s economy soared as he cracked down on illegal immigration and protected election integrity.
“We have delivered big results, and we have set the standard for the rest of the country to follow,” DeSantis said Jan. 13.
It marked the two-term governor’s final State of the State address kicking off Florida’s legislative session. Lawmakers are expected to consider bills on property tax exemptions, lowering the age to buy a gun, prescription drug costs and redistricting. DeSantis has called a special redistricting session to begin on April 20 and has floated calling another to address overhauling the state’s property tax system.
DeSantis, who dropped out of the 2024 Republican presidential primary, did not address his political future. He is term limited and can’t seek reelection.
We fact-checked a few of the governor’s statements and a response from the Florida House Democratic leader about Floridians’ cost-of-living concerns.
“Florida represents about 6.5% percent of the U.S. population. Yet, since 2020 our economy has accounted for more than 14% of all new jobs produced throughout America.”
This is close to accurate.
Since January 2020, Florida has added 971,400 jobs, which is almost 13% of the nearly 7.5 million jobs added in the U.S. during that period. (The governor’s office confirmed this was their starting point.)
The calculation varies depending on the start date. Starting the count in January 2021 — another read of “since 2020” — shows a gain of 1.4 million jobs in Florida and almost 17 million nationally. For that time frame, Florida’s share is about 8.3%. (The job gains are larger starting in January 2021 because the coronavirus pandemic dramatically reduced employment starting in March 2020.)
Florida is the only state that requires state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts, and “is responsible for the apprehension of nearly 20,000 illegal aliens. … Our people are safer because of these efforts.”
The statements about federal cooperation and numbers are accurate, with additional information needed on public safety.
Florida has been one of the top enforcers of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, trailing only Texas for arrests.
Through “Operation Tidal Wave” — the joint operation between Florida’s state and local agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement — more than 10,400 immigrants in the country illegally were arrested in 2025, according to state data. DeSantis said an additional 9,600 arrests were made through an agreement that allows state and local law enforcement to enforce certain federal immigration laws, bringing the total to around 20,000 arrests.
The Miami Herald corroborated that figure using data compiled by the University of California-based Deportation Data Project. The newspaper said 20,000 is an undercount because the data goes through mid-October and does not include U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrests.
The Herald found that more than 4,800 of the 20,000 people detained in Florida had only immigration violations, and no criminal charges or convictions. A quarter of those arrested had criminal convictions, and the rest had pending criminal charges that include nonviolent crimes such as driving without a valid license.
Florida has signed the most agreements with ICE to enforce federal immigration laws than any other state — 325 as of Sept. 30, a 577% increase since Trump’s inauguration.
“Florida now has the highest average minimum teacher salary in the southeast region, all told, we have provided a record of almost $6 billion towards this effort to better compensate our teachers.”
This is accurate but needs context.
DeSantis signed legislation in 2020 mandating a $47,500 minimum starting salary for public school teachers to boost recruitment, putting Florida in the lead for the metric in the southeast.
Because funding was primarily directed to the minimum starting pay, veteran Florida teachers have seen little growth, giving the state the lowest overall average teacher pay in the region, around $54,000. Georgia’s overall average, by comparison, is more than $10,000 higher, despite its lower starting pay.
Since 2020, DeSantis has also allotted nearly $6 billion in funds for teacher salaries. This includes a $1.56 billion increase in his proposed 2026-27 budget, almost 15% more than last year’s budget and the state’s highest-ever teacher salary increase.
The Florida Education Association, the state teacher’s union, says despite recent pay increases, Florida is consistently at the bottom for U.S. teacher pay.
The organization refers to the National Education’s Association’s 2025 report, which ranked Florida second-to-last in the nation for average teacher pay for the second consecutive year, saying the pay increases have failed to keep pace with inflation.
DeSantis’ Florida Department of Education has rejected the NEA’s ranking, saying the organization doesn’t consider factors such as cost of living and Florida’s lack of state income tax.
“When a member of a group of thieves was interviewed on CNN, and they asked, ‘Why do you steal in New York, even though you like spending the money in Florida?’ The response was very simple, from the thief: ‘Because in Florida they put you in jail.’”
When DeSantis said something similar in 2024, law enforcement experts cautioned that it was anecdotal.
During a Feb. 2, 2024, segment, CNN law enforcement analyst John Miller recalled a conversation — similar to the account DeSantis shared — he’d had with detectives tracking a New York crew suspected of stealing from pedestrians and retail outlets who said they stole in New York and spent the proceeds in Florida. CNN didn’t interview a thief on air; Miller referenced conversations he’d had with unnamed detectives, who he said in turn had talked to an unnamed thief.
Experts said it’s unclear how common the pattern Miller described actually is, and if it exists, whether it’s driven by prosecutorial practices in two different states.
Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell: “Cost of living is the No. 1 issue facing Floridians. We all hear it from our communities back home.”
This is a correct read of Floridians’ sentiments, according to a November 2025 Florida Atlantic University poll.
The latest poll available from the university called Florida’s high cost of living a “pressure point” for the state as 90% of residents said they were at least somewhat concerned about inflation and 80% were concerned with housing affordability.
The poll also found that nearly 50% of Floridians surveyed say they have considered moving out of the state because of the cost of living.
One thousand American adults over the age of 18 responded to the survey between Sept. 30 and Oct. 10, 2025, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
President Donald Trump traveled to Michigan on Jan. 13 to address the Detroit Economic Club.
Earlier in the day, the federal government announced that inflation — a major preoccupation for voters, and one of Trump’s key 2024 campaign issues — held steady at a 2.7% year-over-year rate. That’s slightly lower than the 2.9% in December 2024, the last full month under President Joe Biden, or the 3% in January 2025, a month shared by both presidents.
But consumer sentiment has fallen on Trump’s watch, showing people feel increasingly negative about their economic position. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index has fallen from 71.7 in January 2025 to 51 in November 2025. That’s just slightly above its lowest level ever, in June 2022, when year-over-year inflation peaked at about 9%.
The nation is still adding jobs, but at a slower pace than usual. Counting December’s preliminary numbers, the economy added 584,000 jobs in 2025, the lowest annual figure since 2003, not counting recession years.
Trump’s long-running confrontation with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reached a new high, as Powell announced Jan. 11 that he was under Justice Department criminal investigation related to testimony about a Federal Reserve building renovation. Trump has been saying for the past year that he wants to see Powell gone because he has not lowered interest rates enough.
This morning, before leaving Washington, D.C., for Michigan, Trump told reporters, “Well, he’s billions of dollars over budget. So, he either is incompetent, or he is crooked. I don’t know what he is, but he certainly doesn’t do a very good job.”
Read PolitiFact’s fact-checks of his statements below.
A long-running rumor asserts that U.S. President Donald Trump privately paid tens of millions of dollars to settle multiple allegations that he sexually assaulted minors.
One of the most frequently shared versions (archived) of the claim has appeared as a meme, titled, “TRUMP RESUME FOR THE PRESIDENCY.” Under that heading is list of six named children, each paired with a specific age, location, year, description of alleged abuse, and an alleged settlement amount:
1: Michael parker, 10-years old, oral rape Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL, 1992. Trump paid his parents a $3 million settlement.
2: Kelly Feuer, 12-years old, $1 million settlement paid in 1989, allegations of forced intercourse, Trump Tower, NY, NYC.
3: Charles Bacon, 11 years old, $3 million, allegations of oral and anal intercourse, 1994, Trump Tower, NY, NYC.
4: Rebecca Conway, 13 Years old, claimed intercourse & oral sex. Trump Vineyard Estates, Charlottesville, VA, 2012, $5 million settlement.
5: Maria Olivera, 12 years old. Her family was paid $16 million to settle allegations of forcible intercourse – occurring in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL, 1993
6: Kevin Noll: 11 years old, anal rape, Trump Tower, NY, NYC, 1998. Settlement details unknown.
(Facebook page Don’t Be Weird)
The image ends with a caption reading “ANY OTHER JOE WOULD BE ROTTING IN PRISON BUT MAGA SAID … THIS DUDE WILL MAKE A GREAT PRESIDENT!”
It has circulated on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and X, often shared as evidence that Trump is a “child rapist” whose wealth and political power have allegedly kept him out of prison. A similar image promoting the claim looks like this:
(Facebook user Shibui Ni)
In short, there was no credible evidence that any of the named children exist as accusers, that any such lawsuits were ever filed, or that Trump paid the settlements described in the meme. The origin of the rumor is an uncorroborated list published on a blog, not a court document or credible news investigation.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said the claims were “obviously false.”
In 2020, we investigated a version of this meme claiming Trump had paid at least $35 million to settle child-rape allegations and likewise found no evidence that such settlements existed.
Images with the claim list the same alleged victims.
(Don’t Be Weird, ascensionavatar.wordpress.com)
While searching for the recirculated version in early January 2026, Google displayed a notice stating that “Results for people are limited,” and the results did not appear in a straightforward chronological order.
(Google search results)
Below, we trace the rumor’s origins and explain why the memes’ claims don’t hold up.
Where the rumor came from
The rumor traces back to a Jan. 16, 2019, blog post (archived) on Legal Schnauzer, titled, “Donald Trump has paid about $30 million to settle child-sex complaints, including a 2012 incident at Albemarle Estate in Charlottesville, Virginia.”
That post in turn cites an article at Wayne Madsen Report (WMR), a blog run by American writer Wayne Madsen, titled, “Why is Trump so afraid of [ex-Trump lawyer Michael] Cohen’s testimony?” (In 2020, the article was only available to members.)
The Legal Schnauzer piece quotes WMR as saying that Trump had paid roughly $30 million to settle “child-sex complaints” since 1989, and that the alleged settlements extended “beyond those widely reported in the mainstream press.”
WMR claimed it had received a list of child-sex settlement claims “from a reputable Republican source,” but it presented no documents, court filings, or corroborating evidence for these purported cases. The only stated basis was an unnamed Republican source. As such, we were unable to independently verify it.
WMR is not a reputable, mainstream investigative outlet and has been frequentlydescribed as being run by a conspiracy theorist or spreading conspiratorial views. Fact-checking organization Lead Stories, which investigated a similar meme in 2021, likewise described WMR as “a blog which was described by the Encyclopedia of American Loons as an ‘utterly deranged nutter with a mind unclouded by facts, evidence, or reason.’”
We contacted Legal Schnauzer and WMR seeking supporting evidence, and we will update this story if we receive a response.
Six cases, zero evidence
The six names most often cited online are: Michael Parker, Kelly Feuer, Charles Bacon, Rebecca Conway, Maria Olivera, Kevin Noll. For each name, the meme specifies the child’s age (10-13 years old), a Trump-owned property and year, a description of alleged sexual assault and a specific settlement amount (or “unknown” for one case).
If any of these were real lawsuits in U.S. courts, there would be some record of them, such as a case docket, court filings, media reports, or later mentions in books or legal databases — even if the specific terms of any settlement were kept confidential. However, no public records, credible news reports or court documentscorroborate the existence of any of the six alleged child victims or the multimillion-dollar settlements listed.
The Katie Johnson lawsuit
WMR also pointed to two pseudonymous accusers, “Katie Johnson” and “Maria P.,” who allegedly were raped as minors at the Manhattan townhouse of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a one-time friend of Trump, in 1994.
In fact, there were two related lawsuits filed in 2016 by the same anonymous woman, first as “Katie Johnson” in California and then as “Jane Doe” in New York, accusing Trump and Epstein of raping her when she was 13. Both cases were ultimately dismissed or withdrawn, with no trial, no public finding of guilt and no announced settlement.
In 2020, we reported the lawsuit was promoted by figures such as former TV producer Norm Lubow, who told us he helped file it under a false name, Al Taylor. As we’ve reported, it “does not disprove that Johnson is a real person, but it does show that those claims were aggressively promoted and aided by someone who has a professional history of using individuals to create fictional salacious drama, and that is a fact both he, and lawyers working for the plaintiff, attempted to downplay or hide.”
Bottom line
All in all, claims that Trump paid about $30 million to settle child-sex complaints brought by six named minors is unsupported by any credible evidence and rests entirely on an unverified list from a blog.
In July 2024, PolitiFact, a fact-checking organization, published a fact check of a Threads post sharing the same list, concluding, “We found no evidence of these cases or settlements.” LeadStories similarly stated in a 2021 article that “there is no evidence of the cases ever having been filed against Trump and no proof the listed legal actions exist.”
The in-question list was not the only social media claim asserting that Trump has been charged with, or paid to cover up, child rape. In 2024, Reuters debunked a rumor that The Associated Press (AP) had reported prosecutors were “reconsidering” bringing child rape and molestation charges against Trump. Reuters confirmed with the AP that no such story had ever been published and noted that “there are no credible news reports about any child molestation charges against Trump.”
Meta Appoints Dina Powell McCormick as President and Vice Chairman
Dina Powell McCormick, a seasoned banking executive and former Republican official, has joined Meta full-time as president and vice chairman, reporting directly to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Previously on Meta’s board, Powell McCormick brings deep global financial connections and experience in U.S. government, including roles in the Bush and Trump administrations. Her focus will include strategic infrastructure investment, AI development, and partnerships with governments and sovereign entities. She joins from BDT & MSD Partners, and will also remain on their advisory board. Zuckerberg praised her as uniquely qualified to guide Meta’s next growth phase. (Read More) (Axios Rating)
X (formerly Twitter) Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Music Industry
X has launched a legal case against the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and associated publishers, alleging a coordinated effort to coerce it into blanket music licensing deals. X argues the publishers “weaponized” DMCA takedown requests to pressure the platform into overpaying for music usage, despite X’s limited reliance on music content. This case follows a 2023 lawsuit in which publishers sued X for $250 million over 1,700 copyright violations. Elon Musk’s company claims it was willing to negotiate individual deals but was instead met with collective demands. The outcome could reshape how music licensing is negotiated across platforms. (Read More) (Social Media Today Rating)
PBS News Weekend Cancelled Following $1.1 Billion Federal Funding Cut
PBS has cancelled its weekend news broadcasts, PBS News Weekend, after a massive $1.1 billion cut to public broadcasting funding by Congress. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is also being dissolved amid political pressures. The weekend show, which averaged 827,000 viewers, will be replaced by two new weekly programs: Horizons, focusing on science and technology, and Compass Points, covering foreign affairs. The funding rollback significantly impacts PBS’s ability to provide breaking weekend news coverage. (Read More) (Associated Press Rating)
Media Bias Fact Check selects and publishes fact checks from around the world. We only utilize fact-checkers that are either a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) or have been verified as credible by MBFC. Further, we review each fact check for accuracy before publishing. We fact-check the fact-checkers and let you know their bias. When appropriate, we explain the rating and/or offer our own rating if we disagree with the fact-checker. (D. Van Zandt)
Claim Codes: Red= Fact Check on a Right Claim, Blue = Fact Check on a Left Claim, Black = Not Political/Conspiracy/Pseudoscience/Other
Fact Checker bias rating Codes: Red = Right-Leaning, Green = Least Biased, Blue = Left-Leaning, Black = Unrated by MBFC
TRUE
Claim via Social Media: Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation’s document that has largely been used as a roadmap for U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term in office, contains language calling for the “re-hemisphering” of Latin American countries.
Snopes rating: True (Page 184 of Project 2025 does use the word “re-hemisphering” when discussing Latin America. It uses the word in an economic context rather than a militaristic or interventionist context, with a goal of moving “manufacturing and industry closer to home.” While the next bullet point, “A ‘local’ approach to security threats,” does call for more U.S. intervention in Latin America, it proposes potential military (and other) collaborations with allies in and outside Latin America — not unilateral military operations.)
Claim Via Social Media: Picture of woman in pink shirt holding black-and-white bags and pointing a phone while blocking a line of SUVs marked “ICE” is real
Claim via Social Media: A video from November 2025 that circulated online in early January 2026 correctly stated that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid asks white applicants to further specify what ethnic background they have.
Snopes rating: True (FAFSA began including such subcategories for people from numerous ethnic backgrounds from 2024 onwards. While some social media users believed the change could usher in discrimination against different “types” of white people, higher-education policy researchers have long supported the collection of more detailed race and ethnicity data to better understand what students from different backgrounds need. Respondents can also choose the option “prefer not to answer.”)
Claim by Ron DeSantis (R): Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro “was releasing people from his prisons and sending them to our southern border under the Biden administration.”
PolitiFact rating: False (There is no evidence from academic studies, government reports or prison monitoring organizations that Venezuela freed prisoners and sent them to the U.S.; experts say Venezuela has no such policy and its prisons remain overcrowded.)
Disclaimer: We are providing links to fact-checks by third-party fact-checkers. If you do not agree with a fact check, please directly contact the source of that fact check.
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In early January 2026, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, spurring backlash and renewed calls to abolish the federal agency. Following the shooting, a video began circulating online claiming to show two ICE agents slipping on an icy sidewalk, one of whom allegedly fired his rifle by accident as he fell.
The video appeared on X, Threads, Instagram, Facebook and Reddit, garnering millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes. The earliest iteration of the video Snopes could identify was posted on TikTok (archived) on Jan. 9:
Some social media users said the scene took place in Minnesota (archived), while others (archived) criticized the agent whose gun appeared to fire for keeping its safety off. In response to the criticism, others said the weapon had not fired at all, instead claiming the flash seen in the video came from the rifle’s flashlight briefly turning on (archived).
Snopes could not locate a version of the video with the original sound or the exact location where the scene supposedly took place. The lack of street signs and other identifiable landmarks made geolocation impossible.Despite this, we found no evidence that the video was fake or generated with artificial intelligence.
We contacted the account responsible for the TikTok post above, asking where the user had obtained the footage. We also contacted the X user who claimed the video was recorded in Minnesota. We will update this report should we learn more.
Given the lack of verifiable information, we could not rate the authenticity of the video or confirm whether the rifle had fired. We invite our readers to send tips with any information on this video.
Short videos can point to AI generation, and we could find no version of the one in question longer than nine seconds. However, viewing the video several times at varying speeds revealed no signs of unnatural movements typical of AI-generated videos. Every version was blurry, making it difficult to read the words on the men’s vests, though the word “POLICE” was visible on both. ICE agents sometimes wear vestsmarked “POLICE.”
Playing the video at a quarter of the speed revealed a flash two seconds into the footage, as the man walking ahead slipped and fell to the ground on his left side. Immediately after, a weapon appeared to recoil. Meanwhile, a still frame showed the muzzle of what appeared to be a rifle clearly lit with a small circle above it and the light’s focal point, or the “hotspot,” directed on the snow across from it. This lends credence to claims that the rifle had not accidentally fired, but a flashlight attached to it had switched on:
(TikTok user @jensosweet)
The second man in the video also fell and the two struggled to stand afterward.
A screenshot circulating online authentically depicted the criminal record of Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis in early January 2026.
Rating:
In January 2026, after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shotRenee Nicole Good, 37, in Minneapolis, a screenshot (archived) circulated online purportedly depicting Good’s extensive criminal record, listing crimes such as child abuse, battery of a police officer and trespassing.
For example, one person who shared the image wrote: “You idiots on the left really need to pick your martyrs better. Renee Good has one hell of a rap sheet including Child Endangerment and SEVERAL Battery of a Police Officer charges.” “Rap sheets” are documents that list arrests and convictions in the U.S.
According to the screen grab, law enforcement officials booked, which generally means jailed, Good four times in 2022, 2023 and 2024 under suspicion of various crimes.
The image primarily circulated onFacebook(archived, archived)and X(archived), but also appeared on Threads(archived), while Snopes readers contacted us asking if the screenshot authentically showed Good’s criminal record.
In short, there was no evidence the screenshot accurately depicted a history of Good being arrested or convicted. Numerous reputable news media outlets reported that she was 37, and The Kansas City Star newspaper said she was born on April 2, 1988. The criminal record circulating online was for a 44-year-old person born in October 1980 (implying the screenshot was from 2024 or 2025).
According to The Kansas City Star, Good was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and used to live in Kansas City, Missouri. The newspaper reported that one of Good’s neighbors said the 37-year-old planned a move to Canada before, according to the BBC, “experiencing Minneapolis.”
Searches of criminal record databases in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota— states where Good had reportedly lived — for Renee Good, Renee Sheppard and Renee Macklin (Good’s name during marriages to her formerhusbands) uncovered no recordsmatching the screenshot circulating online. Given the above, the criminal record could not have belonged to Good; therefore, we concluded that social media users miscaptioned the screenshot.
It was not clear where the criminal record screenshot originated from or whether it belonged to a real person who shared a name but not a birthdate with Good. According to Google’s Gemini chatbot, the screenshot did not contain SynthID — an invisible watermark that Google embeds in content created by its generative artificial intelligence products. Online AI detectors Sightengine and Hive Moderation found the image was unlikely to have been AI-generated. Such detectors are not always fully reliable.
The Associated Press reported that Good “apparently was never charged with anything beyond a single traffic ticket.”
Good died blocks away from her Minneapolis home, which a neighbor told The Minnesota Star Tribune that she, her wife and her 6-year-old son had moved to “recently.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is an agency, has maintained (archived) that the officer who fatally shot Good “fired defensive shots” because he feared for his life. On X, the DHS claimed Good had “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism.”
At the time of this writing, the FBI had taken over a state investigation into Good’s death, according to a Jan. 8, 2026, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension statement, which had previously carried out the investigation jointly with the FBI.
Sources
‘AI Image Detector. Detect AI-Generated Media at Scale’. Sightengine, https://sightengine.com/detect-ai-generated-images. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
BIESECKER, MICHAEL, et al. ‘Family and Neighbors Mourn Woman Who Was Shot by ICE Agent and Made Minneapolis Home’. AP News, 8 Jan. 2026, https://apnews.com/article/ice-shooting-minneapolis-minnesota-9aa822670b705c89906f2c699f1d16c5.
‘FBI Takes over Investigation into Fatal Shooting of Renee Good’. MPR News, 8 Jan. 2026, https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/08/fbi-will-investigate-after-ice-agent-shoots-renee-good-in-minneapolis.
Maher, Kris, et al. ‘What We Know So Far About Renee Nicole Good’. The Wall Street Journal, 9 Jan. 2026, https://archive.is/20260110005623/https://www.wsj.com/us-news/what-we-know-so-far-about-renee-nicole-good-bb3d847c.
Minnesota Public Criminal History. https://chs.state.mn.us/. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
‘Renee Nicole Good: Who Was the Woman Killed by ICE in Minneapolis?’ BBC News, 8 Jan. 2026, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1jepdjy256o.
State of Colorado Criminal History Check. https://www.cbirecordscheck.com/Index.aspx. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
‘SynthID’. Google DeepMind, https://deepmind.google/models/synthid/. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Thomas, Judy L., et al. ‘ICE Killing of Renee Good Leaves Son Orphaned and Former KC Neighbors Reeling Read More at: Https://Www.Kansascity.Com/News/Local/Article314252777.Html#storylink=cpy’. The Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026, https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article314252777.html.
Walsh, Paul, and Jeff Day. ‘”She Was an Amazing Human Being”: Mother Identifies Woman Shot, Killed by ICE Agent’. Minnesota Star Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026, https://archive.ph/yJgpx#selection-515.0-522.0:~:text=The%20Goods%20moved%20in%20pretty%20recently%2C%20Radford%20said%2C%20but%20they%20had%20%E2%80%9Cwonderful%20conversations.%E2%80%9D.
What Is a RAP Sheet? | Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative. https://cjei.cornell.edu/about-your-record/what-rap-sheet. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
In the days after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, social media users circulated a document that portrayed her as an abusive mother.
“Renee wasn’t so ‘Good’… Domestic Abuse Child Endangerment is enough for me,” read a Jan. 11 X post that included a screenshot of what looks like an arrest history for someone named “Nicole Renee Good.”
“If you can abuse a child, abusing law enforcement is no stretch,” read a similar Jan. 11 Facebook post that shared the same screenshot.
The screenshot showed an image of a woman resembling Good, who was killed Jan. 7 in Minneapolis, after video showed an ICE officer shooting into her vehicle.
It listed what look like several arrests between 2022 and 2024, including one for a “domestic abuse child endangerment law” violation.
But the screenshot contains numerous reasons to doubt its authenticity:
The person named in the screenshot was listed as being 44 and having an Oct. 7, 1980 birthday. A person with that birthday would have been 44 at the time of the 2024 arrest and 45 as of Jan. 7, 2026, when Good died.
Good, the Minneapolis woman, was 37 years old when she died. She was born on April 2, 1988, according to a notarized Missouri court document from 2023, in which she requested a name change.
We also saw people sharing versions of the screenshot that showed a different age — 35 — with the same date of birth in 1980; that math doesn’t add up either.
The screenshot contained no information about what state or jurisdiction the supposed arrests took place, and we could not independently verify its authenticity.
The booking dates listed in the screenshot range from April 2022 to October 2024. Good lived in Kansas City, Missouri, during that time, documents show.
When we shared the screenshot with Kansas City Missouri Police Department spokesperson Phillip DiMartino he said, “I am unsure where that document is from.”
Good was born in Colorado Springs and later moved to Virginia and Kansas City. She studied at Old Dominion University in Virginia, graduating with an English degree in December 2020, the university said in a statement. She was married to Justin Sheppard of Colorado, the Wall Street Journal reported, and later to Timmy Ray Macklin Jr., who died in 2023. She had three children.
PolitiFact did not find any court records in Colorado, Missouri and Virginia showing that Good has ever been charged with child abuse or endangerment. We also searched news reports for information about possible arrests and reviewed statements from Good’s friends and family. None revealed any information showing Good has faced child abuse charges.
Her former brother-in-law, Joseph Macklin, described her as “a great and loving mother,” The Washington Post reported.
She had recently moved to Minneapolis with her wife and 6-year-old son, whom she had with her second husband, according to newsreports.
Good’s first husband called her a “devoted Christian” in an interview with The Associated Press. He said he never knew her to participate in any protests. Together, they had a daughter and son, now 15 and 12.
The AP also reported that Good “was never charged with anything” beyond a traffic ticket. PolitiFact found she was cited in 2019 in Virginia for failure to have her vehicle inspected. The Denver Post also reported that she had a 2012 traffic ticket in El Paso County, Colorado.
A screenshot showing an arrest record for a “Nicole Renee Good” contains numerous inconsistencies and does not prove Renee Nicole Good was accused of child abuse. We rate that claim False.
PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
Amid voter concern about the economy and affordability, President Donald Trump announced a new policy: a 10% cap on credit card interest rates for one year.
A Jan. 10 White House X post included an image of Trump’s Truth Social post from the previous day that said in part, “Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%.”
On Jan. 11, two days before a planned economic-themed speech in Michigan, Trump discussed the policy with reporters on Air Force One.
A reporter asked, “What happens if the credit card companies don’t comply by the January date you set?”
Trump said, “Well, … then they’re in violation of the law.” He added that credit card companies have “really abused the public. … I’m not gonna let it happen.”
There’s a problem with Trump saying credit card companies would be violating the law: There is no such law capping rates at 10%.
Trump has talked about implementing one since the 2024 presidential campaign. “We’re going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates at 10%,” he said in September 2024.
PolitiFact is tracking updates on this pledge as part of our MAGA-Meter roster of 75 second-term Trump campaign promises. The capped-rate promise is Stalled because legislation in Congress has not advanced much beyond being introduced.
At the time of publication, the White House had released no further details.
Even an executive order would be unlikely to carry legal weight, experts said. Executive orders are directives that manage operations of the federal government; they are typically not tailored to private-sector companies such as credit card issuers.
“I think it’s obvious there can be no violation of law unless and until there is an actual law,” said Ilya Somin, a George Mason University law professor. The exception would be if a previous Congress had empowered the president to set credit card rates, which none have.
University of North Carolina law professor Michael Gerhardt agreed: “I doubt the order, if that is what it is, is constitutional, given that this rule should come from Congress.”
We asked the White House for the authority under which credit card companies would be defying a law, but we received no response.
Trump’s renewed push on the issue could give existing legislation a boost in the coming days. On Jan. 12, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee — Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — said she and Trump had talked about the prospects for credit card interest rate cap legislation.
The potential for bipartisan collaboration comes as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has counted $1.23 trillion in U.S. credit card balances in the third quarter of 2025, a record level.
Lawmakers ranging from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on the left to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., on the right have urged a cap on credit card interest rates. “We cannot continue to allow big banks to make huge profits ripping off the American people,” Sanders and Hawley said in a joint press release last year.
But passing a law to implement a 10% cap through both chambers by Jan. 20 would be a heavy lift.
A rate cap “is something the financial industry will fight hard,” Ted Rossman, a Bankrate senior industry analyst, told CNBC. “This would be a huge hit to banks, credit card lenders and payment networks.”
A joint statement by the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Financial Services Forum and the Independent Community Bankers of America said a 10% cap would “would reduce credit availability” and be “devastating for millions of American families and small business owners.”
Trump could simply assert that the 10% rate cap is legally binding and wait to defend that position in court.
Such a position “ought to be struck down in the courts, but we will have to wait to see if the courts, in fact, do that,” Gerhardt said.
Our ruling
Trump said credit card companies would be “in violation of the law” if they don’t cap interest rates at 10% by Jan. 20.
When he said this, no law dictating a 10% rate cap was on the books, and passing one through both chambers in just over a week would be a major challenge.
Legal experts said an effort to impose an executive order on private-sector companies would be unlikely to succeed in the courts, though Trump could issue one nonetheless.
But as we published this fact-check, there was no law and no executive order. We rate Trump’s statement False.
The fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jan. 7 brought more scrutiny on Trump-era training requirements.
“Remember we’re beefing up ICE 10,000 more agents,” Warner said. “They are not getting the traditional five months training. Literally, Jake, the training for the ICE agents now is 47 days. Why 47 days? Because Donald Trump is the 47th president.”
He also used this figure Jan. 8 when talking to a liberal commentator and Jan. 12 on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Other lawmakers, social media posts and journalists repeated the same line in the days after ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot Renee Good.
The Trump administration has confirmed to multiple news organizations it shortened the duration of immigration agent training, while taking issue with some outlets’ framing and declining to answer follow-up questions. Neither ICE nor DHS responded to PolitiFact’s queries. We were unable to confirm whether the number of training days is connected to Trump’s status as the 47th president.
Warner, who did not respond to PolitiFact, said on CNN that the investigation into Good’s killing needed to be completed before people reached conclusions.
When Tapper pointed out to Warner that the ICE agent who shot Good “had at least 10 years experience,” Warner said, “So be it, and again that’s why there ought to be an investigation.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement trainees practice shooting a handgun at the indoor firing range at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Brunswick, Ga. on Aug. 21, 2025. (AP)
Trump’s ICE shortened training, but reports vary on how much
The training talking point stems from The Atlantic August story “Fast Times at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” Reporter Nick Miroff wrote that training for new deportation officers had been reduced from about five months to 47 days, citing three unnamed officials.
“Administration officials have cut that time roughly in half, partly by eliminating Spanish-language courses,” the report said. “Academy training was shortened to 47 days, three officials told me, the number picked because Trump is the 47th president. DHS officials said the training will run six days a week for eight weeks.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that The Atlantic’s reporting was “false,” because training is eight weeks. The Examiner story, however, cited ICE acting director Todd Lyons as confirming an eight-week training schedule of six work days per week. That amounts to 48 training days.
The frequently asked questions page on ICE’s career website reflects the outdated training schedule, saying new deportation officers will complete almost five months of training — five weeks of language and 16 weeks of law enforcement.
The AP in August reported the agency “cut Spanish-language requirements to reduce training by five weeks,” citing Caleb Vitello, who runs ICE training. Vitello told AP the Spanish-language training that was cut would be supplemented with translation technology services.
News organizations and administration officials have reported training times shorter than 48 days in recent months:
An unnamed DHS official told NBC News in October that ICE had originally shortened its training from 13 to eight weeks before shortening it again to six weeks.
Government Executive, a news outlet that covers federal agencies, reported Jan. 5 that DHS has shortened ICE agent training from six months “to around six weeks.”
DHS has not offered clarity about new officer training since the Minneapolis shooting. A senior DHS official told People magazine Jan. 8, “Training to become an Enforcement and Removal Operations officer is 8 weeks long,” and declined to specify the number of days.
“The official did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for clarification, since eight weeks matches the timeframe that The Atlantic previously reported,” it reported.
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement speaks to the press on the agility course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Brunswick, Ga. on Aug. 21, 2025. (AP)
ICE officer who shot Good had 10 years experience, additional training
Having worked for ICE for a decade, Ross would have followed the previous 16-week training schedule and five-week language program.
Ross also received specialized training after being selected for ICE’s special response team, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told AP.
Before becoming an ICE agent, Ross served in the Indiana National Guard and was deployed to Iraq and also worked as a Border Patrol field intelligence officer.
Our ruling
Warner said immigration agents “are not getting the traditional five months training. … The training for the ICE agents now is 47 days.”
News outlets and Homeland Security officials reported cuts to the length of ICE training during Trump’s second term, reducing it from about five months to six days a week for eight weeks. That’s 48 days of training over a 56-day period. (What it has to do with Trump’s status as 47th president is outside of the scope of this fact-check.) Ross, the ICE officer who shot and killed Good, had been with the department for about 10 years.
Two news organizations have since reported that the duration of training was further reduced to about six weeks; spokespersons from DHS and ICE did not respond to our requests for confirmation.
In the big picture, ICE officers’ training time has been significantly shortened to a period at or near what Warner cites. The statement is accurate but needs clarification, so we rate it Mostly True.
When Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell said Jan. 11 he is being criminally investigated by the federal government, President Donald Trump told NBC News, “I don’t know anything about it.”
Trump could have been in the dark about the specifics of the Justice Department investigation — approved in November by United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, The New York Times reported — but he has been clear about his desire to oust Powell.
The investigation focuses on Powell’s oversight of the bank’s headquarters renovation. The Federal Reserve has been undergoing building renovations since 2021 on a project first approved in Trump’s first term. The $2.5 billion cost is about $600 million over the original budget, because of design changes, higher costs and more asbestos than anticipated.
The investigation is the most dramatic escalation of long-simmering tensions between Trump and Powell, who the president initially tapped for the top Fed job but who has since drawn Trump’s ire with his go-slow approach on lowering interest rates.
Trump said at a Dec. 29 press conference with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu that his team was weighing a “a gross incompetence lawsuit” against Powell.
Trump might have been referring to a claim of “gross negligence,” which can be pursued in either civil or criminal law, depending on its severity.
That’s different from the criminal investigation launched against Powell. That addresses whether he lied to Congress about the cost and scope of the renovations.
Powell’s term as chair ends in May, but he can remain as a Fed governor through January 2028.
“No one — certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve — is above the law,” Powell said in a video statement. “But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”
The White House did not respond to our request for comment.
The investigation into Powell aligns with other Trump administration efforts to prosecute the president’s adversaries, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both prosecutions have experienced setbacks with grand juries declining to indict or judicial rulings in the defendants’ favor.
In a September Truth Social post, Trump directly addressed Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging her to step up the Justice Department’s prosecutorial efforts, including against Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. He wrote, in all caps, “Justice must be served, now!”
Trump also moved to fire another Fed governor, Lisa Cook, citing a “criminal referral” from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, a Trump appointee, relating to mortgage fraud. Cook has challenged her firing, and her court case is proceeding.
Trump’s Dec. 29 remarks are the clearest he made about using the legal system to oust Powell.
In his second term, Trump has often called for Powell to resign and frequently attacked him:
On April 17, 2025: “I’m not happy with him. I let him know it and, oh, if I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast.”
On June 18, 2025: “We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed.”
On July 13, 2025: “Jerome Powell’s been very bad for our country.”
On July 15, 2025: “You talk to the guy, it’s like talking to a nothing. It’s like talking to a chair. No personality, no high intelligence, no nothing.”
On July 22, 2025: “I was very nice to him at the beginning because I know how to sell and, you know, at a certain point it didn’t matter anymore because the guy is just not a smart person.”
If the Justice Department is able to convict Powell, it could satisfy the narrow grounds for removing the Fed chair, which can be done “for cause by the President.” This refers to “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” according to a Supreme Court decision about the Federal Trade Commission.
In a May decision that allowed the president to fire members of independent commissions, the Supreme Court noted that the ruling didn’t affect the Fed, which it called “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.”
Peter Conti-Brown, a University of Pennsylvania professor of financial regulation, told PolitiFact in July that Powell could argue that leveraging the renovation budget is a “pretext” for his firing — a legal term used to describe a false reason an employer gives for firing an employee in order to cover the real reason.
“Courts evaluating any attempted removal after the fact will assess both the animus and pretext very heavily against President Trump,” Conti-Brown said.
Powell, in his video response, called the investigatory inquiries “pretexts” that mask the real reason for the administration’s desire to oust him, which is the dispute over setting interest rates.
In 1961, actor John Wayne penned an inspiring letter to — and later visited — a rural Montana school, sending the classroom a projector, a handful of his films and a $500 check.
Rating:
A rumor that circulated online in January 2026 claimed actor John Wayne, nicknamed “The Duke,” once penned an inspiring letter to — and later visited — a rural Montana school, sending the classroom a projector, a handful of his films and a $500 check.
In short, this claim was false. A YouTube channel (archived) called John Wayne’s Forgotten Legends originated the story in a Jan. 2 video (archived), which included a disclaimer identifying the channel’s content as fiction. The Facebook post’s text and alleged class photo featuring Wayne, along with the YouTube video’s script and visuals, also displayed signs of artificial intelligence at work.
Snopes contacted Wayne’s estate to ask if it could provide an official statement debunking the rumor. We also messaged the Courtney Harrington Facebook account to ask about its content and operation, including why t the account’s “page transparency” tab indicated that all three page managers were based in Indonesia. We will update this article if we receive a response. The John Wayne’s Forgotten Legends YouTube channel did not offer external contact details.
The fictional story of Wayne and the Montana school
According to the YouTube video (archived), the fictional story took place in March 1961, beginning with Wayne receiving a letter from a woman named Margaret, identified as a teacher at a rural Montana school. Margaret, with no last name mentioned, allegedly wrote to Wayne to tell him her students study scripts from his films to learn about “American history and values,” and asked him for advice on teaching children those very same values.
In response, Wayne supposedly wrote a letter back to the classroom with lessons about courage, honor and being an American. He also arranged with his business manager for the purchase of a projector for the classroom, as well as a handful of his films and a $500 check, according to the video.
Later, while shooting a movie in Montana, Wayne was said to have made a surprise visit to the school. After spending a considerable amount of time speaking to Margaret and the children, he allegedly took a photo with the class in front of the school building before leaving.
In 2021, after one of the students from the 1961 classroom died, a family member donated a copy of the picture to the Montana Historical Society, ensuring the inspiring story of “The Duke” lives on, according to the video.
The fake story and the role of AI
The made-up story of Wayne and the Montana classroom claimed that, in 2021, a family member of one of the students donated a copy of the photo showing Wayne, Margaret and the schoolchildren to the Montana Historical Society. However, the Montana Historical Society’s online search portal hosted no such picture.
The class image did not contain any definitive signs of AI generation. However, there were some potential indicators of AI: The girl appearing on her knees in the front row may have had two left ears, including one partially hidden in her hair, and the teacher was not looking at the camera. A reverse-image search also found no online postings containing the image prior to January 2026 — another discrepancy, considering the story’s claim of a family member donating the picture in 2021.
The YouTube channel’s description listed the creator’s location as Turkey and included a disclaimer that its stories are “original fictional narratives and dramatic interpretations.” The disclaimer read as follows:
This channel is dedicated to celebrating the legacy and values of John Wayne. The stories presented here are original fictional narratives and dramatic interpretations inspired by The Duke’s persona, life, and historical era. While we strive for historical authenticity in our settings, specific conversations and interactions are creative works designed for entertainment and inspiration purposes. This is a fan-tribute channel and is not officially affiliated with the John Wayne Estate.
The YouTube video also displayed an “altered or synthetic content” label. The label indicated the creator’s admission that at least some elements in the video were AI-generated, including the narrator’s voice and a man with inauthentic mouth movements exhibiting deepfake AI visuals.
The video’s script featured more than 2,000 words, indicating the user who originated the story — a person posting dozens of similar videos promoting untrue stories — likely used an AI tool to quickly produce the work. While websites that detect AI-written text can be unreliable, scans using the Copyleaks and ZeroGPT AI-detection websites concluded that a user likely generatedmost or all of the story with AI.
For further reading, we previously reported about a rumor claiming a drifter named Ronald McDonald murdered 12 children at county fairs across the U.S. Midwest in 1892, inspiring the modern-day McDonald’s fast-food chain mascot of the same name.
After the French actress Brigitte Bardot died on Dec. 28, 2025, posts appeared on social media claiming that she had been convicted for inciting racial hatred six times during her life.
While English-language sources consistently reported that Bardot had been convicted six times, French-language sources conflictingly reported either five or six convictions. We reached out to those French-language sources to ask clarifying questions.
Snopes found substantial reporting confirming at least five of Bardot’s convictions and strong — but not definitive — evidence supporting a sixth. We were unable to independently confirm the convictions through court records.
Bardot’s six reported convictions came in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2021. Snopes theorizes that journalists in France calculated five convictions by either combining the 1997 and 2000 convictions into one (because they were filed over the same text), or that one of Bardot’s convictions (possibly 2021) was for a different — but related — charge.
On Dec. 28, 2025, the French actress Brigitte Bardot, who was considered one of the most quintessential sex symbols in film throughout her career, died at 91.
Following her death, posts began appearing onsocialmedia questioning Bardot’s legacy. According to the posts, Bardot had been convicted for inciting racial hatred six times throughout her life and supported far-right political figures in France.
Snopes readers wrote in and searched the site to determine whether the claim about Bardot’s convictions was true.
Though English-language sources consistently stated Bardot was convicted for inciting racial hatred six separate times, French-language sources offered conflicting information, reporting either five or six convictions.
In sum, we found substantial reporting confirming at least five of Bardot’s convictions, and strong — but not definitive — evidence supporting a sixth. However, we were unable to independently confirm the convictions through court records. As a result, we’ve left this claim unrated.
Though it was unclear exactly which laws Bardot was charged under, France has had some level of hate speech legislation since as early as 1881. According to Snopes’ simplified translation of a passage from Article 24 of that law, the 1881 law on freedom of the press, those who provoke discrimination, hate or violence of a person or a group of people on the basis of their ethnicity, nationality, race or religion can be punished by up to a year in jail and/or a fine of up to 45,000 euros. The next paragraph of the law also outlaws hate speech based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.
In Bardot’s case, our research found that English-language publications consistently agreed on the number of times she had been convicted: six. Those convictions were reported in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2021, according to various news media outlets.
However, French-language coverage of Bardot’s convictions introduced uncertainty. Le Monde and another French newspaper, Libération, had sometimes suggested or stated that Bardot was convicted only five times, though their reporting was not always consistent.
While we couldn’t definitively confirm why the discrepancy exists, we outline two possible explanations later in this story. We also contacted both French publications for comment and will update this story if we receive a response.
Below, we examine the evidence for Bardot’s convictions, beginning in 2021 and working backward to 1997.
The convictions
The clearest evidence for a conviction against Bardot was in 2021. According to Vanity Fair, Le Figaro and Le Monde, a court fined Bardot 20,000 euros for a 2019 letter that called inhabitants of Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, “degenerate savages.” Her spokesperson, Bruno Jacquelin, also was fined 4,000 euros for sharing the letter with media outlets. Vanity Fair and Le Monde both reported that it was or would be her sixth conviction, and Le Figaro did not mention her previous convictions.
In 2008, according to Time magazine, Reuters and Le Monde, a court fined Bardot 15,000 euros for a 2006 letter sent to then-Interior Minister (and future President) Nicholas Sarkozy and published in her foundation’s newsletter. In the letter, Bardot reportedly described Muslims in France as a “population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts,” and criticized animal sacrifices held during Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday that traditionally involves sacrificing a sheep, goat, ram, camel or cow, according to Britannica. All the outlets reported it was her fifth conviction.
In 2004, according to Al Jazeera, The Guardian and Le Monde, a court fined Bardot 5,000 euros for anti-Muslim comments published in her 2003 book, “A Cry in the Silence.” Bardot reportedly broke into tears in the courtroom and apologized, saying she “never knowingly wanted to hurt anybody.” The Guardian and Le Monde also reported that the book also contained insulting passages that targeted LGBTQ+ people and the unemployed. The Guardian did not report Bardot’s previous charges, but both Al Jazeera and Le Monde reported it was her fourth conviction.
The confusion over the number of Bardot’s convictions appeared to begin in 2000. According to the BBC, Le Monde and Libération, Bardot was fined 30,000 francs that year for a passages in her book “Pluto’s Square.” The passage was actually a reprint of an op-ed, titled “An open letter to my lost France,” which French sources claimed was published in Le Figaro in April 1997 (more on this later). Le Monde reported that the text criticized “the number of Muslim immigrants in France and their practices.” The BBC noted that she attacked a “Muslim festival in which sheep are ritually slaughtered,” and Libération named it — “Aïd el-Kébir,” another name for the Eid al-Adha holiday.
However, when it came time to count, the BBC called it Bardot’s third conviction, while Libération called it her second. Le Monde did not report Bardot’s previous convictions.
In 1998, according to Libération and an Agence France-Presse wire report published in the Lebanese paper L’Orient-Le Jour, Bardot was fined 20,000 francs for comparing the ritual sacrifice of sheep during Eid al-Adha to the killing of humans in Algeria, a former French colony. The BBC briefly mentioned this conviction at the end of its article reporting on the 2000 charge. However, the Libération article said Bardot had been convicted again on the charge, meaning it was her second offense. That contradicted the paper’s 2000 report claiming she had been convicted only twice. The AFP story also noted it was Bardot’s second conviction.
Finally, in 1997, according to the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and an Associate Press story translated into French for the Canadian newspaper L’Acadie Nouvelle, Bardot was fined 10,000 francs for the original publication of the “open letter to my lost France” she would later receive a second fine for in 2000. The LA Times and L’Acadie Nouvelle reported that the letter was actually published in April 1996 in Le Figaro, not 1997 as claimed in the later French reports. The article, according to The Washington Post, claimed that France had been “invaded […] by an overpopulation of foreigners, particularly Muslims.” Critically, the Le Monde and Libération articles from 2000 also mentioned this particular fine.
Though we can’t be certain, there are two possible explanations for the discrepancy. The first is that Bardot was charged six times in total and confusion arose because two charges were based on the same piece of text. This may have led some journalists to disagree over whether the 1997 and 2000 should be counted separately or as one.
The second is that one of Bardot’s six charges was for a different hate speech law, not for inciting racial hatred, and the charge was misinterpreted when reported in English. This would likely refer to the 2021 charge, which Le Monde reported was for “public insults of a racial and religious nature,” not inciting racial hatred.
After her death, Bardot’s obituary in Le Monde claimed she had been convicted five times. Meanwhile, her New York Times obituary claimed she had been convicted of the charge five times by 2008 — in other words, totaling six after 2021.
Agencies, News. “Bardot Fined for Anti-Muslim Remarks.” Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2004/6/10/bardot-fined-for-anti-muslim-remarks. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
Archives, L. A. Times. “Bardot Is Fined for Inciting Race Hatred.” Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 1997, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-10-mn-41277-story.html.
BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Bardot Fined for Racist Remarks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/793390.stm. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
Blair, Elizabeth. “Brigitte Bardot’s Complicated Legacy, from Film Icon to Far-Right Activism.” NPR, 28 Dec. 2025. Movies. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/12/28/nx-s1-5659791/brigitte-bardots-complicated-legacy-from-film-icon-to-far-right-activism.
“Brigitte Bardot condamnée à 20.000 euros d’amende pour injures publiques envers les Réunionnais.” Le Figaro, 4 Nov. 2021, https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/brigitte-bardot-condamnee-a-20-000-euros-d-amende-pour-injures-publiques-envers-les-reunionnais-20211104.
Brigitte Bardot condamnée pour des écrits jugés racistes. 10 June 2004. Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2004/06/10/brigitte-bardot-condamnee-pour-des-ecrits-juges-racistes_368380_1819218.html.
Brigitte Bardot Condamnée Pour Provocation à La Haine Raciale. – Libération. 3 Sept. 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20170903074233/https://www.liberation.fr/societe/2000/06/16/brigitte-bardot-condamnee-pour-provocation-a-la-haine-raciale_327484.
Brigitte Bardot Encore Condamnée. – Libération. 3 Sept. 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20170903074338/http://www.liberation.fr/societe/1998/01/21/brigitte-bardot-encore-condamnee_225610.
Brigitte Bardot’s 30 Years of Sympathy for the Far Right. 28 Dec. 2025. Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/obituaries/article/2025/12/28/brigitte-bardot-s-30-years-of-sympathy-for-the-far-right_6748895_15.html.
Brigitte Bardot’s Funeral: Far-Right Leader Le Pen Will Attend, Macron Will Not. 31 Dec. 2025. Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2025/12/31/brigitte-bardot-s-funeral-far-right-leader-le-pen-will-attend-macron-will-not_6748963_7.html.
Brigitte Bardot’s Nearly Half a Century of Commitment to Animal Rights. 28 Dec. 2025. Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/obituaries/article/2025/12/28/brigitte-bardot-s-nearly-half-a-century-of-commitment-to-animal-rights_6748891_15.html.
“Brigitte Bardot’s Relationship History: A Look Back at the Actress and Sex Symbol’s Marriages and Love Life.” People.Com, https://people.com/brigitte-bardot-marriages-relationships-love-life-11876691. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
Deux mois avec sursis et 15 000 euros d’amende requis contre Brigitte Bardot. 15 Apr. 2008. Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2008/04/15/deux-mois-avec-sursis-et-15-000-euros-d-amende-requis-contre-brigitte-bardot_1034785_3224.html.
Fouché, Gwladys. “Bardot’s Right-Wing Rant Shocks France.” The Guardian, 16 May 2003. Film. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/may/16/news.gwladysfouche.
Gates, Anita. “Brigitte Bardot, Movie Idol Who Renounced Stardom, Dies at 91.” The New York Times, 28 Dec. 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/movies/brigitte-bardot-dead.html.
Injures raciales : une amende de 25 000 euros requise contre Brigitte Bardot. 8 Oct. 2021. Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2021/10/08/injures-raciales-une-amende-de-25-000-euros-requise-contre-brigitte-bardot_6097581_3224.html.
JUSTICE : Brigitte Bardot a été condamnée pour provocation à la haine ou à la violence raciale. 17 June 2000. Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2000/06/17/justice-brigitte-bardot-a-ete-condamnee-pour-provocation-a-la-haine-ou-a-la-violence-raciale_3611082_1819218.html.
“Oct 10, 1997, Page 16 – L’Acadie Nouvelle at Newspapers.Com™.” Newspapers.Com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1076252042/. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
Pulver, Andrew, and Angelique Chrisafis. “Brigitte Bardot, French Screen Legend, Dies Aged 91.” The Guardian, 28 Dec. 2025. Film. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/28/brigitte-bardot-french-screen-legend-and-animal-rights-activist-dies.
Randal, Jonathan C. “BRIGITTE BARDOT’S EWE AND CRY.” The Washington Post, 22 May 1996, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/05/22/brigitte-bardots-ewe-and-cry/546e49e2-1424-4252-a0e5-5b788d395854/.
Staff. “Bardot Weeps over Racism Charges.” The Guardian, 7 May 2004. Film. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/may/07/books.world.
Vanderhoof, Erin. “Brigitte Bardot Is Handed Her Sixth Fine for ‘Inciting Racial Hatred.’” Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2021, https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/11/brigitte-bardot-fined-for-inciting-racial-hatred.
X (formerly Twitter) to Open Source Feed and Ads Algorithm Code
Elon Musk announced that X will begin publishing all code that powers its news feed and ads algorithm, aiming to provide greater transparency on content recommendations. Musk stated that the new algorithm code, including developer notes, will be released every four weeks. This echoes a similar promise made in 2023, which fell short in execution, as updates to the initially published code were never maintained. Concerns persist about whether the current initiative will offer real transparency, especially as Musk’s xAI team reportedly now generates the algorithmic code, potentially without full human oversight. Read More – Social Media Today Rating
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Meta has struck deals with Oklo, TerraPower, and Vistra to power its growing AI infrastructure, including the upcoming Prometheus supercluster, using nuclear energy. The partnerships aim to support the development of advanced reactors and secure power from existing plants. Meta now stands among the largest corporate buyers of nuclear energy in U.S. history, previously partnering with Constellation Energy as well. The company is securing gigawatts of power to meet the increasing demands of AI-driven data centers while aligning with its emission reduction goals. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright lauded Meta’s investment as essential to American AI leadership. Read More – The Hill Rating
Publisher Traffic from Google Dropped One-Third in 2025
A new report from the Reuters Institute reveals that global Google search traffic to news publishers fell by 33% year over year through November 2025. Google Discover referrals also dropped 21%. The decline is largely attributed to Google’s AI-generated summaries appearing at the top of search results, which reduce click-throughs to original content. U.S. publishers were hit harder, with a 38% drop in search referrals. As a result, many media outlets are shifting efforts away from traditional SEO and toward AI platforms and YouTube. MBFC has experienced a 25% drop. Please consider a membership to support us. Read More – Press Gazette Rating
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TRUE
Claim via Social Media: During a January 2026 Fox News interview, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she wanted to give her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Snopes rating: True (During a Fox News interview, Machahdo responded to a question about a rumor that she had offered Trump her Nobel Peace Prize. She said “it hasn’t happened yet,” but added that “the Venezuelan people … certainly want to give it to him” and “share it with him.” However, Nobel Prizes can’t be officially transferred to someone else after they are awarded, so Machado couldn’t make Trump a laureate.)
Claim via Social Media: The U.S. and Palau signed a $7.5 million agreement that will allow the U.S. to send up to 75 non-criminal deportees to the island nation.
Snopes rating: True (Yes, an agreement was signed.)
(International: North Korea): North Korea’s Kim Jong-un called Venezuelan President Maduro his “friend” and called for his immediate release.
DigitEye India rating: False (While North Korea has condemned US strikes and the reported capture of Maduro, no such statement was made by Kim Jong-un. Other quotes attributed to Kim, including remarks about a world war and personal framing also seem fabricated.)
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Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation’s document that has largely been used as a roadmap for U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term in office, contains language calling for the “re-hemisphering” of Latin American countries.
Rating:
Context
Page 184 of Project 2025 does use the word “re-hemisphering” when discussing Latin America. It uses the word in an economic context rather than a militaristic or interventionist context, with a goal of moving “manufacturing and industry closer to home.” While the next bullet point, “A ‘local’ approach to security threats,” does call for more U.S. intervention in Latin America, it proposes potential military (and other) collaborations with allies in and outside Latin America — not unilateral military operations.
In a news conference after the first operation, in which U.S. troops captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, Trump referenced the Monroe Doctrine, a policy adopted in 1823 under then-President James Monroe claiming that the continents of North and South America fell under the protection of the United States.
In the wake of the events, posts appearedonlinesuggesting that a call for such an aggressive and imperialistic foreign policy could be found in the pages of Project 2025, a plan spearheaded by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation that lays out a roadmap for Trump’s second term in a roughly 1,000-page document titled “Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise.” Previous Snopes reporting has detailed the deep connections between Project 2025, its authors and many of the Trump administration’s decisions during his first year back in office.
According to the social media posts, the justification for the military operations into Venezuela could be found on Page 184 of the document, which supposedly called for the “re-hemisphering” of Latin America.
Snopes reviewed the Project 2025 document and found that Page 184 did in fact, contain a reference to the “re-hemisphering” of Latin America. As a result, we’ve rated the claim true. However, the contextual language around that phrasing revealed that the Trump administration’s military operations in Venezuela went a step beyond the document’s proposed policy, which did not call for the use of unilateral force but instead focused on cooperating with allies to address security concerns and strengthen economic ties between the U.S. and Latin America.
The subsection featuring the phrase “re-hemisphering” was titled “Western Hemisphere” and largely focused on economic issues. It began with a claim similar to the justification for the Monroe Doctrine, namely that the U.S. has a “vested interest in a relatively united and economically prosperous Western Hemisphere.”
After a section on Mexico and a section about the stopping fentanyl from entering the United States through the southern border, Project 2025 turned to “A hemisphere-centered approach to industry and energy.” This is where it used and defined the term “re-hemisphering.” The full text of that section reads:
A hemisphere-centered approach to industry and energy. The next Administration has a golden opportunity to make key economic changes that will not only provide tremendous economic opportunities for Americans but will also serve as an economic boon to the entire Western Hemisphere.
First, the United States must do everything possible, with both resources and messaging, to shift global manufacturing and industry from more distant points around the globe (especially from the increasingly hostile and human rights-abusing PRC [China]) to Central and South American countries. “Re-hemisphering” manufacturing and industry closer to home will not only eliminate some of the more recent supply-chain issues that damaged the U.S. economy but will also represent a significant economic improvement for parts of the Americas in need of growth and stabilization.
Similarly, the United States must work with Mexico, Canada, and other countries to develop a hemisphere-focused energy policy that will reduce reliance on distant and manipulable sources of fossil fuels, restore the free flow of energy among the hemisphere’s largest producers, and work together to increase energy production, including for nations that are looking for dramatic economic expansion.
The final section about the Western Hemisphere, which discussed “A ‘local’ approach to security threats,” raised the possibility of military action but emphasized the need for cooperation with Latin American countries and U.S. allies. specifically named Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Venezuela as being “regional security threats in their own rights” or “vulnerable to hostile extra-continental powers” and called for the U.S. to “lead these democratic neighbors to fight against the external pressure of threats from abroad and address local regional security concerns.” The initiative, explicitly described as a “collaboration,” would need to “span all tools at the disposal of U.S. allies and partners, including security-focused cooperation.”
That language echoed an earlier section on Venezuela, on Page 181, which concluded, “The next Administration must work to unite the hemisphere against this significant but underestimated threat in the Southern Hemisphere.”
Sources
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“America 250: Presidential Message on the Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine.” The White House, 2 Dec. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/12/america-250-presidential-message-on-the-anniversary-of-the-monroe-doctrine/.
Gedeon, Joseph. “Democrats Decry Venezuela Attack as Republicans Defend Trump after Senate Briefing.” The Guardian, 7 Jan. 2026. US News. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/07/trump-venezuela-attack-democrat-republican-senators.
“How the Monroe Doctrine Factors into US Arrest of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.” AP News, 4 Jan. 2026, https://apnews.com/article/monroe-doctrine-venezuela-trump-western-hemisphere-maduro-e5581d71ea15f2fb02461e74ac6b08ca.
Ibrahim, Aleksandra Wrona, Nur. “How Trump Policies Align with Project 2025 on Immigration, Federal Reform and More.” Snopes, 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/12/16/trump-policies-project-2025/.
———. “These Project 2025 Creators Are Now Shaping Trump Admin Policies.” Snopes, 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/12/16/trump-admin-project-2025/.
———. “What Trump Has Said about Project 2025 over the Years: A Timeline.” Snopes, 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/12/16/trump-project-2025-timeline/.
News, A. B. C. “Trump Demands Venezuela Kick out China and Russia, Partner Only with US on Oil: Exclusive.” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-demands-venezuela-kick-china-russia-partner-us/story?id=128963238. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
———. “Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ Seeks Influence over Western Hemisphere Citing Old US Policy.” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-donroe-doctrine-seeks-influence-western-hemisphere-citing/story?id=128926397. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
———. “Trump’s Vow to ‘run’ Venezuela, Sell Oil, Part of Plan to Dominate Western Hemisphere.” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-vow-run-venezuela-sell-oil-part-plan/story?id=128873221. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
News, N. B. C. “Trump Warns Venezuela to Cooperate or Risk New U.S. Military Attack.” NBC News, 7 Jan. 2026, https://www.nbcnews.com/world/venezuela/live-blog/live-updates-trump-venezuela-maduro-rodriguez-attack-greenland-ukraine-rcna252515.
“US Plans to ‘run’ Venezuela and Tap Its Oil Reserves, Trump Says, after Operation to Oust Maduro.” AP News, 3 Jan. 2026, https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-explosions-caracas-ca712a67aaefc30b1831f5bf0b50665e.
Wrona, Nur Ibrahim, Aleksandra. “What’s Project 2025? Unpacking the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government.” Snopes, 3 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/07/03/project-2025-trump-us-government/.
