33+ min ago (188+ words) Snopes investigated a wide variety of rumors about the much-discussed "policy guide for the next conservative U.S. president." 25 rumors we've examined about Project 2025 Snopes investigated a wide variety of rumors about the much-discussed "policy guide for the next conservative U.S. president." Published Nov. 30, 2025 The potential impact of Project 2025, which refers to a comprehensive document titled "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise" created by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, was a hot topic throughout the 2024 U.S. presidential election for its suggested sweeping changes to the United States government. President Donald Trump previously distanced himself from Project 2025, which The Heritage Foundation described as "a comprehensive policy guide for the next conservative U.S. president." However, following his inauguration in January 2025, he issued a variety of executive orders that aimed to implement Project 2025's policies. With Project 2025 a key focus for the Trump administration, we've gone through…...

10+ hour, 33+ min ago (434+ words) In fall 2025, a rumor circulated online that scientists found fecal contamination in vaping products during a study published in October. Grossed-out social media users on X (archived),Facebook (archived) andInstagram (archived) shared the alleged revelation, with one saying: "In other words, vape users are literally inhaling toilet microbes " plus nicotine and drug-like additives." The X user added: Scientists found fecal contamination and E. coli in vapes. American researchers examined nearly 1,300 vapes taken from school students in Virginia. Their goal was to show young people what they are actually inhaling. Most devices contained nicotine, and some had cannabinoids, often a mix of synthetic and plant-based compounds. But the most disgusting and dangerous part: several vapes contained bacteria, yeast, and E. coli, indicating fecal contamination. In some cases, the levels exceeded safe limits. While it was true that scientists found fecal contamination in vapes,…...

16+ hour, 33+ min ago (219+ words) Multiple Facebook users posted the image (archived, archived), which contained overlaid text reading, "Fun fact: This famous picture of first lady Melania Trump was taken on Jeffrey Epstein's plane." (Facebook user Adrienne Davie) The meme appeared elsewhere on Facebook (archived) and on Bluesky (archived), Instagram (archived), TikTok (archived) and X (archived). Snopes received inquiries about this rumor via email and a reader's post in our Snopes Tips Facebook group, which asked, "Is this Melania? Was she on Epstein's plane?" We contacted a spokesperson for the first lady and also Verglas to ask about this matter. We will update this article if we receive more information. Sixteen years ago we profiled Donald Trump's then-girlfriend Melania Knauss. Now his wife, Melania featured in our naked profile shoot on his customised Boeing 727 wearing handcuffs, wielding diamonds and holding a chrome pistol (it was…...

19+ hour, 33+ min ago (708+ words) Since the mid-1600's, researchers and scientists have shared their discoveries by publishing articles in scientific journals. Knowledge-sharing in this way allowed the scientific community to discover and refine new concepts and expand the community's collective knowledge. After World War II, the scientific discoveries made around the world helped build a burgeoning and profitable scientific publication industry. Publishers would source, peer review and publish articles and journals, and universities, libraries and other research institutions would pay the publishers to make them available to their patrons. The claim circulated on Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived) in recent years." Maxwell entered the scientific publishing industry at a watershed moment after World War II." Before the war, publishers had sold scientific writings though the business did not net the profits Maxwell would later generate. In "Springer-Verlag: history of a scientific publishing…...

1+ day, 33+ min ago (241+ words) On Nov. 19, 2025, the U.S. president signed a bill to release all files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 7 fake images of Trump with underage girls that we've debunked On Nov. 19, 2025, the U.S. president signed a bill to release all files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Published Nov. 29, 2025 On Nov. 19, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill to release all files related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of trafficking minors for sex. Trump resisted releasing the files for months before eventually signaling to the Republican-led Congress he would be willing to sign the bill should it land on his desk. Democrats on the U.S. House Oversight Committee released emails on Nov. 12 in which Epstein mentioned Trump; he wrote in one…...

1+ day, 5+ hour ago (748+ words) The Department of Education has proposed excluding a wide range of college programs from the definition of "professional degrees" specifically in relation to eligibility for student loans. As of this writing, the proposal has not yet passed. Some counseling degrees would also be classified as "professional degrees" under the Department of Education's plan. It was unclear if this decision " which specifically would affect student loan borrowing limits "indicated a more widespread change for other Department of Education policies and practices. In late 2025, social media users spread a rumor that the Department of Education said it would no longer classify nursing programs and other college credentials as "professional degrees."" As of this writing, the proposal had not been finalized. It was unclear whether this policy that specifically affected student loans indicated a broader shift in the Department of Education's attitudes toward…...

1+ day, 20+ hour ago (239+ words) The rumor relied on an unverified screenshot that did not prove the slain conservative activist was the user behind the account. The rumor relied on an unverified screenshot that did not prove the slain conservative activist was the user behind the account. Published Nov. 28, 2025 The rumor spread on multiple social media platforms, including X, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. "Charlie Kirk accused of subscribing to transgender influencer website," one TikTok user wrote. Videos repeating the allegation often framed it as proof of hypocrisy, alluding to Kirk's public statements on transgender rights and OnlyFans. Source of the rumor As of this writing, the OnlyFans profile using the handle @ownthelibz1776 displayed a disclaimer reading: "I am not Charlie Kirk, I am Foilmanhacks" and linked directly to an X account belonging to user @foilmanhacks. That user, Jason Sawyer, explained in a series of posts…...

1+ day, 23+ hour ago (870+ words) After a gunman shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 26, 2025, a claim (archived) circulated online that the Trump administration had granted the shooting suspect, identified by officials as an Afghan national, asylum months earlier. The gunman launched an "ambush style" shooting attack the Guard troops near Washington's Farragut Square, located minutes from the White House. U.S. President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the shooting. Trump said during a call with U.S. service members the following day that Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries. The other shooting victim, 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, remained hospitalized in critical condition at the time of this writing, according to reliable news reports. One X user who shared the claim about the suspect's asylum status wrote: "MAJOR BREAKING: MAGA is stunned into silence as officials confirm the National Guard shooter,…...

2+ day, 1+ hour ago (575+ words) In late November 2025, a rumor spread online that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was running its official X account from Tel Aviv, Israel, shortly after a new feature on the social media platform highlighted the location from where accounts were posting. For example, multiple X users (archived, archived) shared an image purportedly showing the About page of @DHSgov, the official DHS account on tech billionaire Elon Musk's app. One person wrote: "A major news story has appeared in the X timeline: The 'US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)' account is registered in Israel and is managed from there." The image first appeared in a post by @astrrals on X (archived): The screen capture read: Date joined July 2008 in Israel Account based in Tel Aviv, Israel 16 username changes Last on July 2008 Connected via Israel App Store As of this writing, the…...

2+ day, 5+ hour ago (464+ words) In late October 2025, a video circulated online purportedly showing various clips of the late rapper Tupac Shakur appearing as a guest in an unaired episode of the educational children's television show "Sesame Street." A network of social media profiles called Tuna Edits posted the compilation on TikTok (archived), YouTube (archived), Facebook and Instagram. All the posts were captioned: "Unaired episode." Snopes readers also emailed us asking if the footage was real. In short, there was no evidence Shakur ever appeared on an aired or unaired episode of "Sesame Street." Many aspects of the video showed that it was generated using artificial intelligence (AI) software. As such, we have rated the footage as fake. Snopes contacted Tuna Edits to ask about the compilation. We will update this story if we receive a response. The video of the rapper's alleged unaired appearance…...