Tag: hoax

Trump DOJ Admits Venezuela’s ‘Cartel De Los Soles’ Isn’t An Actual Organization

A major plank in the Trump administration’s case for military intervention in Venezuela is looking thinner today, as the Department of Justice has retreated from the notion that captured President Nicolas Maduro was the head of an organized drug cartel called Cartel de los Soles. The DOJ now says the term “Cartel de los Soles” is merely descriptive of a “culture of corruption” fueled by the illegal drug trade.

This isn’t semantics: Both the Treasury and State Departments had officially designated the non-existent group as a terrorist organization. The latest development seems to at least partially confirm doubts raised by outside observers and lend credence to denials by the Venezuelan government. In November, the country’s foreign minister said he “absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous fabrication” by which Secretary of State Marco Rubio had “designated the non-existent Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization.”

The retreat from the idea that Cartel de los Soles is an actual organization was apparent in the DOJ’s filing of a superseding (updated) indictment. The previous indictment referred to the supposed cartel 32 times, naming Maduro as its chief. The new one only mentions the term twice, and says it’s only descriptive of a “patronage system” and a “culture of corruption” propelled by drug money. That’s consistent with the fact that the DEA’s annual National Drug Threat Assessment has never mentioned any “Cartel de los Soles” in its cataloguing of major traffickers.  

In July, the Treasury sanctioned Cartel de los Soles as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” claiming it was a “criminal group headed by…Maduro.” The “cartel” was accused of providing material support to two groups already on U.S. terrorist lists: Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. Of course, those terrorist designations are themselves controversial, with critics saying the government is purposefully conflating criminality and terrorism. The latter term has long been understood to describe violence directed at civilians with the goal of achieving a political or ideological goal. Historically, exaggerated use of the term has largely been confined to the left. 

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Here Are The 10 Biggest Media Hoaxes Of 2025

It turns out that when you spend every day parroting the most asinine conspiracies and narratives imaginable, people lose faith in your ability to play it straight pretty quickly. That’s the situation that America’s propaganda media found themselves in this year, as their credibility amongst the public hit the lowest level in recorded history.

For anyone who’s paid attention to their coverage of the 2025 “news” cycle, it’s not hard to see why. From running cover for leftist violence to gaslighting Americans about their role in the cover-up over Joe Biden’s ailing health, the corporate media’s bid to hide the truth was nothing short of remarkable.

So, as a public service, The Federalist has compiled a list of the top 10 biggest hoaxes run by our reality-deprived media throughout the past year. In no particular order, here they are.

Elon the ‘Fascist’

It didn’t take long after President Trump was sworn back into office for the media to pick up right where they left off after his first term.

While celebrating alongside Trump supporters at a post-inauguration event, X owner Elon Musk delivered remarks to attendees, in which he thanked them for making Trump’s victory possible. With his hand over his heart, the tech mogul then pointed to the crowd and said, “My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”

Media hacktivists quickly leapt into action to falsely characterize the hand gesture as a “fascist” or “Nazi” salute. This included outlets like PBS News, which wrote on X, “Billionaire Elon Musk gave what appeared to be a fascist salute Monday while making a speech at the post-inauguration celebration for President Donald Trump at the Capital One Arena.”

Anti-Hegseth Campaign

From the day President Trump tapped him to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth has been under a barrage of media smear campaigns and hoaxes. Throughout his Senate confirmation battle to become America’s next war secretary, the media ran endless stories featuring anonymous sources alleging wrongdoing at his prior places of employment and dishonest hit pieces about his personal life — all to keep him from being confirmed.

Even after failing to prevent Hegseth’s confirmation, the media have shifted their focus to ousting him from the position. Throughout the past year, these efforts have included pushing the Signalgate dud, manufacturing a “constitutional crisis” about a Pentagon-led prayer service, elevating the voices of unnamed disgruntled officers to trash Hegseth, and — most recently — fomenting a hoax surrounding the military’s strikes on drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean.

Wait … Joe Biden Wasn’t OK After All?

Despite outlets like The Federalist reporting on it for years, America’s propaganda press didn’t just ignore Joe Biden’s clear cognitive decline — they actively participated in the cover-up. At every turn of his presidency, the media did everything possible to run interference for the doddering Delaware Democrat and preserve their party’s political power.

It was only after Biden disgracefully exited stage right that media hacks like Jake Tapper felt it was OK to acknowledge what those who aren’t regime simps have long known to be true about the now-former president. Earlier this year, the CNN talking head and Axios’ Alex Thompson embarked on a media tour to hawk their new book, which promises readers an inside look at the Democrat-led effort they participated in to hide Biden’s decline from the American public.

If that’s not gaslighting at its absolute worst, then I don’t what is.

A ‘Maryland Man’

Given their willingness to turn a blind eye to the border crisis under the Biden administration, it came as no surprise when the media ran to sow falsehoods about President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.

One of the most prominent examples of this came to a head with the deportation of Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a credibly accused MS-13 gang member and wife-beater. Rather than inform their readers that Garcia is an illegal alien and detail his reported criminal record, the media orchestrated a full-blown disinformation campaign to deceive Americans into believing the Trump administration abducted an unsuspecting “Maryland man” off the streets.

One Associated Press headline read, “El Salvador President Bukele says he won’t be releasing a Maryland man back to the US.,” while an NBC News piece partially read, “El Salvador won’t return Maryland man to the U.S. …”

The disinformation op was but one of many that media hacks ran throughout the year to smear and vilify immigration enforcement operations throughout the country.

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‘Hatecrimed five times in one night’ – here are the 31 campus hoaxes uncovered in 2025

Hate crimes, or hateful incidents, do occur. For example, when a Democratic Party donor yells “Go back to Haiti” at a black (Jamaican) Republican politician, it should be condemned.

Hate crime hoaxes must also be condemned as a violation of justice — saying “Trump supporters” or “University of Illinois fans” are racist without evidence violates those group’s rights to their reputation. It is even worse when a specific individual is falsely maligned as racist.

While campus race hustlers have once again been busy spreading hate hoaxes, The College Fix has been even busier, staying on top of their claims as much as possible. While many news outlets are quick to rush out stories about how a hate crime occurred, few are willing to do the follow up work to see what really happened.

The College Fix exclusively covered a hateful incident hoax involving a Purdue University basketball player Trey Kaufman-Renn. He claimed in March that his teenage brother, mom, and girlfriend were all subjected to racist language during a game against the University of Illinois. Only problem? It never happened, according to reports obtained by The Fix.

“There was no mention of racial discrimination, just general obnoxiousness,” a University of Illinois official stated. The university never made any statement about this to clear its own name.

Then of course there are the obvious hoaxes, like the student at University of Tennessee who claimed he was “hatecrimed five times in one night.”

Student Jaden Clark told the late Charlie Kirk that “freshman year I was hatecrimed five times in one night. Three of them by Trump supporters.”

Yet Mr. Clark (pictured) was slow to take Kirk up on his effort to use his vast contacts in the Trump administration to ensure the crimes were investigated. The University of Tennessee has also never responded to a Fix inquiry about any reports filed by Clark.

The Fix uncovered other alleged hateful incidents simply by reading documents and filing public records requests.

Four anti-Muslim incidents at Indiana University turn out to be untrue

Muslim students claimed a driver tried to run them over for wearing a hijab. He said he just did not see them in the crosswalk. But the damage was done – an Indiana University report noted many students said they had heard this story.

There are also no corresponding police reports for this claim: “A student reported that a group of students wearing Israeli flags and a Trump flag hit them on the back of their head with a water bottle.”

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Trump’s FBI says ‘Epstein’ prison postcard to pedophile Larry Nassar is FAKE

The prison postcard released in the Epstein files, allegedly written by Jeffrey Epstein to Larry Nassar before his suicide, has been ruled as fake by the FBI. 

Allegedly written before Epstein’s 2019 jail cell suicide, the contents included a claim that ‘our president’ loves ‘young, nubile girls.’ Donald Trump was the president at the time, although there was no named references to him. 

It was released as part of the immense trove of files relating to the disgraced financier’s crimes and subsequent death. The DOJ has been releasing more documents since the deadline last Friday.

Included in today’s drop was the purported postcard – which referenced that Epstein took the ‘short route home’ and wished the former USA Olympic doctor, responsible for the biggest sexual abuse scandal in the history of American sports, well.

But despite being part of the official government document release, the FBI have said that the postcard is bogus, citing handwriting and stamping discrepancies.  

The Department of Justice posted just before 3.30pm on Tuesday: ‘The FBI has confirmed this alleged letter from Jeffrey Epstein to Larry Nassar is FAKE. 

‘The fake letter was received by the jail, and flagged for the FBI at the time. The FBI made this conclusion based on the following facts.

‘The writing does not appear to match Jeffrey Epstein’s. The letter was postmarked three days after Epstein’s death out of Northern Virginia, when he was jailed in New York. 

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Reginald D Hunter has summons for ‘antisemitic’ social media posts quashed as judge rules private prosecution was a bid to get comedian ‘cancelled’

A court summons issued against comedian Reginald D Hunter has been quashed by a court after a judge ruled it was an ‘abusive’ bid to get the comedian ‘cancelled’.

The American comic, who lives in the UK, was the subject of a private prosecution by Jewish group the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).

It had alleged that he had sent offensive communications to antisemitism campaigner Heidi Bachram three times in 2024, on August 24, September 10 and September 11 on the social platform X, formerly Twitter.

But a summons issued to Mr Hunter, 56, by the CAA was quashed at Westminster Magistrates’ Court by Judge Michael Snow following an application by the defence.

Judge Snow ruled that the CAA had been motivated by a desire to ‘have [Hunter] cancelled’ and that the prosecution was ‘abusive’, adding that the group was seeking to use the criminal justice system for ‘improper reasons’.

He criticised the Jewish organisation for a ‘wholly inadequate’ summary of Ms Bachram’s tweeting in its summary of its application when it came to disclosing her social media posts towards him.

This, he said, ‘misled’ him into believing that the comedian’s tweets were targeting her faith rather than responding to attempts to have him ‘cancelled’.

The private prosecution against Mr Hunter – known for his appearances on panel shows as well as a career of live stand-up – was brought without the involvement of the police or the Crown Prosecution Service.

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Trump Administration Responds to Ilhan Omar’s Claim that ICE Agents Targeted Her Son and Pulled Him Over

The Trump Administration has fired back at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) after she made a disturbing claim about her son being targeted by immigration enforcement recently.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Omar alleged on Sunday during an interview with a local news outlet that ICE agents pulled her son over and demanded that he produce documentation to prove that he was a U.S. citizen.

Once he produced his passport identification, they let him go.

“Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by ICE agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go,” Omar claimed in an interview with Esme Murphy on WCCO.

Omar also claimed during the interview that immigration agents previously entered a mosque attended by her son. The agents supposedly left without incident.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security responded on X to Omar’s assertion about her son being pulled over and did not mince words.

“ICE has absolutely ZERO record of its officers or agents pulling over Congresswoman Omar’s son,” the post reads. “With no evidence, it is shameful that Congresswoman Omar would level accusations to demonize ICE as part of a PR stunt.”

“Allegations that ICE engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity,” the post adds.

“Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests.”

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Rep. Grijalva Whines in Interview After She’s Caught Lying About Being Pepper Sprayed by ICE – Comes Out with New Lie: “WE WERE SHOT AT”

Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) appeared on MS Now, formerly MSNBC, on Saturday after claiming she was shoved and pepper-sprayed “in the face” by ICE agents, and she recounted the incident.

Grijalva joined radical leftist ICE obstructionists who were attacking agents during a law enforcement operation on Friday, where she claimed she was “pushed aside and pepper-sprayed” after identifying herself as a member of Congress.

Like all the Democrats before her, who purport to be conducting oversight duties, she claimed that she was just “trying to understand what’s happening” during the “very frightening and very jarring” incident.

“One agent said, ‘I don’t care who you are, you need to get out of the way,’” she whined before coming out with a brand new whopper.

She’s now claiming that she was “shot at!”

Host Jen Psaki acted very concerned for Grijalva’s condition during the appearance on Saturday morning.

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FBI Warns About Ransom Scams Involving Fake ‘Proof of Life’ Photos

Criminals are altering images of people obtained from social media or other public sites to create fake “proof of life” photos as part of virtual kidnapping for ransom scams, the FBI said in a public service announcement on Dec. 5.

According to the agency, criminal actors typically get in touch with their targets via text messages, claiming to have kidnapped a person close to them and demanding a ransom. The demands would often be accompanied by threats of violence.

The photo or video will, upon close inspection, reveal inaccuracies, with examples including “missing tattoos or scars and inaccurate body proportions,” the FBI said. The messages will have a sense of urgency—sent out using timed message features so family members do not have sufficient time to analyze the details.

Instead of reacting hastily, people who receive such communication should stop and think whether the kidnapper’s claims “make sense,” the notice said.

The agency advised people to always attempt to contact their loved ones before considering paying the ransom. A code word, known only within their close circle, will be crucial here.

Moreover, this type of fake image ransom scammer will use missing person information found online. The agency advised people to immediately take a screenshot or record any “proof of life” photos they receive.

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Is Chuck Schumer Pulling a Jussie Smollett? It Sure Looks Like It.

Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor Monday to announce that multiple bomb threats had been directed at three of his New York offices, claiming law enforcement informed him about emails with “MAGA” in the subject line and messages alleging the 2020 election was rigged. If this story sounds familiar, that’s because it plays like a bad rerun of the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax, where the actor claimed two men in red caps attacked him while shouting, “This is MAGA country.” The parallels are almost too perfect to ignore.

“Mr. President, this morning, I was informed by New York law enforcement of multiple bomb threats made against my offices in Rochester, Binghamton, and Long Island. The bomb threats against my offices came with the email subject line ‘MAGA’ and from an email address alleging the 2020 election was rigged.”

Yes, because Trump supporters are still griping about 2020 when Trump is in office in 2025. Give me a break.

“Local and federal law enforcement responded immediately and are conducting full security sweeps, and investigations are ongoing,” Schumer continued. “Everyone, thank God, is safe, and I’m grateful for the quick and professional response of federal and local law enforcement to ensure that these offices remain safe and secure for all New Yorkers.”

Something tells me they never were unsafe.

Schumer concluded, “As I’ve said many times, these kinds of violent threats have absolutely no place, no place in our political system.”

Yeah, we’ve been saying that on the right for a long time now. Where were you, Chuck?

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Ex-GOP aide paid fetish artist to mutilate her, claimed it was an anti-Trump attack: court docs

A former New Jersey GOP aide allegedly paid a fetish artist to carve dozens of cuts in her skin and had a pal scrawl “Trump Whore” on her stomach in order to claim that she was the victim of a politically motivated violent attack, according to shocking new court documents.

Natalie Greene, 26, was arrested Wednesday and charged with concocting the violent bogus ambush at Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve on July 23, the US Attorney’s Office for New Jersey announced.

Prosecutors said the accused fraudster claimed three gun-wielding men approached her and a friend on the trail around 10:30 p.m. before threatening to shoot her and hitting her in the head.

The suspect said the fictitious attackers then hogtied her with black zip ties, held her down while slashing her face and body, and etched anti-Trump slurs onto her stomach and back because she worked for a Republican, the complaint said.

Greene, a Maserati-driving Rutgers law student, worked for US Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), New Jersey Globe reported.

Local residents in Greene’s hometown were horrified when they heard about the story.

At the end of the day we’re talking about a 25-year-old girl, a beautiful girl, whose politics aren’t supposed to reach that level of extreme,” Fiona Tierney, 49, told The Post.

“Now she’s got to spend the rest of her life with these scars to remind her of what she did. What, she’s going to the beach wearing a bathing suit with all that on display? She’d never live this down. What kind of a future is that?”

Greene’s lawyer, Louis M. Barone, said his client is innocent until proven guilty — and that she was serving her community working for Van Drew’s office while also going to school time at the time of the alleged hoax attack.

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