Fact-checking social media posts claiming instant political victories for Donald Trump
12 mins read

Fact-checking social media posts claiming instant political victories for Donald Trump

After Americans voted to return former President Donald Trump to the Oval Office, some Trump supporters celebrated on social media by sharing lists of things that had changed virtually overnight.

Pastor Franklin Graham shared one Facebook posts Nov. 9 and said: “Someone wrote about some of the good things that have already happened since President Donald J. Trump won the election this week! Pray for him and for our nation.” Pro-Trump commentator Liz Wheeler posted a similar list on Instagram.

(Screenshots from Instagram, Facebook)

The posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat fake news and misinformation on its news feed. (Read more about our collaboration with Metawhich owns Facebook, Threads and Instagram.)

Some of the claims say that in just two to three days:

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  • Trump broke up a migrant caravan in Mexico.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to end the war in Ukraine.

  • Hamas called for an end to the war in Gaza.

  • The stock market broke records.

When we examined some of the developments cited in the posts, we found that some were correct (that Trump appointed the first ever female chief of staff; that Bitcoin hit record highs) Some were wrong (that Mexico was going to start stopping migrants; it already was). Most of the rest left out the context.

Here’s a summary of what we found.

Correct or mostly correct statements

Claimant: First female chief of staff appointed

Susie Wiles will be the first woman to hold the post, which serves as a close adviser and key gatekeeper to the president.

Claim: Bitcoin breaks records

It is true that Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, took off record tops the day after Trump’s election victory. The trend has continued in the days since, with a new record reached 13 Nov and some predictions that Bitcoin may reach a record price of $100,000 on Inauguration Day.

Trump sold himself as a crypto-friendly candidate in his campaign, saying he would appoint a crypto presidential council and fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who has cracked down on the industry. In September, Trump is launched his family’s new cryptocurrency business, World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency trading borrowing and lending service.

Migrants walk along the highway in Huixtla, southern Mexico, November 7, 2024, heading towards the country’s northern border and ultimately the United States. (AP)

Claim: “Newest migrant caravan breaks down”

Reuters reported on November 7 that a large migrant caravan of about 3,000 people dwindled to about 1,600 people after Trump’s victory, saying many of them felt less hopeful about staying when Trump takes office in January.

Migration Policy Institute spokeswoman Michelle Mittelstadt said there is a long history of migrant caravans breaking down in Mexico.

“Through a combination of offers of temporary status, enforcement, busing people back to southern Mexico and other steps, the Mexican government has for years dispersed former caravans,” she said. “Of course, there may also have been second-guessing by individual migrants as to whether it makes sense to continue their journey to reach the United States.”

These statements need context

Claim: The stock market broke records

This is correct, but not very significant. The S&P 500, a broad stock index, hit a new high on Nov. 11, nearly a week after Trump’s election; which put the market 3.8% higher than it had been on Election Day, November 5.

However, the stock market is volatile and gains can be short-lived. After that gain through Nov. 11, the S&P 500 fell 2.1% through Nov. 14, with further losses through the Nov. 15 trading day. This nearly erased all of Trump after the election.

From Election Day 2020, when Joe Biden won, to Election Day 2024, the S&P 500 rose 51%, often hitting record highs along the way. Its common for presidents to see stock market gains on their watches; since President Dwight D. Eisenhower, only two presidents have seen the stock market retreat during a term, once during the combined terms of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and twice under George W. Bush.

Claim: Taliban say they want ‘new chapter’ and China wants ‘peaceful coexistence’

It is common for foreign countries to congratulate presidents-elect on their victories and offer courtesies, whether in direct phone calls from leader to leader or in statements from official sources. This does not mean that they change their national interests.

In Afghanistan’s case, State Department spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi posted the X that the government hopes that the incoming Trump administration “will take realistic steps towards concrete progress in the relations between the two countries and that both nations will be able to open a new chapter of relations.”

Regarding China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a press briefing, “We will continue to approach and manage relations between China and the United States based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” adding, “Our policy toward the United States has been consistent.”

Biden was scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 16 in Peru.

Claim: Russia is ‘ready’ to talk to US and Putin is ready to end Ukraine’s war

Putin, speaking at an event in the Russian city of Sochi, praised Trump and congratulated him on his victory, It was reported by BBC News. He said “we are ready” to have talks with Trump and that Trump’s claim that he can help end the war in Ukraine “deserves attention,” a Russian. copy of his comments show.

Trump repeatedly said during the campaign he was able to end the war in one day, but did not specify how. The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, reported that Putin and Trump spoke on November 7, and that Trump advised Putin against escalating the war. A Kremlin spokesman on Nov. 11 denied the two men had spoken, The Associated Press reported.

Biden and Putin have not spoken since February 2022, before the war began.

Then-candidate Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands on September 27, 2024 at Trump Tower in New York. (AP)

Claim: President of Ukraine in conversation with Trump and Elon Musk

It is too early to characterize their communication as “in conversation,” but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Trump to congratulate him on his victory, and multiple news reports Citing unnamed sources, Trump briefly called Elon Musk, a campaign booster and the new Department of Energy Efficiency, on the phone.

It is unclear what they discussed, but Zelenskyy in one X posts said they “agreed to maintain a close dialogue and promote our cooperation.”

Claim: American companies bring production home

This is too early. The day after the election, The Wall Street Journal reported that Jim Clayton, CEO of Breville, an appliance maker with about $1 billion in annual revenue, said it is considering ways to avoid Trump’s proposed tariffs by producing more goods in the U.S.

However, it takes time to move factories and Breville is not an American company, it’s Australian.

This is not a new pattern, although Trump’s proposal may accelerate it.

A investigation of top executives at $1 billion multinationals by consulting firm Bain & Company, found that 63% had already planned to bring their supply chains closer to home when surveyed two years ago; that number rose to 81% this year. The survey found that 2% of respondents had completed their plans.

Bain found that the trend began in part because several Biden initiatives that favored U.S.-based technology expansion, including the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, had passed.

Claim: New York City Ending Migrant Voucher Program

The city on November 7 said it was end a controversial program which gave debit cards to asylum-seeking migrant families staying in city-funded hotels to buy food. The program was a lightning rod for criticism concerned about potential fraud, helping migrants before struggling Americans and a no-bid contract that Mayor Eric Adams gave to run the program.

The change was announced two days after Trump’s election, but Adams did not mention Trump in interviews. Adams and Trump did speak on the phone the day before the announcement, but Adams was vague about one News conference November 7 about what they discussed.

In a 7 Nov interview with New York’s WABC-TVAdams again declined to say what he and Trump had discussed.

Adams said the debit card program was an emergency contract that was scheduled to expire in a year.

“Now we’ve moved away from emergency response because we’ve had a constant decline in our (migrant) population,” Adams said.

PolitiFact emailed Adams’ press office for comment but did not receive a response.

Claim: Qatar kicks out Hamas leader

This did occur, but the reason is murky. Qatar suspended its mediation efforts in stalled talks between Israel and Gaza to end the war there and free Israeli hostages, multiple news reports said.

Whether Qatar asked Hamas leaders to leave the country is unclear. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a 13 November press conference in Brussels that Hamas has indicated it will not participate in talks on a hostage deal, saying “that is one of the reasons why Qatar has told them to leave Qatar.” Several news reports cited unnamed US sources as saying that the US had asked Qatar to expel Hamas and that Qatar had agreed.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and senior Hamas officials told the Wall Street Journal that the reports that Hamas was asked to leave the Hamas political office in Doha were false. The Ministry released one statement Nov 9 which said talks would resume if both sides show “willingness and seriousness” to end the war.

PolitiFact reached out to Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for clarification, but did not receive a response.

Misleading or false statements

Claim: Hamas demands an end to the war in Gaza

Hamas has called for an end to Israeli military action in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. Hamas’s repetition of these calls means nothing without concessions and negotiations between the two sides.

A Hamas spokesperson told Newsweek in a November 6 article that “the election of Trump as the 47th President of the United States is a private matter for Americans, but the Palestinians look forward to an immediate end to the aggression against our people, especially in Gaza, and seek assistance in achieving their legitimate rights. freedom, independence and the establishment of their independent self-sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

Claim: Mexico should stop migrants at the border

Mexico has been stopping migrants in Mexico since January 2024, Mittelstadt said.

“Increased Mexican enforcement has been ongoing since January and has been a real factor in the significant decline seen since January in arrivals at the US-Mexico border,” Mittelstadt told PolitiFact. “Mexican officials have said they will continue with their current position.”

Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said on Nov. 8 that Mexico will continue existing measures to stop migrants from reaching the U.S. border, It was reported by Reuters.

He said Mexico’s model is working, pointing to a 76 percent drop since December in migrants caught at the U.S. border, Reuters reported.