History Channel Did Not Cancel Obama Series
PLUS: More than 7 Million Views of Fake Trump-Epstein Videos; A New Twist on False Claim About French First Lady’s Gender; How to Spot a Counterfeit Post Attributed to a Politician
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In today’s edition, we show how pro-Trump accounts fell for a satirical claim that the History Channel canceled a documentary series by Barack Obama following Trump allegations that he once launched a “coup” against Trump. We also debunk new videos pushing baseless claims about Trump’s association with Jeffrey Epstein, and we unpack the fallout from the latest allegation about French first lady Brigitte Macron’s gender.
Plus: The latest installment in our video series to help you with the tools and skills you need to identify hoaxes online. Please share this with family and friends who may need these tips to avoid falling for false claims.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Sofia Rubinson and Eric Effron.
1. MAGA Users Propel Hoax Claim that History Channel Cut Ties with Obama Over “Coup” Claims
What happened: Pro-Trump social media users are falling for the bogus claim that the History Channel suspended production of former President Barack Obama’s documentary series after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a memo accusing Obama of taking part in “what was essentially a years-long coup” against Trump.
Context: In addition to that memo, Gabbard’s office on July 18 released numerous emails among members of the intelligence community, which her office said implicated the Obama administration in a plot to “subvert President Trump’s 2016 victory and presidency” using “manufactured and politicized intelligence” of Russian election interference in 2016.
In a statement to USA Today, Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said, “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
A closer look: In March 2024, Obama signed a deal with the History Channel to produce an eight-part series on America’s Reconstruction Era. In the wake of Gabbard’s accusations, conservative social media accounts falsely claimed that the History Channel released a statement saying: “We need to make sure the facts are straight first” before the Obama series can proceed.
“The History Channel has halted production on its Barack Obama documentary series. Sources say intel from DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s latest release changed everything,” pro-QAnon X user @17QStorm stated, quoting he History Channel’s purported statement. The post garnered 54,700 views and 3,900 likes in one day.
Pro-Trump X user @mcafeenew stated: “History Channel FREEZES Obama Docuseries After Explosive DNI Bombshell. … They’re panicking. The Obama myth is collapsing. The Deep State is losing control of the narrative.” The post received 43,700 views and 3,800 likes in one day.
Actually: There are no credible reports that the History Channel, a channel of an A&E Networks joint venture between Hearst Communications and Disney, suspended its deal with Obama. Indeed, the supposed statement by the History Channel originated as satire.
The claim was first posted by America’s Last Line of Defense (ALLOD), a group that says it aims to dupe conservatives into believing outrageous claims. Many of the accounts spreading the claim did not note its satirical origins. (See a video from NewsGuard explaining how to avoid falling for ALLOD’s claims here.)
A&E Global Media Executive Vice President of Communications Dan Silberman, asked about the claim, told NewsGuard in a July 28, 2025, email: “There’s no truth to any of that. Our podcast will have a launch date to announce soon.”
Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush and the Obama Foundation did not respond to a three emailed request for comment.
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2. Trump-Epstein Deepfakes Keep Coming
By Jack Olson
There’s no end to the fakes: Since NewsGuard last week declared Trump-Epstein deepfakes our “False Claim of the Week,” we have identified two more videos purporting to show President Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell with underaged girls.
One of the videos supposedly shows Trump and Maxwell staring at a crying young girl, while the other depicts Trump playing with a young girl’s nose as Maxwell watches. Both were created by AI, NewsGuard determined using multiple AI detection tools, including IdentifAI.
The AI fakes join a growing list of fabricated media showing Trump with underaged girls and either Epstein or Maxwell that have spread widely since the July 6 release of a joint FBI-Justice Department memo stating that there was no evidence of a so-called “client list” implicating elite co-conspirators. NewsGuard has now identified seven images and three videos purporting to show Trump in compromising situations.
While many of the high-engagement examples of the videos were quickly removed from social media platforms, low-engagement posts continue to circulate. NewsGuard has determined that the images and videos have so far cumulatively gained more than 7.2 million views across social media.
While Trump was photographed as late as the early 2000s at multiple social events with Epstein and flew on Epstein’s private jet multiple times, according to publicly available flight logs, Trump has never been charged or reported to be under investigation in connection with the Epstein case.
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3. Macrons’ Suit Against Candace Owens Over Transgender Claim Sparks a New Falsehood
By Charlene Lin
What happened: In the wake of a defamation suit by the French first couple against conservative commentator Candace Owens over her claim that Brigitte Macron was born a man, some French social media users are falsely alleging that the litigation is being funded by taxpayers.
Context: On July 23, Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron filed a defamation suit in Delaware Superior Court against Owens, a popular podcaster, for claiming that Brigitte Macron was born a man and is transgender. The Macrons’ attorney, Tom Clare, said that Owens has spread false information about Brigitte Macron’s gender for nearly a year, despite repeated demands from the Macrons to stop doing so,
Two days after the suit was filed, Owens doubled down, stating on X, “If you have to file a lawsuit in a foreign country to prove to the world that you are a woman, it is because you most certainly are not one.”
A closer look: Soon after the defamation suit was announced, conservative social media users claimed that French taxpayers would be funding the litigation.
For example, French X user @Carene1984, who often shares content critical of the French government, stated: “The complaint is 218 pages long, an extremely rare legal action, costing a crazy amount of money. Who pays for it? French taxpayers😱” The post amassed 169,000 views and 2,000 likes in a day.
Actually: The claim that the Macrons’ suit will be funded with taxpayer money is baseless.
“No French taxpayer dollars are being spent on this lawsuit,” a spokesperson for the Macrons told NewsGuard in a July 24, 2025, email.
NewsGuard found no credible news reports that French public funds would be used for this suit, which was filed in the names of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron, not on behalf of the French presidency.
More context: The false narrative that Brigitte Macron is transgender has been a favorite among conspiracy theorists and has even been exploited by Russian propaganda campaigns.
Earlier this month, Russia’s influence operation Storm-1516 released a fabricated video claiming that a surgeon, François Faivre, was found dead after he promised journalists that he would provide proof that Macron underwent gender-transition surgery. However, there is no evidence that a surgeon named François Faivre died, let alone that he ever existed. (See Reality Check’s report on the Russian campaign here.)
Natalie Huet contributed reporting.
4. Tips and Tricks: How to Spot a Fabricated Social Media Post
This video is part of a series offering readers practical tips on how to spot false claims spreading online. Each short tutorial breaks down real-life examples of deepfakes and other fabrications and tells you about the tools you can use to spot falsehoods in your social media feeds. We hope you will share these videos with family and friends who need these tips to avoid falling for false claims.
Today’s tutorial explains how to spot a fake screenshot of a social media post attributed to a politician or other celebrity. So next time you see a particularly outrageous comment that seems to have originated on a high-profile figure’s own social media feed, you’ll be able to conduct your own “reality check.” Watch below:
Reality Check is produced by Co-CEOs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, and the NewsGuard team.
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