Fact Check: Trump Did Not Announce a “Digital Rent” or Social Media Takeover
▻https://logos-pres.md/en/news/trumps-digital-rent-and-social-media-regulation-turned-out-to-be-fake
A video has gone viral on social media in which U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly announces that the servers of the largest social media platforms will come under Washington’s control and demands that other countries pay a “digital rent.”
However, the post turned out to be a satirical hoax and had no connection to official White House statements.
The video appeared on a parody account
As fact-checkers determined, the video was posted by the account @UsArmyspoof_, which describes itself as satirical. Later, other users began sharing the post, including using images and video footage generated by artificial intelligence.
The viral posts claimed that Trump had stated: “Starting today, the U.S. controls the servers of all major social media platforms. Any country that refuses to pay a monthly ‘digital rent’ will lose access to the internet.”
This was followed by an alleged response from the European Union regarding a violation of international law and a new remark from Trump threatening to shut down Google Maps in Europe.
Verification showed that Donald Trump did not make any such statements. They are not found on official White House resources, in the U.S. president’s posts, or in the transcripts of his public speeches.