Fact Check: Did Donald Trump ban use of the word ‘felon’ in White House?

WASHINGTON, DC: A memo allegedly issued by President Donald Trump announcing that the word 'felon' can no longer be used on the premises of the White House has gone viral across the social media platform X after first appearing online on Friday, February 14.

However, according to the fact-checking website Snopes, the announcement is fake and can be traced to a social media account that is known to share similar deceptive content.

Claim: Donald Trump has banned the word 'felon' in White House

The rumor about President Trump banning the word 'felon' from his White House apparently originated in a post made by the account Rogue WH Snr Advisor.

"In light of recent events, until further notice I am directing all staff, operations personnel, cabinet members and White House visitors to stop using the word 'Felon' while inside the White House or on White House grounds, whether in conversation or in writing," read what appeared to be a screengrab of an official memo bearing the signature of the POTUS.

"Failure to comply with this directive will result in immediate expulsion and/or disciplinary action," it added.

False: Donald Trump has not issued any memo banning the word 'felon'

It was not mentioned whether this post was meant to be satirical in nature, but the account has previously shared similar authentic-looking screenshots which later turned out to be fake, as per Snopes.

Last week, it shared what appeared to be a screengrab from Trump's Truth Social account which showed the president stating, "The Department of Education, as we will all soon find out, is one of the terrible organizations on Earth, with millions wasted over many years developing a hybrid of the fork and spoon in our cafeterias (which no one likes)."

However, such a post does not exist in reality on the platform.

Trump issuing the order to ban 'felon' from being used in the White House seemed reasonable to many as the 78-year-old was convicted of 34 counts of felony in May 2024 in the New York hush money trial. 

But official White House communications showed no public record of any such memo. A search for "felon" on the White House website also yielded no results. 

Moreover, no reputable news outlet has reported on any such memo being issued by Trump.

Internet falls for screenshot of fake memo banning the word 'felon'

The screenshot of the fake memo allegedly issued by Donald Trump banning the use of the word 'felon' in the White House soon went viral and many social media users, thinking it to be authentic, shared their takes.

"Does that mean he just banned himself?" asked a user.

"Rewriting history is your thang," quipped another.

"Haha. At least it proves he’s embarrassed about it," noted one user.

"Truth hurts!" exclaimed one.

"Wait isn’t that suppressing free speech?" a comment read.

"I don’t blame him. He won the contest. He gets to make that rule," shared yet another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.