Fact Check: Did Mark Carney mock Trump at G7 summit in Italy?

WASHINGTON, DC: In May 2026, viral YouTube videos claimed that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney mocked US President Donald Trump during a G7 news conference, sparking widespread attention online. 

However, Italy last hosted the G7 summit in 2024, more than a year before Carney became Canada’s prime minister, raising immediate questions about the accuracy of the claim. Let’s fact-check what actually happened.

Claim: Mark Carney mocked Trump during a G7 news conference in Italy

In May 2026, several videos circulated online claiming that Mark Carney mocked US President Donald Trump during a G7 news conference held in Puglia, Italy.

 One such video, uploaded to YouTube on May 11, was titled “13 Seconds That Shook the G7 — Carney’s Line That Triggered Global Laughter at Trump.” Other similar uploads used comparable sensational framing, including titles such as “Trump Was Smirking… Until Carney’s 13-Second Reply Shocked the G7.”

The same claim also spread on X, where posts referenced the video and alleged that “Carney said 6 words at the G7, then Trump’s trade strategy started coll…” framing the exchange as a turning point in US-Canada economic dynamics.

Some posts further linked the narrative to broader speculation about heightened US-Canada trade tensions, suggesting that Carney used Canada’s G7 role to gain diplomatic leverage, with alleged ripple effects on bond yield spreads and internal US policy discussions.

The spread of these videos and posts prompted viewers to question whether they accurately reflected an actual exchange at a G7 summit or whether they were digitally created or misleadingly edited content.

Fact Check: No real footage found showing Mark Carney mocking Trump

None of the circulated videos actually showed real footage of Mark Carney mocking Donald Trump. Despite the claim that the exchange occurred publicly during a G7 news conference, the clips instead featured a speaker presented as an analyst or geopolitical expert on a video call recounting alleged events rather than showing verifiable on-the-ground footage.

This lack of primary visual evidence prompted verification attempts using search engines such as Google, DuckDuckGo, and Yahoo with queries like “Mark Carney mocks Trump at G7.” However, no credible reporting or reliable news coverage supported the claim, an omission that is significant, as such an incident would almost certainly have generated major headlines if it had occurred.

Further fact-checking shows that the G7 leaders typically meet in person once a year in late May or early June, rotating host countries. While the videos claimed the incident took place in Puglia, Italy, records confirm that Italy last hosted the G7 in 2024, well before Mark Carney became Canada’s prime minister. Canada hosted the summit in 2025, and France is scheduled to host in 2026.

Investigations by fact-checking organizations also indicate that the videos spreading this narrative were generated using artificial intelligence tools. In multiple examples reviewed, the content was explicitly labeled as “altered or synthetic,” and exhibited typical AI-generation artifacts, including unnatural blinking, robotic movements, and inconsistent vocal tone from presenters.