Fact Check: Did Mexico town in NY change its name to 'Epstein List' to avoid Trump's renaming?
OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK: Amid President Donald Trump’s geographic renaming spree, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that Mexico and New York have changed their names to ‘Epstein List’ to avoid being renamed by the president. The rumor has triggered concern and speculation, requiring a fact-check.
Claim: New York's Mexico renamed to ‘Epstein List’
According to a viral claim circulating online, the town of Mexico, New York, announced it was changing its name to "Epstein List" to avoid being forcibly renamed by Trump.
"We figured if we changed our name to something he absolutely doesn't want to talk about, we might fly under the radar," Town Supervisor Mark Henderson allegedly said of the name change.
The claim came amid Trump’s executive orders mandating that the federal government change the names of three major landmarks, including renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario to Lake America.
The claim has spread on multiple platforms such as Facebook, X, and Instagram, collectively garnering hundreds of thousands of views, with many appearing to believe the claim, while a few others dismissed it as fake.
Fact Check: The claim originated as satire
The claim, however, is false, as there is no evidence of the town in New York changing its name to avoid Trump’s name-changing spree.
There are no official statements, announcements, or press conferences from the concerned authorities of the town that support the claim.
If the claim were true, prominent local and national news media outlets would have widely reported it, making headlines. Searches on Google, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo also did not yield credible news reports.
The searches revealed that the claim originated from a Facebook page called The Innerloop Blog, which describes itself in the bio as a satirical or parody site providing "Rochester NY's #1 Source for Fake News."
Donald Trump's call to rename New Mexico to New America
The claim surfaced after Trump called for the state of New Mexico to "immediately change its name to New America" in a post on Truth Social.
The post read, “New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America. We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!"
"The name would add great value and prestige to the State! Home Values and Incomes would rise, and you would be even prouder while saluting our beautiful American Flag! Maybe even the Crooked Elections that New Mexico is known for would become honest again! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
