Fact Check: Did Trump post ‘Melania’ movie will be mandatory viewing in history classes?
WASHINGTON, DC: A claim has been circulating online that President Donald Trump announced on social media that the documentary film ‘Melania’, about his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, would be mandatory viewing in all history classes. The post has also sparked speculations about the authenticity of the claim. Let us fact-check it.
Claim: Trump announces 'Melania' movie would be a mandatory screening
The rumor spread this month in the form of a screenshot of the alleged post by Trump on Truth Social, which is being circulated on Threads, Facebook, and Reddit. According to the post, Trump announced that the documentary film on Melania Trump would be mandatory viewing for all history courses.
The alleged post read, “In celebration of my INCREDIBLE WIFE, MELANIE, and her BRAND NEW MOVIE (critics are calling it "VERY IMPORTANT"), I am proud to announce that it will now be considered a FOUNDATIONAL MOMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY.”
“Effective immediately, this movie will be MANDATORY VIEWING in ALL history courses. Elementary, high school, college - EVERYONE. People should learn WINNING early.”
“Any universities that REFUSE to teach this MASTERPIECE will unfortunately see their funding DISAPPEAR. Sad! But rules are rules.”
“This is about EDUCATION. This is about CULTURE. This is about RESPECT.”
“Congratulations to MELANIA on this HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT!!! Many people are saying it's the greatest film since the invention of film.”
Fact Check: The post is digitally altered
However, a search on the president’s Truth Social account for 'Melanie,' a misspelling of Melania Trump's name in the post, did not show any such post.
A reverse search for the image could not determine the original creator of the post.
An additional search using a database of Trump's X and Truth Social posts run by Roll Call, a reputable site covering the US Capitol, also returned no relevant results.
A closer analysis of the screenshot indicated that the image was digitally edited.
The post does not include a timestamp or icons for likes, comments, and shares, unlike an actual post.
The handle and profile name also look blurry compared to the clearer text of the fake post, indicating the use of digital editing to add text to a screenshot.
While Trump didn’t actually post that ‘Melania’ will be a mandatory screening for history classes, he did promote the film as a 'MUST WATCH' in a Truth Social post on January 26.
