Says Oprah Winfrey’s house “has been seized and they are excavating the property and digging up the tunnels!”
No, Oprah’s house not seized and she hasn’t been arrested
If your time is short
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Oprah and Boca Raton police have debunked claims that she’s been arrested or that her property has been seized.
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Oprah doesn't have a house in Boca Raton.
Oprah Winfrey became a trending topic online based on false claims that authorities seized her house in Boca Raton, Fla. and were “digging up the tunnels.”
“Oprah’s house has been seized and they are excavating the property and digging up the tunnels!” said caption for a March 16 Facebook post, claiming to show pictures of her purported property in Boca Raton.
Other fabricated posts peddled by conspiracy theorists claimed that she was arrested. None of those claims are true, and Oprah doesn’t have a house in Boca Raton.
The Facebook post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
The falsehoods propagated to a point where both Oprah and the Boca Raton Police were compelled to debunk the rumors.
Oprah tweeted March 18: “Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing. It’s NOT TRUE. Haven’t been raided, or arrested. Just sanitizing and self distancing with the rest of the world. Stay safe everybody.”
Boca Raton Police also tweeted March 18: “The social media stories trending about @oprah being arrested by @bocapolice is absolutely false.”
Online posts claiming that Oprah has been arrested or that her alleged house in Boca Raton was seized and authorities are digging up tunnels are not true. We rate this claim Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Internet Archive, Facebook post, March 16, 2020
Phone interview, Boca Raton Police public information office, March 18, 2020
Twitter, @bocapolice tweet, March 18, 2020; @Oprah tweet, March 18, 2020
