No, journalist Bob Woodward did not post on X about Donald Trump’s adult diapers


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Former President Donald Trump sued journalist Bob Woodward in 2023 for nearly $50 million for publishing audio interviews with him. But Woodward’s response was not to mock Trump for wearing adult diapers, as social media users claimed.

“Since Donald Trump is suing me I will reveal something I’ve never revealed before about a public figure. The scent-barrier on his Depends is completely insufficient,” a screenshot of an X post purporting to be from Woodward’s account reads. Multiple Threads posts reshared the screenshot from Oct. 11 to Oct.14.

False, Bob Woodward tweet about Trump
Figure 1: False, Bob Woodward tweet about Trump

Screenshot from Threads

These Threads posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

Depend is a brand of adult disposable underwear for bladder leakage.

The post is not on Woodward’s official X account and we found no news reports about Woodward making it.

The fake post screenshot was first shared with a parody label by an X account that said it created the post Jan. 30, 2023. The account’s bio says “most of the images we share are parodies.” The Threads posts resharing the screenshot did not label it as parody or satire.

The screenshot began recirculating after Woodward announced the Oct. 15 launch of his new book, “War,” which says Trump frequently called  Vladimir Putin and secretly sent the Russian president COVID-19 tests in 2020 when they were in short supply.

We rate the claim that Woodward posted on X that Trump wears adult diapers Pants on Fire!

Truth-o-meter Ruling

Pants on Fire!

If your time is short

  • The post originated as satire on Jan. 30, 2023. 

Statement

Journalist Bob Woodward posted on X that Donald Trump wears adult diapers.

Context

Threads posts

Speaker/Target

Statement Date

October 11, 2024
Our Sources

Threads post (archived), Oct. 14, 2024

Threads post, Oct. 11, 2024

Threads post, Oct. 12, 2024

Depend, About Us, accessed Oct. 16, 2024

Bob Woodward X account, accessed Oct. 16, 2024

X post, Jan. 30, 2023

Faith Back Rub X account, accessed Oct. 16, 2024

Poynter, New books from legendary reporter Bob Woodward, PolitiFact founder Bill Adair launch today, Oct. 15, 2024

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