Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
Bloggers
Bloggers
stated on April 3, 2021 in a blog post:

Navy SEALs found over 1,000 trafficked children and dead bodies on the Evergreen ship that blocked the Suez Canal.

Pants on Fire!
By Samantha Putterman
April 5, 2021

No, trafficked children, dead bodies were not removed from ship that blocked the Suez Canal

If your time is short

  • This is a fabricated story. There is no evidence any trafficked children or dead bodies have been found on the ship.

See the sources for this fact-check

The giant Ever Given container ship that clogged up the Suez Canal for six days isn’t out of the news just yet.

After it was freed, Egyptian authorities towed the 1,300-foot ship to Great Bitter Lake, a wider expanse of the canal where authorities would be able to inspect the vessel for damage. 

Within days, dubious websites posted stories that claimed that the U.S. Navy SEALs took part in the inspection and found dead bodies and over 1,000 trafficked children on board.

“Navy Seals rescue over a thousand trafficked children and dead bodies out of shipping containers in the Suez Canal,” reads the all-caps headline of an April 3 post by a blog called the Marshall Report.

One person who shared the story on their Facebook page wrote, “YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!” 

But it is made up.

The 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 blog post repeats claims made in another article headlined, “Trafficked Children, Bodies, Weapons Found on Evergreen Ship Blocking Suez Canal,” published by a website called Before It’s News — a site that has published bogus news stories before.

It says unnamed “sources say” children were still being rescued and bodies discovered in the Ever Given’s 18,000-plus containers.

Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told PolitiFact there is “no truth” to the rumor.

The ship was not raided by the SEALs and there’s no evidence any children or bodies were found on board. Ever Given was reported to be carrying an array of consumer goods, including Ikea furniture.

The blog also contained unfounded claims about the Clintons and Wayfair, which we have debunked before.

We rate this post Pants on Fire!

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Samantha Putterman
Donald Trump
stated on September 23, 2025 a speech to the U.N. General Assembly
“I have ended seven unendable wars.”
Mostly False
stated on September 3, 2025 a press conference
Every school vaccine mandate “drips” with “slavery.”
Pants on Fire!

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier gets history wrong on census citizenship question

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino