Numerous hoaxes and conspiracy theories have targeted former President Barack Obama and his family throughout his time in office and beyond. A recent hoax being shared widely on social media targets his oldest daughter, Malia.
“BREAKING: Future and Malia Obama expecting first child together,” reads the headline in a reel shared on Facebook Sept. 14.
“This is the president’s daughter,” a man sharing the image in a video says.
But the news isn’t true. It originated on a satirical Instagram account. In addition to the reel, we found it being shared elsewhere without clear reference to its satirical intent.
The Facebook reel and others were 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 image in the reel is a screenshot of an Instagram post from the account RapStreet TV, which says in its bio that it shares “daily satire.”
It shows a picture of Malia Obama, 24, alongside one of the rapper Future, 38, the stage name for Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn.
“This news came as a shock to many as the relationship between Malia and Future was kept secret until now,” the caption on the original Instagram post said. Much like many of the other claims involving Obama’s daughters, the post is not true and has no basis in reality.
It’s not the first time Malia Obama has been the target of fake pregnancy rumors. A fake news website in 2014 claimed the then-16-year-old became pregnant by an unknown father.
We found no evidence that Malia Obama and Future know each other. A search of Google and Nexis news archives did not include any mentions of them together outside of references to RapStreet TV’s Instagram post.
Our ruling
A Facebook post shared a screenshot claiming Malia Obama and the rapper Future were expecting a child together. The screenshot came from an Instagram account that posts satirical news headlines.
Despite the satirical source of the claim and the lack of evidence that the two know each other, it did not stop it from spreading on social media.
We rate this claim Pants on Fire!
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
- Claims that Malia Obama is expecting a child with the rapper Future originated on a satirical Instagram account that shares fake headlines.
Statement
Context
a videoSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Facebook reel (archived), Sept. 14, 2022
Facebook post (archived), Sept. 13, 2022
Instagram post, Sept. 6, 2022
Snopes, "President Obama’s Daughter Malia Confirmed Pregnant," Dec. 2, 2014
Translations
Language: en