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Instagram posts
Instagram posts
stated on August 20, 2023 in an Instagram post:

U.S. Navy SEALs rescued 807 children who were being kept as sex slaves on a barge in San Francisco Bay.

False

U.S. Navy: Story about SEALs rescuing child sex slaves in San Francisco isn’t true

If your time is short

  • The U.S. Navy says this story isn’t true.
 
See the sources for this fact-check

An undated clip from a website called Israeli News Live recounts a supposed “child sex trade busted” in San Francisco Bay as the web show’s host shares “an amazing story from a minister friend.”

The upshot: According to the host, the U.S. Navy SEALs rescued 807 children from a barge off the California coast where they were being held captive as sex slaves. 

An Instagram post sharing the clip included the text: “Sex slave ship found they rescued eight hundred seventeen children!”

This post was 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 and Instagram.)

But the SEALs rescued neither 807 nor 817 child sex slaves. A Navy spokesperson told PolitiFact this claim is inaccurate. We also found no credible news sources or other stories to corroborate the allegations in the video. 

We found a similar story citing anonymous sources and published June 27 on Real Raw News, a website that regularly runs fabricated stories.

We rate this claim False.

 

Our Sources

Instagram post, Aug. 20, 2023

Israeli News Live videos, visited Aug. 24, 2023

PolitiFact, Hangings, guillotines and Gitmo: Going behind Real Raw News’ sensational (and fabricated) headlines, Sept. 24, 2021

Real Raw News, Navy SEALs save children from child sex slavers, June 27, 2023

Email interview with Lt.j.g. Erin McCullagh, U.S. Navy Office of Information, Aug. 23, 2023

U.S. Navy: Story about SEALs rescuing child sex slaves in San Francisco isn’t true

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