Claim Panama banned Trump family started as satire | Fact check

The claim: Panama banned Trump family from country for 100 years

A Jan. 4 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims to share news about President-elect Donald Trump and his family.

"BREAKING: The country of Panama just banned the Trump family from entering their borders for 100 years," the post reads. "This country should do the same."

It was liked more than 3,000 times in two days. Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Threads and on Facebook.

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Our rating: False

There have been no credible news reports about such a ban. The claim originated as satire.

Trump says US may seek control over Panama Canal

In a series of Truth Social posts on Dec. 21, 2024, Trump accused Panama of charging "ridiculous" fees for using the Panama Canal, the vital passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and he said he might "demand" the canal's return to U.S. control. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino defended the rates in a statement the next day, saying that "every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to Panama, and will continue to be."

But contrary to the claim in the post, Panama has not banned Trump's family from entering the country for 100 years. In his statement, Mulino said he wants to "maintain a good and respectful relationship" with the incoming Trump administration. There have also been no credible news reports of Panama imposing such a ban.

The claim started as satire. The Halfway Post shared the claim on X on Jan. 2, two days before the Threads post was made. The Halfway Post describes itself as a source for "halfway true comedy and satire" in its X profile.

Fact check: Claim of Denmark's interest in buying US is stolen satire

The Threads post includes no indication of the claim's satirical origin. It's an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where posts created as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

USA TODAY has debunked an array of social media claims involving Trump, including false assertions that Denmark announced an interest in purchasing the U.S. after Trump again floated the idea of acquiring Greenland, that he said the U.S. and Italy have been allies "since the time of ancient Rome" and that an image shows Trump made a post telling billionaire Elon Musk to "stay in your lane."

USA TODAY reached out to the Threads user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Snopes also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources

• The Halfway Post, Jan. 2, X post

• USA TODAY, Dec. 23, 2024, Trump threatens to reassert US control over the Panama Canal

• Jose Raul Mulino, Dec. 22, 2024, X post

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Panama didn't ban Trump family from entering country | Fact check