USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change.
Image shows fabricated Trump post pledging porn ban on first day | Fact check
The claim: Image shows Trump post saying he'll ban porn on day one of new term
A Jan. 8 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a supposed X post from President-elect Donald Trump.
"On my first day in office I will sign into law a nationwide ban on the sale, production, and possession of pornography," the purported post from Trump reads.
The Instagram post was liked more than 300 times in two days. Another Instagram post with the same image was liked more than 5,000 times before it was deleted.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
Our rating: Manipulated media
The image is a fabrication. There is no record of the post on Trump's X profile.
Legitimate news sources make no mention of purported Trump plan
The post in question doesn't appear on Trump's X profile, nor have there been any reports from reputable news organizations about Trump promising to sign such a bill into law when he's inaugurated on Jan. 20.
No legislation outlawing the possession, production and sale of all pornography across the U.S. is mentioned on Congress' website or the bill-tracking website GovTrack.us.
Fact check: Claim that Trump 'faces up to 4 years in prison' is missing key context
The image includes other indicators that it's a fabrication. It doesn't include a timestamp showing when the supposed X post was shared or virality measures such as the number of likes, reposts and comments it had received by the time it was supposedly captured. It also shows a blue checkmark next to Trump's username. His X account has had a gray checkmark – signifying governmental affiliation – next to his name since at least Nov. 14, 2024.
USA TODAY has debunked an array of social media claims involving Trump, including false assertions that he was banned from Panama for 100 years, that Mexico's president vowed to stop migrant caravans to the U.S. following Trump's tariff threat and that Congress approved a $1,000 stimulus payment for all U.S. residents ahead of Trump's inauguration.
USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources
Donald Trump, accessed Jan. 8, X profile
GovTrack.us, accessed Jan. 9, Advanced Search for Legislation
Congress.gov, accessed Jan. 9, Legislation search
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump post promising to sign porn ban is fabricated | Fact check