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22-year-old leading counterterrorism rumor, Trump-Musk feud guide & Peyton Manning

Plus: What do 'e.g.' and 'i.e.' really stand for?

Author

Izz LaMagdeleine
June 07, 2025

SATURDAY EDITION

Snopes Debunker

A white man wearing a dark blue suit is pictured in front of a logo that says "U.S. DEPARTMENT HOMELAND SECURITY."

Breaking down rumor Trump appointed 22-year-old college grad to lead counterterrorism

In early June, a rumor spread online that the new appointee President Donald Trump placed in charge of counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland Security was Thomas Fugate, a 22-year-old recent college graduate with no national security experience.

The rumor stemmed from a report ProPublica published on Wednesday. Reporter Anna Rascouët-Paz has the details.

On the left: A white man, Elon Musk, with short dark hair, looks to the right. On the right: A white man with a dark tan and white hair, Donald Trump, looks to the left.

A complete guide to the Trump vs. Musk feud

How Elon Musk's criticism of Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" in 2025 turned into a Big, Bickering Blowout.

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Support Snopes With Our Monthly Membership

Snopes has been busy fact-checking political claims, including unpacking a rumor that Trump appointed a 22-year-old college grad to lead counterterrorism. We need your help to keep doing this work. By building our membership, we will be able to continue cutting straight to the facts on any subject our readers are interested in. We appreciate any support you can give.

Two white men wearing dark suits stand next to each other. The one on the right appears to be speaking.

Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal didn't spend $800K on hotels during Kyiv visit. We crunched the numbers

The senators visited Kyiv on May 30, but the alleged $814,000 expense covered a State Department hotel contract for June lodging in Kyiv.

A white woman and Black man are pictured next to each other.

Morgan Freeman didn't lecture Karoline Leavitt about racism on live TV

The rumor originated as so-called "AI slop" — cheap, low quality content generated by artificial intelligence.

A white man looks stonefaced as a crowd o people behind him appears to laugh, some looking at him.

Peyton Manning refused to laugh at cruel talk show joke?

A story shared online told of the former NFL quarterback becoming "stone-faced" after a late night talk show host made a cruel joke.

Staff Pick

A lamp logo with light shining out of it is placed in front of black text that says "i.e." and "e.g." A dictionary page appears to be seen behind it.

What do 'e.g.' and 'i.e.' really stand for?

The meme in this article is incorrect, i.e., it is false.