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Armored Teslas, more USAID rumors & young Jill Biden

Plus: 50 pieces of presidential trivia to mark Presidents Day

Author

Izz LaMagdeleine
February 18, 2025

TUESDAY EDITION

Snopes Debunker

People can be seen to the left side of a gray boxy car. Its driver-side door is open.

What we know about claims State Department was set to buy $400M in 'armored Teslas'

In mid-February, a rumor spread online that the U.S. Department of State planned to spend $400 million on "armored Teslas," a contract that Elon Musk would benefit from. One social media user described the plan as "the kind of waste and abuse we wanted to stop."

It is true that the State Department published a plan for fiscal year 2025 that included a potential procurement of $400 million worth of "Armored Tesla" vehicles. However, this plan was part of a Biden administration proposal to acquire electric vehicles as part of his sustainability goals. The State Department later removed the $400 million contract proposal from the document in question and said there are no plans to issue the contract. Snopes reporter Grace Deng has the details.

A white man wearing a blue suit is pictured next to a painting of a white man on a horse.

Trump repeats alleged Napoleon quote: 'He who saves his Country does not violate any Law'

The U.S. president's posts appeared to defend heads of state defying the rule of law.

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Snopes is proud to say we have a new membership program. Please consider contributing what you can and joining our fight against misinformation. We’re sure you've noticed the rise in misinformation across social media platforms. It's only expected to get worse. The more members who join, the more time we can spend fact-checking difficult and dangerous rumors.

A logo that says UNITED STATES AGENCY INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT is shown. On either side are two white woman smiling. The women on the left is a brunette, while the woman on the right is a blonde.

A collection of USAID funding rumors, fact-checked

With a promise to end "waste, fraud and abuse" within the agency, the Trump administration has made various claims about its past spending.

A white man wearing a dark suit tilts his head up to the left.

Breaking down allegations CPAC head Matt Schlapp sexually assaulted another man

Schlapp faces allegations that he sexually assaulted a man in early February, the fourth reported incident of this nature in eight years.

A white woman sits with her arms spwarled behind her, looking straight at the camera.

Yes, this photo of young Jill Biden is real. Here's the context

The photograph was allegedly taken in the 1970s.

Staff Pick

From left to right, a white man wearing a suit, a Black man wearing a blue shirt, a white man wearing a suit, another white man wearing a suit and a white man wearing a black top are shown.

50 pieces of presidential trivia to mark Presidents Day

From allegations of extramarital affairs to claims of after-death hauntings of the White House — some anecdotes are more believable than others.