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Hegseth's alleged Russian email address, Mark Carney & Cleveland food bank

Plus: Devil's Punchbowl refugee camp for freed slaves during Civil War is misdescribed as 'concentration camp'

Author

Izz LaMagdeleine
April 01, 2025

TUESDAY EDITION

Snopes Debunker

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Investigating rumor claiming Pete Hegseth owned Russian email address

A rumor that several users spread online last month claimed U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth once owned the Russian email address [email protected]. The Russian technology company VK owns the Mail.ru email-provider website. (The domain name extension .ru pertains to Russia.)

As of this writing, we were unable to locate enough evidence to conclusively link the Russian email address to the defense secretary. A White House spokesperson told Snopes by email, regarding the rumor, "That is fake." The Defense Department and VK did not yet respond to emails asking various questions that might yield more facts. Snopes Senior Reporter Jordan Liles investigated.

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Unpacking claims that Canadian PM Mark Carney plagiarized economics thesis

We were able to review Carney's Oxford University thesis.

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Support Snopes With Our Monthly Membership

Did you know Snopes has a membership program? Please join us in our fight against misinformation. We're sure you've noticed the rise in misleading or inaccurate information across social media platforms. The more members who join, the more time we can spend fact-checking difficult and dangerous rumors.

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Breaking down rumor that Trump's faith adviser promised '7 supernatural blessings' for $1K

White House faith adviser Paula White-Cain faced criticism for allegedly soliciting Passover donations with the promise of "supernatural blessings."

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No evidence House Speaker Mike Johnson is on Grindr

A TikTok user alleged he had screenshots of Johnson corresponding with another person on the gay dating app.

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Trump budget cuts canceled 20 truckloads of food for Cleveland food bank

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank said it was expecting 500,000 pounds of food between April and July.

Staff Pick

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Devil's Punchbowl refugee camp for freed slaves during Civil War is misdescribed as 'concentration camp'

It is often falsely claimed that "over 20,000 freed slaves were killed in one year" of the camp's existence.