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Trump's alleged pardon for fraudster, MTV shutdown rumor & more

Trump's alleged pardon for fraudster, MTV shutdown rumor & more

Plus: Snopes never verified that shirtless Obama photo was taken at Epstein's island

January 03, 2026

SATURDAY EDITION

Snopes Debunker

Two images of the same man are shown. On the left, the man is smiling and appears to wear a black suit. On the right, the man is much more stone-faced, with his hair looking more gray than the other photo. A yellow line divides the two photos.

Unpacking claim Trump pardoned man who stole more than alleged Somali fraudsters in Minnesota

Amid reports of alleged massive welfare fraud in Minnesota, critics of President Trump claimed that he had pardoned a fraudster who was serving a 20-year sentence for stealing far more money. Social media posts identified the man as Philip Esformes.

Snopes reporter Anna Rascouët-Paz investigated the rumor and found that it combined false and unproven information.

In this photo collage, U.S. President Donald Trump is pictured next to a gavel, part of a U.S. flag and a couple of U.S. bills.

Supreme Court did not request Trump's financial records on 72-hour deadline

Supreme Court decisions have previously resulted in the release of Trump's tax returns — but there's no indication of that happening in early 2026.

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A large icon shows a yellow M with blue sides have red letters that say TV on its side. A phone is shown in front of it that shows the same icon.

Did MTV really shut down on New Year's Eve?

Some of its 24-hour music channels in the U.K. and other international markets did go dark.

A white woman wearing a pink jacket and white cross looks towards the right.

Did Erika Kirk promote 'Charlie Kirk dishware' offer?

Online users shared an alleged quote offering a special price on dishware honoring slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

A close up photo of Costco Wholesale branding on a store. The top half of the photo is a blue sky covered by out-of-focus leaves close to the camera

Is Costco building apartments over its stores? We inspected the rumor

A Costco store being built in Los Angeles will have affordable apartments above it, but as of late 2025, it'll be unique among the chain's stores.

Staff pick

A shirtless Black man walks in front of a large body of water. In the right bottom corner, a graphic says, "ALLOD SATIRE" above a black "S."

Snopes never verified that shirtless Obama photo was taken at Epstein's island

Snopes is at the forefront of the fight against misinformation. But sometimes, misinformation targets us, too.

In this case, a satirical Facebook post claimed that we verified that a photo of former President Barack Obama was taken at the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private island. That's entirely false.

The photo of Obama is real, but the supposed connection to Epstein's island is made up. Here's the real story behind it.