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  • Snopes Digest Issue #112: Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Craigslist ad for DC seat fillers — and more

Snopes Digest Issue #112: Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Craigslist ad for DC seat fillers — and more

Here's what's happening inside the Snopes newsroom

Author

Izz LaMagdeleine
July 11, 2025

July 11, 2025・Issue #112

1. Fact-checking highlight: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

Let's talk about what's going on with Snopes: the newsroom, the products, the people, and everything and anything that makes Snopes, Snopes. This month, Rae Deng rounded up the claims we’ve investigated about President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”

As Republicans raced to push through their tax and budget megabill known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” ahead of the July 4 deadline imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Snopes reporters attempted to keep pace with fact-checking rumors circulating about the legislation. 

The dense, 900-page act — which Trump, fulfilling his wish, signed into law on the Fourth of July — contains so many provisions, it’s difficult to know what’s true and what’s false. 

For example, we determined that the bill sends $75 billion to ICE — not $48.5 billion, as social media users claimed — and examined rumors that a quarter of the country’s nursing homes will close because of the act. 

Catch up on what you need to know about the Big Beautiful Bill with our list of stories below: 

Keep Snopes debunking

We need your continued support to continue our fact-finding mission.

2. Behind the Snopes: Craigslist ad for DC seat fillers

From web producer/reporter Megan Loe:

Back in June, people on social media began sharing a screenshot of an alleged Craigslist ad seeking “seat fillers” for an event in Washington, D.C., on June 14 – the same day as a military parade on President Trump’s birthday. Dozens of readers asked us whether the Craigslist ad was real and we received a lot of interest once our fact check was published.

The ad itself was definitely real and posted on Craigslist. While we couldn’t definitively confirm whether the ad was a prank or posted by someone from Trump’s camp, a close inspection suggested it was likely intended as a joke. For example, there's no record that the company mentioned in the ad – T-Mellon Events – exists.

We did get an email from someone claiming to have posted the ad, but they never provided additional confirmation that they created it.

If you see something online that looks suspicious – whether it’s a Craigslist ad like this one or something else – don’t hesitate to send it our way. We'll try our best to look into it.

3. Overheard at Snopes

We look into a lot of weird stuff at Snopes. We imagine it's very interesting to be a fly on the wall, so we wanted to give you a look at some of the things we have to say when fact-checking.

Overheard: Oh to be a stretchy cat on a sunny windowsill

— Reporter Laerke Christensen

4. Since we last met: Snopes’ latest hires

From Executive Editor/Managing Editor Doreen Marchionni:

Snopes is pleased to introduce you to our newest newsroom hires:

Megan Loe is a hybrid web producer/reporter who hails from Las Vegas and is now based in Washington state. Before joining Snopes, she worked as a digital producer and content manager at a local CBS affiliate, and as a digital journalist for VERIFY, TEGNA’s national fact-checking platform. Outside of work, Megan enjoys singing in choir, taking photos, spending quality time with her loved ones and rescue pup, and enjoying the outdoors.

Reporter Emery Winter, originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. They graduated from Queens University of Charlotte with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in sports communications. Like Megan, they also previously worked at VERIFY. In their free time, Emery enjoys playing video games, cheering for bad sports teams and thinking about getting back into bowling.

Mental health break

Snopes investigates some grim and depressing claims, so we know how important it is to your mental health to see something silly, funny, or just plain heartwarming. Here are some links that made us smile.

5. Snopes-worthy media

What Snopes is paying attention to across the web.

— Sophie Culpepper, Nieman Lab

— Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO

— Daniel Anthony, Them

Thanks for reading this edition of the Snopes Digest. We send new issues of the newsletter every month, so please add this email address to your white list and keep an eye out for the next issue.

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