THURSDAY EDITION

Snopes Debunker

Analyzing Musk's claim that '150-year-olds' are collecting Social Security payments

Last Tuesday, Elon Musk claimed during a news conference at the White House that a "cursory examination of Social Security" showed "people in there that are about 150 years old." Days later, Musk posted a screenshot on X allegedly showing people marked as alive in the Social Security database at impossibly high ages, including more than 1,000 individuals above the age of 220 and one person between 360 and 369 years old.

However, these claims need context. A government audit published in July 2023 showed that as of 2020, there were 18.9 million registrants in the central SSA database born in or before 1920 whose death record information was not properly recorded, suggesting they would be more than 100 years old if still alive. However, just because some people were improperly recorded as "alive" didn’t mean they were receiving payments from the SSA. Snopes reporters Jack Izzo and Grace Deng investigated.

What we know about rumor Musk makes $8M per day from US government contracts

Musk's companies have received billions of dollars from federal contracts in recent years.

Support Snopes With Our Monthly Membership

Snopes has been busy fact-checking political claims, including whether "150-year-olds" are collecting Social Security payments, which we featured at the top of the newsletter. We need your help to keep doing this far-ranging 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.

Trump order saying only he and attorney general can interpret laws is limited to executive branch

The executive order gives the president more power over federal agencies that are part of the executive branch of government.

Breaking down claim Texas girl took her life because bullies threatened to report her family to ICE

Jocelynn Rojo Carranza, 11, died by suicide on Feb. 8.

No, Chris Stapleton didn't file 'official objection' to Beyoncé's Grammy win for best country album

Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" won best country album at the 2025 Grammys.

Staff Pick

Yes, photo authentically shows boy holding 'TRUMP IS A CHUMP!' sign at '80s rally

In 1989, some New Yorkers protested Donald Trump's call for the return of the death penalty.