Fact check: Posts falsely claim Trump, top White House officials moved to bunker amid FAA outage
A viral hoax claimed Trump and aides were moved to a bunker during the FAA outage, amplified by Alex Jones. Officials ruled have out cyberattacks or foul play.
A false claim went viral on social media, alleging that President Donald Trump and his top White House officials had been moved to a bunker due to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nationwide ground stop on Friday. The accusation was made by far-right commentator and former Trump ally, Alex Jones, who claimed that a cyberattack had caused the outage and that Trump and other officials were seeking refuge to avoid further attacks.
However, this claim was quickly debunked by both FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who stated that the outage was likely due to a contractor error or equipment failure, and not the result of foul play. The claim originated on social media accounts that encouraged far-right theories, and was further amplified by an AlertNet news story that quoted a former Homeland Security analyst suggesting that Trump had moved to a figurative bunker following the Republican losses in the midterms.
Despite the false claims, President Trump was actually present in the White House during the FAA outage, addressing the issue directly on Friday evening and dismissing the cyberattack theory.
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