Satirical post about bank foreclosing on Mar-a-Lago spreads as real
FILE - An aerial view of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is seen Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. Social media users are sharing a satirical post about a bank foreclosing on Mar-a-Lago club as real. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
CLAIM: Fox News reported that Deutsche Bank has filed a notice to foreclose on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The claim comes from a post by a parody account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Fox News has not published any such report, and there are no public records supporting it.
THE FACTS: The satirical post circulated on multiple social media platforms, with many sharing it as real news.
The original post, which itself garnered more than 11,000 likes, reads: “BREAKING FOX NEWS: Deutsche Bank has filed a notice to foreclose on Mar A Lago. The Trump property is part of a larger estate lien that is 190m$ delinquent. Court documents show a 3.4b$ loan that’s in default. Trump hasn’t respond to repeated attempts for comment. Developing story.”
Posts on Facebook and Instagram shared screenshots of the original X post, or in some cases just its claims.
But the claim is not true. The X account that originally posted it says in its bio that it is a “Raw & Unfiltered Parody Account.”
Additionally, no such report appears on Fox News’ website or social media accounts. Connor Smith, a Fox spokesperson, confirmed that this claim was not reported by the network.
A search Thursday found no public records from Deutsche Bank related to a foreclosure of Mar-a-Lago, nor any credible news reports supporting the claim.
Last month, Nicholas Haigh, a former Deutsche Bank risk management officer, testified at Trump’s New York civil fraud trial about the bank’s decision to approve Trump for a $125 million loan in 2011 for his golf resort in Doral, Florida, and a $107 million loan in 2012 for his Chicago hotel and condo skyscraper.
The lawsuit, brought by the New York attorney general, accuses Trump of duping banks, insurers and others by inflating the value of his assets, including Mar-a-Lago.
The judge in September already found that Mar-a-Lago was overvalued on one financial statement by as much as 2,300%, the AP reported.
In a post following the decision, Trump stood by his Mar-a-Lago valuations, arguing that the Palm Beach property could be worth as much as $1.8 billion — far exceeding even the highest value he listed for it on his financial statements, which was $739 million in 2018. The New York attorney general’s office has argued its real worth was a tenth of that amount.
Trump bought the 126-room, 62,500-square-foot (5,810-square-meter) mansion in 1985 for about $10 million, the equivalent of $30 million today, per the AP.
Deutsche Bank did not respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment on Thursday.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.