WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2025 — A dramatic social-media post claiming that Senator John F. Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, brandished a thick black binder on the Senate floor and accused the Obama Foundation of misplacing $638 million in donations exploded across the internet on Thursday, complete with a purported hot-mic video of former President Barack Obama smashing an iPad in rage.
The post, which circulated widely on X and was amplified by conservative influencers, described Mr. Kennedy methodically listing alleged discrepancies: $312 million to “global initiatives” with no addresses, $184 million to nonexistent African youth programs, and $97 million routed to a Delaware limited-liability company that forwarded funds to a Cayman Islands account. The post quoted Mr. Kennedy as saying every transfer over $5 million bore Mr. Obama’s personal signature.
It went on to claim that Mr. Obama, while speaking at a “Democracy Summit” in Chicago, was handed an iPad showing the accusations, prompting him to shout, “This is my legacy!” and demand that Attorney General Merrick Garland “seize the servers before noon.” The post said the former president shattered a $22,000 crystal pitcher and that Secret Service agents dragged reporters away. By 11:09 a.m., it asserted, the clip had 389 million views and the hashtag #ObamaLegacyOnFire trended worldwide for 22 hours.
The post ended with a statement attributed to Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing an early-morning FBI raid on the Obama Presidential Center and a defiant reply from Mr. Kennedy: “Lies don’t need signatures, sugar. Money does.”
None of these events appear to have occurred.
Searches of congressional records, C-SPAN archives, and major news outlets found no trace of such a Senate presentation, no binder, no signed wire transfers, and no FBI operation announced by the Justice Department. The hashtag #ObamaLegacyOnFire did not appear in global or U.S. trending topics, and no video matching the description has surfaced on any verified account or mainstream platform.
The Obama Foundation, which publishes annual audited financial statements, has faced criticism in the past over fundraising and transparency but is not currently under any publicly disclosed criminal investigation. A spokesman for Mr. Obama declined to comment on the viral post, calling it “fabricated nonsense.” A spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy said the senator had no knowledge of the binder or the alleged floor speech.
The post bears hallmarks of earlier fabricated stories that have circulated in conservative online circles, including nearly identical claims last week involving a $500 million “ghost fund.” Those, too, lacked documentation.
Fact-checking organizations and media analysts classified Thursday’s narrative as disinformation designed to inflame partisan sentiment in the wake of the 2024 election. As of Thursday evening, the original post remained online, viewed tens of millions of times.
The episode underscores the speed with which elaborate falsehoods can spread on social media, even when they collapse under basic scrutiny.
