The circulating claim originates from a satirical fan-page post and an April Fools’ Day article; its credibility is doubtful.
- Fact-check reporter: Chiu Shao-an
- Editor: Chen Wei-ting
The original publication can be read here.
A message recently circulating on social media platforms claims that former U.S. President Obama will be indicted and convicted for fabricating the “Russiagate” affair, and that he has been flying frequently to Kenya to find a new residence. Upon verification, this claim comes from a satirical Facebook fan page and is not accompanied by any credible evidence; the claim that Obama is relocating to Kenya originates from a 2023 April Fools’ Day article by a Kenyan media outlet and lost its context as it circulated.
- The circulated text is translated from a post by a satirical U.S. fan page, and the original post is not accompanied by any credible evidence. The fan page is labeled as a “Comedian,” and the U.S. fact-checking organization Snopes has verified this fan page’s posts multiple times, noting that the account frequently shares “satirical” false content, with some posts misleading the public.
- In 2025, the Trump administration directed intelligence agencies to investigate whether Obama spearheaded the fabrication of “Russiagate,” but the investigation results have not yet been released.
- A review of international news agencies and major U.S. media outlets found no reports of Obama frequently visiting Kenya. A review of Obama’s social media accounts also found no recent public schedule related to Kenya.
- “Obama relocating to Kenya” is an old rumor originating from an April Fools’ Day article published in 2023 by the local Kenyan outlet The Standard. As it later circulated, some people believed it to be true, leading to misunderstanding.
Therefore, the rumor is “incorrect” information.
Background
Recently, a message circulating on social media platforms claims that former U.S. President Barack Obama will be indicted and convicted by the United States for fabricating the “Russiagate” affair, and that he has therefore been flying frequently to his ancestral homeland of Kenya to look for a new residence.
Verification: Is the claim credible?
The rumor is translated from a satirical U.S. fan page and is not accompanied by any credible source to verify the claim
(1) The rumor mentions “Jonathan Gregory,” seemingly the byline of the author. Through keyword searches, one can find a May 22, 2026 post by the Facebook fan page “Jonathan Gregory,” whose content matches the version circulating in Chinese, but which is not accompanied by any credible evidence.
A further review of this fan page shows that its self-introduction reads “Digital creator for the Trump administration,” and it is also labeled “Comedian.”
The U.S. fact-checking organization Snopes has verified posts published by the “Jonathan Gregory” fan page multiple times (1, 2), noting that the account has repeatedly shared sensational false narratives, and considers some posts to have “originated as satire,” potentially misleading the public.
(2) Searches of the international mainstream news agencies Associated Press, Reuters, and BBC, as well as the websites of major U.S. media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Fox News, and NBC, found no recent reports of Obama frequently flying to Kenya.
A review of Obama’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X, and other sites also found no recent posts about Obama visiting Kenya.
Taken together, the circulated text originates from a satirical U.S. fan-page post but is not accompanied by any credible source; mainstream U.S. media have also not reported the rumor’s claim.
In 2025, the Trump administration directed intelligence agencies to investigate whether Obama spearheaded the fabrication of “Russiagate”; the investigation results have not been released to date
U.S. intelligence agencies released an assessment report in 2017 stating that Russia used social media disinformation, hacking methods, and Russian troll-farm bots to influence the 2016 election. At a White House press conference in July 2025, Trump claimed that Obama had committed treason, alleging without evidence that he had spearheaded efforts to link him to Russia in order to undermine his 2016 presidential election victory; an Obama spokesperson rebutted the claims, calling the accusations absurd.
According to August 2025 reports by NBC News, Reuters, and Fox News, people familiar with the matter revealed that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to launch a grand jury investigation into whether members of the Obama administration fabricated intelligence about Russia’s “Russiagate” interference in the 2016 election.
However, the U.S. Department of Justice has not yet released the findings of the investigation.
The claim that “Obama is relocating to Kenya” originates from a 2023 April Fools’ Day report by a Kenyan media outlet
“Obama relocating to Kenya” is an old rumor. The Associated Press fact-checked it in 2023, and its report noted that the claim originated from an article published on April 1, 2023, by the local Kenyan outlet The Standard, titled “Obama to relocate to Kenya in June 2023,” with the end of the article stating, “Disclaimer: This was an April Fools Day Story.”
However, as this article later circulated, the disclaimer at the end was ignored or cut out, leading some people to mistakenly believe that Obama really was going to move to Kenya.
Cover image source: Obama’s X account
Reposted from the TFC website in collaboration with StopFake as part of the Ukraine–Taiwan Initiative for Election Information Resilience.
