FIRST LADY REVEALED · ARCHIVE · 12 CASE FILES
The Evidence Board
Viral photos, clips and posts about Michelle Obama, set beside the originals.
Case files
CASE NO. FLR-001 UNSUPPORTED
VIRAL CLAIM “
Online since 2013 (earliest we verified) RECORD Princeton University Archives View original What the records show Princeton: 1981 Freshman Herald, Nassau Herald ’85, senior thesis White House biography: daughter of Fraser and Marian Robinson NBC obituary of her mother: a daughter and a son, Craig Robinson No record shows it. Princeton Archives lists “Michelle LaVaughn Robinson ’85”; her mother’s obituary names a daughter and a son, Craig.
CASE NO. FLR-002 ALTERED
VIRAL COPY Facebook, October 2020 · our diagram; the copy is not hosted ORIGINAL Barack Obama on X, 2019-01-17 View original What changed 1 Eyes darkened 2 Hair darkened 3 Shadows added around face and neck Eyes and hair darkened, shadows added (Snopes). Original: Barack Obama’s post, 2019-01-17.
CASE NO. FLR-003 ALTERED
VIRAL COPY Social media · our diagram; the copy is not hosted ORIGINAL Campaign photo page, archived 2008 View original What changed 1 Background removed 2 Face changed Background removed and face changed (Full Fact). Original: campaign photo page, archived 2008, captioned “Christmas in Hawaii.”
CASE NO. FLR-004 CLIPPED
VIRAL CLIP 25-second copy, uploaded 2016 · not hosted ORIGINAL Official video, 2011-09-30, at 13:10 View original What was cut 1 Shortened to 25 seconds Surrounding sentence removed The video title supplies the claim A 25-second cut. “Michael” is Admiral Mullen’s son (PolitiFact). Original: official video, 2011-09-30, at 13:10.
CASE NO. FLR-005 MISATTRIBUTED
VIRAL CLIP “
Circulated as a clip · not hosted OFFICIAL PHOTO Same event, official photo; transcript View original What the original shows The words are from a letter by a woman in Pennsylvania Lead-in: “she recently wrote to me and she said” The president was reading a letter; “my husband Michael” is its writer’s. Original: transcript, 2015-06-09.
CASE NO. FLR-006 ALTERED
VIRAL IMAGE Social media · our drawing; the image is not hosted ORIGINAL CNN, 2020-08-18 View original What changed 1 Letters edited to read MIKE Original necklace: VOTE, custom-made (CNN) Her necklace spelled “VOTE” (CNN); the “MIKE” image was edited. Original: convention speech, 2020-08-17.
CASE NO. FLR-007 FABRICATED
VIRAL DOCUMENT Shared July 2022 · our drawing; not hosted SOURCE Board statement, via Lead Stories View original What the sources say 1 Not from the Board No record of another gender (Board, as quoted by fact-checkers) The Illinois State Board of Elections said the record did not come from it (via Lead Stories, AFP).
CASE NO. FLR-008 SATIRE TAKEN AS FACT
VIRAL TEXT Satire site, 2019-10-22 · not hosted SOURCE Snopes: “Labeled Satire” View original What the sources say 1 Published as satire Mother’s name wrong Text from a satire site, rated “Labeled Satire” by Snopes. It even misnames her mother (PolitiFact).
CASE NO. FLR-009 CLIPPED
VIRAL CLIP X post, 2025-04-30 · about 23 seconds · not hosted ORIGINAL Full episode, 2025-04-30, near 55:29 View original What was cut 1 About 23 seconds out of a long episode Context: she is speaking to Marlon Wayans about his child Cut from a question to Marlon Wayans about his child. Original: full episode, near 55:29.
CASE NO. FLR-010 ALTERED
VIRAL IMAGE X post, March 2025 · our diagram; not hosted ORIGINAL IMO podcast promo, per Lead Stories View original What changed 1 and 2 Faces swapped between two people Her face and her brother Craig Robinson’s were swapped (Lead Stories). Original: podcast promo, 2025-03-12.
CASE NO. FLR-011 JOKE TAKEN AS FACT
WHAT WAS SAID Remark, July 2014 SOURCE CNN, 2014-07-04 View original What the source says CNN described it as a joke She was quoted: “I think it’s a compliment” A comedian’s remark, which CNN described as a joke. A joke is not a record.
CASE NO. FLR-012 ASSERTION, NOT A RECORD
WHAT WAS SAID Broadcast, July 2014 SOURCE Salon, 2014-07-10 View original What the sources say Spoken claim, reported by Salon Records on the main file point the other way Repeated on a 2014 broadcast, per Salon. An assertion is not a record; the records say otherwise.
How to read an evidence card
Status stamp. Our finding about the item, always on the card: ALTERED CLIPPED FABRICATED MISATTRIBUTED JOKE TAKEN AS FACT SATIRE TAKEN AS FACT UNSUPPORTED ASSERTION, NOT A RECORD Two tiles. The left is the viral item and the right is the original or the source. Photos are public-domain originals; drawings are our own diagrams, not copies of the posts. Nothing altered is hosted here.One line. What we found and where the original is. Hover, focus or tap a card to see what changed.Case file. The full page with sources. Each card links to its page.
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Image credit: Case FLR-004 photo: U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, September 30, 2011, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons ; cropped and reduced. Case FLR-005 photo: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza, June 9, 2015, public domain (U.S. federal government work), via Wikimedia Commons ; cropped and reduced. The other tiles are our own drawings.
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