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Black Medal of Honor recipient deleted from Pentagon website, then restored
Critics have made a number of claims about the defense secretary and his department since the beginning of the Iran war.
by Jack Izzo , March 17, 2025
Image courtesy of Oliver Contreras, accessed via Getty Images
Israel and the United States began a major military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. U.S. President Donald Trump has variously used and not used the word "war" to describe the operation, as the Constitution explicitly gives the power to declare war to Congress , not the president.
After the onset of the war, the Department of Defense came under fire , with Democrats seeking an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over commanders purportedly pushing "end-times Christian fascism" as a justification for the military action.
Hegseth made headlines even before his Senate confirmation, in part due to the claim he has "Nazi tattoos ." Vice President JD Vance had to break the Senate's tie to confirm him.
Besides rumors surrounding Hegseth's military operations, Snopes has been called upon to fact-check claims about changes he has made at the Department of Defense. Here are 21 claims we've investigated about Hegseth's Pentagon, all since Trump's second term got underway.
By Jack Izzo
Jack Izzo is a Chicago-based journalist and two-time "Jeopardy!" alumnus.
Democrats requested probe into complaints military commanders used Christian rhetoric to justify Iran war
March 12, 2026
Social media users claimed commanders pushed "end-times Christian fascism" as a justification fo ...
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Department of Defense spent $93B in one month under Hegseth
March 11, 2026
Open the Books, an organization dedicated to watching government spending, published its report ...
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Investigating claims US sank unarmed Iranian ship and refused to rescue survivors
March 6, 2026
The IRIS Dena was headed back to Iran from Visakhapatnam, India, where it participated in a mult ...
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Investigating claim US troops were told Iran war is for 'Armageddon,' return of Jesus
March 3, 2026
One commander reportedly said U.S. President Donald Trump was "anointed by Jesus to light the si ...
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What we know about rumor US used sonic weapon during Venezuela attack
Jan. 14, 2026
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt fueled the rumor when she shared an unsourced X post.
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DOD gave $620M loan to startup backed by Donald Trump Jr.'s venture capital firm
Dec. 10, 2025
The Pentagon told Snopes Donald Trump Jr. was "not involved in any aspect" of the deal.
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Did Adm. Alvin Holsey resign over Hegseth's Venezuela boat strike orders? What we know
Dec. 3, 2025
Holsey will retire from the Navy on Dec. 12, 2025, after a little more than a year leading the U ...
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Pete Hegseth's title was misspelled as 'Ssecretary of War' on nameplate
Dec. 3, 2025
The nameplate was used during President Donald Trump's final White House Cabinet meeting of 2025.
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What we know about Defense Department memo cutting ties with Scouts for promoting DEI
Nov. 26, 2025
The supposed memo, authored by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, claimed Scouting had become "gend ...
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What we know about Coast Guard's policy update on swastikas, other hate symbols
Nov. 21, 2025
According to a November 2025 Coast Guard policy, symbols like swastikas and nooses were "potenti ...
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Breaking down claim renaming Defense Department would cost more than housing every homeless veteran
Nov. 20, 2025
The Department of Veterans Affairs' budget for homelessness programs was $3.2 billion in fiscal ...
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Trump said he instructed Defense Department to start testing nuclear weapons?
Oct. 30, 2025
The U.S. hasn't conducted nuclear explosive tests since 1992.
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Examining Hegseth's statement US army doesn't 'fight with stupid rules of engagement'
Oct. 3, 2025
Many online interpreted his remarks as calling on the U.S. to abandon the Geneva Conventions.
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Real Hegseth quote about 'fat generals and admirals' spreads online
Oct. 2, 2025
The defense secretary called a gathering of top military officials at the Quantico base in Virgi ...
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Judge ordered DOD to reinstate banned books in libraries of 5 schools on military bases
Oct. 23, 2025
Six families filed a motion against the Department of Defense for removing the books.
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DOD posted graphic with Russian flag on Flag Day?
June 18, 2025
Flag Day, celebrated annually on June 14 in the U.S., commemorates the adoption of the American ...
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DOD removed, then restored, page about Bea Arthur's WWII military service
March 26, 2025
Arthur's biography on the U.S. DOD website, published in 2021, described her enlistment in the M ...
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DOD removed pages that referenced the Holocaust, then restored at least one
March 22, 2025
In the process of purging its websites of DEI references, the Pentagon removed articles about th ...
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DOD removed, then restored, article about Jackie Robinson in anti-DEI 'content refresh'
March 20, 2025
The article was about the pioneering Black athlete's time in the U.S. Army.
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DOD removed pages about Native American Iwo Jima veteran Ira Hayes — then restored one, with changes
March 19, 2025
In 1945, Hayes was one of six men famously photographed raising an American flag on Iwo Jima.
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Black Medal of Honor recipient deleted from Pentagon website, then restored
March 17, 2025
Army Maj. Gen. Charles Calvin Rogers was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Nixon in 1970 f ...
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