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Did Florida man attempt to cross the Atlantic in hamster wheel?
Looking back on 2025, we fact-checked multiple rumors that seemed unbelievable but were true. Snopes reporters picked these examples.
by Megan Loe , Nov. 17, 2025
Image courtesy of Getty Images/Snopes illustration
Snopes reporters see false claims online every day. But every so often, a rumor that seems unbelievable turns out to be true .
Looking back on 2025, we fact-checked multiple claims that appeared improbable — only to find out they were legitimate.
Some of those rumors involved U.S. President Donald Trump, from a banner with his photo that the U.S. Department of Agriculture displayed on its building to videos showing him playing tennis against champion Serena Williams .
We also verified that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's title was misspelled on a placard as "Ssecretary of War" during a White House Cabinet meeting.
Other claims had nothing to do with the president or members of his administration. For example, we confirmed the legend of a surfboard-stealing sea otter in California and tracked down an eerie 911 call from North Carolina that featured a caller shouting, "That's not human."
Below are 20 unexpectedly true rumors, picked by Snopes reporters, listed in no particular order.
By Megan Loe
Megan Loe is a web producer and writer based in Washington state.
A brief history of missing US nuclear weapons
Feb. 13, 2025
The good news: They're not going to explode.
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Yes, Oklahoma's new academic standards say to teach students 2020 election fraud myths as fact
May 11, 2025
Election fraud conspiracies promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump are now officially part of t ...
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Trump email asked for donations so he could 'get to heaven'
Sept. 3, 2025
In the email, Trump said God saved him during the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pen ...
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Trump showed 'assassination trading card' to group of kids at White House Easter event
May 2, 2025
The card showed a picture of Trump with blood running down his face in the aftermath of an assas ...
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Huge banner of Trump hung on USDA building next to one of Lincoln
May 16, 2025
Detractors claimed the display echoed practices of fascist dictatorships.
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Trump Once Played Tennis Against Serena Williams. See the Video Here
Jan. 3, 2025
Footage of the friendly volley circulated on TikTok and X in recent weeks.
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Posts correctly claim Trump was at golf club during dignified transfer of U.S. soldiers' remains
April 8, 2025
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attended the ceremony on behalf of the Trump administration.
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Yes, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said 'A1' in response about AI
April 11, 2025
The education secretary was answering a question about technology in schools.
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Video shows Trump cheating at golf in Scotland?
July 28, 2025
The clip, shared in late July 2025, shows one of the U.S. president's caddies tossing a golf bal ...
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Musk reposted post that said, 'Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn't murder millions of people'
March 14, 2025
The post, originally shared by another user, read, "Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn’t murder million ...
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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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Yes, Marjorie Taylor Greene bought Palantir shares days before ICE granted tech giant $30M contract
May 6, 2025
This fueled speculation of insider trading because Greene is on the House Committee on Homeland ...
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47% of Republicans would still vote for Trump even if implicated in Epstein's crimes, survey found
Aug. 8, 2025
A majority of GOP voters said they would either stand by Trump or weren't sure, even if he were ...
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Shirt with Nazi salute was briefly sold on Walmart's website
Nov. 11, 2025
Walmart removed the third-party listings for violating its prohibited products policy following ...
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North Carolina man once robbed bank for $1 in attempt to get healthcare in prison
Aug. 31, 2025
James Richard Verone, who was unemployed, was arrested in June 2011 after a desperate plan to re ...
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A man died after being pulled into an MRI machine. Here's what we know
July 22, 2025
The victim wore "a large metallic chain around his neck, causing him to be drawn into the machin ...
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Claim spread squirrels in California have turned carnivorous. We hunted down the details
July 30, 2025
Researchers found that squirrels at a California park hunted and ate voles in 2024 during a spik ...
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Sea otter harasses California surfers, stealing their surfboards?
Oct. 22, 2025
The outlaw otter was last spotted in May 2024. Reports in October 2025 suggest there may be copy ...
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'That's not human': Spooky 911 call really happened in North Carolina
Oct. 6, 2025
The Pender County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina confirmed the authenticity of the call. The ...
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Did Florida man attempt to cross the Atlantic in hamster wheel?
Nov. 17, 2025
His 2023 transatlantic journey was cut short by the U.S. Coast Guard, but it may not be his last.
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