Fabricated post claims Trump forcing schools to screen 'Melania' documentary
- Published on February 4, 2026 at 23:05
- 2 min read
- By Sahas WIJEWARDENE, AFP USA
Donald Trump has publicly promoted First Lady Melania Trump's new documentary. But claims that the US president ordered schools to screen the film as mandatory history coursework are false. The allegation stems from a fake Truth Social post that imitates Trump's writing style but was not published by him.
"Effective immediately, this movie will be MANDATORY VIEWING in ALL history courses. Elementary, high school, college -- EVERYONE. People should learn WINNING early," reads a purported message from the President's Truth Social account.
The alleged post shared on January 29, 2026 on Facebook also warns that universities that refuse to screen the film could lose their federal funding.
The post spread elsewhere on social media in January, including X, Instagram, Bluesky and Threads, in the days surrounding the official theatrical release of the movie nationwide.
Despite bearing similarities in language and style to some of the president's Truths -- such as the overuse of capitalization -- the post is fabricated.
AFP found no record of the post on Trump's account or in the independent database maintained by news organization Roll Call, which keeps a "social media archive" of the president's content.
Additionally, the alleged Trump post misspells the First Lady's name, calling her "Melanie" instead of "Melania" on first reference.
A search for the misspelled name on Trump's Truths, an independent database of the president's communications on his social media platform, yielded no matching results to the text shown in the apparent screenshots.
The images also do not include the icons for liking, sharing, and commenting as seen in a real example below.
While the post mandating schools screen "Melania" is fake, Trump has posted numerous Truths about the new documentary, calling it a "MUST WATCH" on January 26 (archived here).
The movie, produced by Amazon and released on January 30, offers a behind-the-scenes look at her life during the 20 days leading up to the 2025 presidential inauguration.
The documentary earned a better-than-expected $7 million dollars in its opening weekend, but Amazon MGM Studios spent $75 million for rights and marketing. After its theatrical release it will be available for streaming on Prime Video.
Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation about US politics, here.
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