The X fact checker software community notes hilariously debunked A despicable rumor accusing U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of deliberately removing former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s name from Arlington National Cemetery’s list of notable military figures. The epic rebuke came in the wake of leftist accounts pushing the rumor in a way that caused a massive online uproar despite it being completely false.
For reference, this misinformation appears rooted in recent administrative policy shifts following an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at ending federally funded Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs—the unnecessary programs reflect the previous administration’s wacky attempts to make America woke. Liberals, reminiscing about the days of cancel culture during the Biden Administration, are searching for any reason to discredit Secretary Hegseth.
The fact-checking program community notes set up once Elon Musk acquired Twitter quickly did its part in addressing the baseless claims. It added links to the Arlington National Cemetary website and encouraged viewers to look for themselves to see how nonsensical and false these liberal claims are. The Arlington National Cemetary website post for Secretary Powell is still in the notable Americans buried at Arlington section and reads, “General Colin Powell, a Vietnam veteran, was the first African American to hold three of the U.S. government’s highest positions: national security advisor (1987-1989), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993), and secretary of state (2001-2005).” Check out the post and community notes fact-check below:
The controversy erupted after social media users claimed Secretary Hegseth specifically targeted Secretary Powell, a prominent Black military and political figure, for removal from the Arlington National Cemetery website showing notable Americans buried there. Amongst those accounts that promulgated the utter lie, one was a leftist account that claimed, “NEW: Pete Hegseth has removed General Colin Powell from a list of notable Americans buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Powell made history as the first Black Secretary of State and Joint Chiefs Chairman. RETWEET if you stand with General Powell’s family against Hegseth!”
Users on social media also responded swiftly, adding to the conversation and correcting the false claims. One X user pointedly added, “You lunatics will believe anything put out there on the internet when you literally can look it up again on the internet and find out it’s fake but you won’t because you need something else to lie about—just to be clear ITS FALSE IT DIDNT HAPPEN.”
Moreover, other users emphasized transparency by confirming Powell’s presence on Arlington’s website, further invalidating claims of deliberate removal by Hegseth. This user added, “He is still listed on the Arlington Website; both under ‘Prominent Military Figures’ and ‘Politics and Government’; the first for having been Chief of Staff, and the second for having been Secretary of State and National Security Advisor. The photograph of his gravesite at Arlington is shown under the latter.”
Ultimately, this attack highlights ongoing concerns about politically charged misinformation campaigns targeting Trump administration officials. The rapid debunking of this rumor demonstrates the critical importance of fact-checking before jumping to politically motivated conclusions that tarnish reputations and undermine public trust.
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Thankfully, community notes and other conservative voices’ swift and vigilant online response stopped these unsupported accusations from getting a foothold, ensuring public dialogue remains grounded in truth rather than ideological leftist agendas. President Trump has made fighting DEI a central aspect of his administration’s efforts to bring meritocracy back, as he discussed during his State of the Union Address, Watch him here:
Image from: U.S. Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons