WHAT WAS CLAIMED
The White House says the Oval Office desk has been removed to scan for suspected listening devices.
OUR VERDICT
False. The White House has made no such statement.
AAP FACTCHECK - The White House has not announced that President Donald Trump's Oval Office desk was removed because listening devices were found, despite claims on social media.
A fake news story on the subject is being shared online, including comments attributed to apparently non-existent White House officials.
President Trump announced recently on social media the Resolute desk was removed to be "lightly refinished".
Posts later appeared on social media claiming listening devices had been found in the Oval Office, leading to the removal of the 150-year-old desk.
Claims being shared on social media are based on a fake report. (Facebook/AAP)
"Listening Devices Discovered in Oval Office: President's Desk Removed for Scanning," the headline-like caption on a Facebook post reads.
A line below reading "Washington, D.C." and the date "February 21, 2025" helps make the text look like a news story.
"In a startling development that has raised eyebrows across the political spectrum, sources within the White House have confirmed that the Oval Office, including the iconic Resolute Desk used by the President of the United States, was recently subjected to an intensive security sweep following suspicions of covert surveillance.
"The sweep reportedly uncovered evidence of sophisticated listening devices, prompting immediate action to remove and scan the desk outside the office premises," the caption reads.
The claim was also shared by Australian conservative activist Joel Jammal and his Turning Point Australia Facebook page.
He has since deleted the posts.
AAP FactCheck could find no evidence the White House had issued the information and there are no credible news reports.
The text in the caption refers to a "White House spokesperson" named Emily Harrow and a "former NSA operative and current professor of cybersecurity at Georgetown University" named Dr Michael Kessler.
The desk was removed for refinishing shortly after Elon Musk brought his son into the Oval Office. (EPA PHOTO)
AAP FactCheck could find no evidence of an Emily Harrow at the White House. Senior US political journalists also confirmed there was nobody of that name working for the president.
There is a Michael Kessler at Georgetown University. However, he told AAP FactCheck he wasn't the source, and is trained in ethics and political theory, and in law, but not cybersecurity law.
"I've taken the White House tour and been a few times, but I don't know anything about bugs, crawly or electronic," he said.
President Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social that the desk had been removed in order to be "lightly refinished".
The New York Post reported it had been removed because Elon Musk's son wiped "a booger" on the desk, adding that President Trump is a "known germaphobe".
AAP FactCheck and other fact-checkers, including Lead Stories and USA Today, have been unable to definitively establish where the viral text came from.
The oldest version of the text found is a post published on February 22, 2025 on Gettr.
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