Claim:
A video authentically shows MSNBC TV host Rachel Maddow reacting emotionally to the demolition of the White House East Wing in October 2025.
Rating:
On Oct. 24, 2025, Meta’s social media platform Threads displayed a trending topic on its search page reading “Rachel Maddow reacts emotionally to White House renovation plans.” The topic featured a small image of the MSNBC TV host on her program, “The Rachel Maddow Show,” appearing to become emotional about the demolition of the White House East Wing, which occurred earlier in the week.
(Threads)
Once users clicked on the trending topic, the page displayed the same caption above several search results. The caption featured a small disclaimer reading, “What people are saying, summarized by AI.” The search results included a video allegedly showing Maddow attempting to hold back tears about the renovations.
(Threads)
The post (archived) read, “When Rachel Maddow finds out her employer Comcast funded the destruction of the White House.” The video also displayed a list of alleged donors to fund Trump’s plans for a large ballroom, as well as a chyron reading, “Maddow Finds Out Comcast Destroyed White House.” The purported chyron referenced Comcast’s ownership of NBCUniversal, which owns MSNBC. Other users also shared the video on platforms including Facebook and LinkedIn (archived).
In short, Threads’ reliance on AI to create its “trending now” list created a misleading caption. Maddow broadcasts “The Rachel Maddow Show” only on Monday evenings. During her most recent episode — Oct. 20 — at time of the trending topic, she only briefly mentioned the beginning of the East Wing demolition, and did not react to the renovations by holding back tears or crying.
As for the video itself, an X user — whose handle was visible in top-right corner of the clip — altered and then posted (archived) the video of Maddow holding back tears, adding the same donors list reported by BBC, PBS and others, and also changing the chyron. Minutes after sharing the video, they specified in a reply (archived), in part, “This is a meme (obviously).”
This matter mixed Threads’ misleading caption with a doctored video labeled a meme by its creator — both combining to promote false information.
Snopes contacted Meta by email to ask about the Threads “trending now” mistake and will update this article if we receive further information.
Why Maddow truly became emotional
The authentic video of Maddow holding back tears, excluding the doctored graphics, originated from a June 19, 2018, episode of her show. During the segment, she read from an article published by The Associated Press with the headline “At least 3 ‘tender age’ shelters set up for child migrants.” That story began, “Trump administration officials have been sending babies and other young children forcibly separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border to at least three ‘tender age’ shelters in South Texas, The Associated Press has learned.”
A community note displayed under the aforementioned Threads post (archived) read, “This clip is from 7 years ago and completely unrelated to the destruction of the White House.”
For further reading, a previous article investigated another meme video created by the same X user, alleging the clip of Maddow showed her reaction to the prospect of tech billionaire Elon Musk possibly buying MSNBC.
Sources
Burke, Garance, and Martha Mendoza. “At Least 3 ‘Tender Age’ Shelters Set up for Child Migrants.” The Associated Press, 20 Jun. 2018, https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-mi-state-wire-immigration-dc0c9a5134d14862ba7c7ad9a811160e.
Debusmann Jr., Bernd. “Who Is Paying for Donald Trump’s New White House Ballroom?” BBC, 23 Oct. 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c891yxgj44ko.
Jaffe, Alan. “Trump’s White House Ballroom Sparks Questions About Funding and Ethics.” FactCheck.org, 22 Oct. 2025, https://www.factcheck.org/2025/10/trumps-white-house-ballroom-sparks-questions-about-funding-and-ethics/.
Landers, Liz, and Joshua Barajas. “Who’s Paying for Trump’s $300 Million Ballroom?” PBS News, 23 Oct. 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/whos-paying-for-trumps-300-million-ballroom.
Liles, Jordan. “Video Shows Rachel Maddow Crying at Meme About Elon Musk Buying MSNBC?” Snopes, 25 Nov. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/rachel-maddow-crying-over-musk-buying-msnbc/.
“NBCUniversal Transaction.” Comcast.com, 18 Dec. 2017, https://corporate.comcast.com/policy/nbcuniversal-transaction.
Superville, Darlene, and Jacquelyn Martin. “White House East Wing Demolished as Trump Moves Forward with Ballroom Construction, AP Photos Show.” The Associated Press, 23 Oct. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-house-ballroom-57512e0d91432f75529946fddfbfe2c5.
