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| - A rumor circulating online in December 2024 claimed staff with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, asked Sasha Obama, one of U.S. President Barack Obama's daughters, to leave the premises.
A Snopes reader asked of the rumor, "Sasha Obama was discriminated at Ronald Reagan airport?" We also received other inquiries via our website's search bar and noted "Sasha Obama airport incident" was a top Google search suggestion for related to her name.
A Google search unearthed a YouTube video (archived) making the claim that was uploaded on Dec. 21. The Beneath the Mask channel (archived) hosted the clip. The video's title read, "Airport Staff Kicked Out Sasha Obama, But Regretted Everything When Her Father Barack Obama Arrived." As of this writing, the clip had received around 900,000 views. We also noted other shares of the same rumor on Facebook and YouTube.
The video claimed airport workers became suspicious of Sasha Obama's expensive business class ticket because she's a Black woman. Her father arrived at the airport, stepped in and helped resolve the discriminatory matter, according to the video, which ends on an inspirational tone, with Sasha Obama making public appearances to fight for reforms in the transportation industry. The story did not mention her mother, former first lady Michelle Obama, nor did it feature her older sister, Malia.
However, the airport tale was false in its entirety. A Google News search located no contemporaneous reports of any such incident. Someone, either a user associated with the Beneath the Mask YouTube channel or another person, concocted the story as engagement bait to attract views and possibly advertising revenue.
The video's creator created its thumbnail image with an artificial intelligence (AI) tool. It featured a fake perspective of airport workers, Sasha Obama and Barack Obama. The clip itself showed a similar image during all of its more than 51 minutes, and also included AI-generated scripting and narration.
Other videos hosted on the Beneath the Mask YouTube channel featured made-up stories about famous Black figures. One video claimed "racist resort staff" had attacked Barack and Michelle Obama earlier in December. Another clip said a "racist pilot" attacked Barack Obama, also in December. The user or users in control of the YouTube channel posted that comedian Kevin Hart, actor Will Smith and NBA star LeBron James all experienced similar discriminatory interactions that same month.
We previously reported about other similar YouTube videos featuring made-up stories and elements generated by AI. For example, one such story claimed a flight attendant denied Snoop Dogg entry on an airplane.
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