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| - A rumor that former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has, since 2009, received a monthly payment of $122,000 from the General Services Administration circulated online in early March 2025. A Snopes reader asked us about the truth of the matter.
For example, on Feb. 28, the Facebook page America - Love It Or Leave It posted a meme reading, "Michelle Obama has been receiving a monthly payment from the GSA for $122,000 since 2009. Nobody seems to know why." The page added the caption, "DOGE intends to find out," referencing the new Department of Government Efficiency.
Variations of the rumor spread on other Facebook pages named America's Last Line of Defense and Reagan Was Right, as well as in an article from a website named The Dunning-Kruger Times that had the headline "Michelle Obama Has Been Receiving a Monthly $122,000 Payment from the GSA Since 2009." That article began as follows:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A newly uncovered General Services Administration (GSA) report has revealed that Michelle Obama has been receiving a mysterious $122,000 per month from the federal government since 2009. While the payments were initially marked as "Services to the Nation," a deeper investigation has revealed the incredibly bizarre reasons behind the expense.
The Official Explanation: "National Morale Maintenance"
According to GSA officials, the payments were essential to maintaining American morale, and Michelle Obama was compensated for her "invaluable contributions to the well-being of the public."
Some social media users seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events, for example including one person asking, "Is this for real?" However, there was no evidence to confirm the claim.
Rather, the rumor about Obama receiving monthly payments from the GSA originated with America's Last Line of Defense — a network of parody and satire including the three aforementioned Facebook pages. Memes published by the pages featured, among other disclaimers, a small "satire" label reading, "Nothing on this page is real." Further, the Dunning-Kruger Times website's "About Us" page, managed by the same network, displayed a disclaimer, reading in part:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about Obama in the past, including the assertion that someone caught her wearing former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln's "stolen jewels."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources calling their output humorous or satirical.
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