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| - A rumor circulated online in November 2024 claiming nine GOP members of Congress received divorce papers from their wives following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's reelection victory earlier in the month.
For example, on Nov. 15, the Feminist News Facebook page posted to its 1.8 million-plus followers (archived), "Nine male GOP members of Congress have been given divorce papers by their wives since Donald Trump was reelected." The post received more than 24,000 reactions and 2,000 shares in the first six hours after being published. Other Facebook users also shared the claim in their own posts with similar text.
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. For example, one user's comment under the Feminist News post displaying more than 700 likes read, "It's in the Washington Post! The wives might be afraid that Congress will overturn the no-fault marriage act?!" Other users mentioned "consequences" with comments reading, "If this is true, elections have consequences," "It's almost as if actions have consequences" and "Actions have consequences!!"
However, there was no evidence of nine male GOP members of Congress receiving divorce papers from their wives in November 2024 — including no such reporting from The Washington Post. The story was fictional.
Rather, the rumor originated with The Halfway Post — a network of social media accounts and a website that describes its output as being satirical in nature.
On Nov. 14, The Halfway Post's X account (@HalfwayPost) shared (archived), "BREAKING: Nine male GOP members of Congress have been given divorce papers by their wives since Donald Trump was reelected." The Halfway Post also posted the rumor on Threads (archived). The post on X received more 2 million views, while the version shared on Threads displayed thousands of likes.
The About page on halfwaypost.com states the website's owner publishes "real comedy news and satire."
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims from The Halfway Post in the past, including the assertion that a group of "MAGA fans" in Montana announced a hunger strike and a rumor that a MAGA supporter in Iowa accidentally burned down his house while trying to set fire to a Pride flag.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
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