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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: Tech billionaire Elon Musk plans to build a “GED office” in the Philippines in 2025 under incoming US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim was posted on November 18 by a YouTube channel with 22,200 subscribers. As of writing, it has 40,482 views and 181 comments. Similar videos bearing the same claim have also circulated on YouTube.
The video’s narrator said: “In an unexpected twist that could reshape the Philippines’ future, tech visionary Elon Musk has announced plans to open a GED office in the Philippines under the leadership of Donald Trump in 2025.”
The bottom line: The video provides no proof for its claim and does not explain what the planned “GED office” is, but references to cutting red tape and simplifying regulatory processes to “revolutionize the Philippines’ tech and economic landscape” suggest it may be referring to the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the US, which Musk is set to co-lead along with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
The proposed department is currently in its planning phase. There are no announcements from either Musk or Ramaswamy about creating a “GED office” in the Philippines or elsewhere outside the US.
DOGE as an advisory body: Trump appointed the two to lead the department, saying in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
Poised to be an advisory committee, the DOGE aims to enhance “the quality and credibility of federal decision-making” rather than have direct authority in the US government’s functions and federal outlays as it is not a government department. Creating a government agency would require congressional approval.
Trump said that Musk and Ramaswamy will primarily “provide advice and guidance from outside of government” to “drive large-scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before.”
As of writing, Musk and Ramaswamy have shared plans for “mass headcount reductions” in the federal government and are identifying regulations the Trump administration can repeal.
Future Cabinet members: The YouTube videos were posted as Trump began naming his future Cabinet members after winning the presidency against Democrat nominee Kamala Harris. Musk, who owns several of the biggest tech firms in the world, is among Trump’s avid supporters and his campaign’s biggest donors.
Rappler has already published several fact-checks about the incoming second Trump administration:
- FACT CHECK: No reports of Musk acquiring Fox News
- FACT CHECK: Chinese nationals not banned from US
- FACT CHECK: Elon Musk did not buy Ford
– Kyle Marcelino/Rappler.com
Kyle Marcelino is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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