POLICY WIRE FACT CHECK: AI-Generated Videos Claim Trump Announced 90
The Claim In early November, a wave of viral videos began circulating on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, appearing to show U.S. President Donald Trump announcing an imminent...
The Claim
In early November, a wave of viral videos began circulating on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, appearing to show U.S. President Donald Trump announcing an imminent 90-day blackout of the United States’ power grid. These clips caused widespread alarm, suggesting that the entire country would lose access to electricity for three months.
Beyond the threat of total infrastructure collapse, the videos also featured Trump purportedly promoting specific cryptocurrency tokens, namely ‘United States Power Reserve’ (USPR) and ‘United States Asset Reserve’ (USAR). The narrative claimed that holding these tokens would be the only way for citizens to access electricity or gain financial stability during the manufactured crisis. These claims were spearheaded by various accounts such as Shythechosen, Derrick Speaks, Josh Smith, and Aug Crypto.
The Details & Investigation
An investigation by the PolicyWire Editorial Desk confirms that these videos are entirely fabricated using artificial intelligence. The clips utilize AI to alter Trump’s mouth movements and voice, creating a deepfake where he appears to be making statements he never actually uttered. There is no record of any such announcement by the President, nor is there any evidence of a nationwide power outage. The footage used in the videos often originated from genuine clips of Trump speaking at the Lincoln Memorial, but the original audio was completely replaced with the deceptive narrative.
The origin of the disinformation appears to be linked to a legitimate but misinterpreted military news story. In September, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced an initiative called FORTRESS (Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability). This program seeks to ensure military bases are capable of operating for at least 90 days without relying on civilian power, fuel, or water. While the 90-day resilience requirement is a real military planning strategy, the viral videos maliciously twisted this context to claim the entire civilian population would face a total blackout.
Our analysis classifies this campaign as DISINFORMATION. This was not a case of accidental misinformation sharing (misinformation), but rather a coordinated effort. Multiple social media accounts dedicated to scripted video content were posting these fake reels simultaneously. The intent was clearly predatory: to leverage fear and urgency to drive traffic toward fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. By creating a false existential threat (a blackout), the bad actors sought to manipulate public panic into purchasing worthless or fraudulent digital assets.
The Verdict
The claim that Donald Trump announced a 90-day power blackout is FALSE. The videos are high-quality AI-generated deepfakes designed to deceive the public. There is no evidence of an impending nationwide power grid failure, and the cryptocurrency tokens mentioned in the clips are part of a coordinated financial scam.
em>Counter-misinformation & disinformation investigation conducted by PolicyWire Editorial Desk (PW).