If you were on social media or watched the news during the past week and a half, you may have seen rumors that the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, had died.

There was no official message regarding the president’s health throughout the week. Trump, Vice President JD Vance nor any of the presidential cabinet had spoken out on the president’s health. However, the way social media and mainstream media were discussing the topic, it almost seemed true.

So why did everyone think the president had passed away? How did this rumor get so large so fast?

First, the claim that President Trump had died originated from social media rumors and memes that snowballed as they were spread and exaggerated. Many in the media and online pointed out that Trump seemed to have some sort of blemish on his right hand, which had been covered with makeup.

Coming into the holiday weekend, the White House had zero scheduled public appearances for Trump. Users on the social platform X began to point this out, saying it was suspicious. Later on, anonymous X accounts claimed to have sources in Washington, D.C., claiming that Trump had either passed away or was in serious critical condition.

These rumors circulated for a few days until one night, someone on X pointed out that every road near Walter Reed Army Medical Center was shut down. Many users ran with this information, claiming Trump had died in that hospital and that an announcement was sure to come soon from the White House.

It also did not help that the Pentagon Pizza Index was through the roof during the road closures. This index uses Google Trends data to show how busy pizza places near the Pentagon and White House are on any given night.

People have noticed that before the U.S. military carries out some sort of operation, the pizza places near the Pentagon are unusually busy. It is inferred that the government staffers are ordering pizzas to keep employees fed. For example, in summer 2025, when the U.S. military carried out an airstrike on the Iranian nuclear facilities, the pizza places near the Pentagon were way busier than average.

So, Trump’s hand, no public appearances during the holiday weekend, the road around Walter Reed being closed and the pizza index all led many people to believe that Donald Trump had died. This rumor spread like wildfire on social media and was eventually picked up by mainstream outlets such as the New York Times, ABC and CNN.

But to many people’s surprise, Donald Trump made his first public appearance in four days on Tuesday, Sept. 2. When asked about the rumors, Trump said he was enjoying the holiday and golfing.

To me, the fact that so many people let a few minor and circumstantial pieces of evidence lead so many people and mainstream outlets to report on this matter shows the true decline in our standards for journalism and information.

I could not imagine being my parents or grandparents and hearing rumors like this. I could imagine it’s quite confusing for them. Even though the media reported them as rumors, these rumors were really based on nothing but exaggeration. I think a higher standard of proof should be required to report on something or spread information.