In March 2025, a false claim surfaced that President Trump wanted to rename Washington D.C. the “District of America,” linked to a fake audio recording. This audio was generated using AI and does not represent Trump’s actual views. The misinformation was propagated by a TikTok account that has since been deactivated, highlighting issues of credibility in online content.
In March 2025, following President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, a false claim emerged that he intended to rename Washington D.C. to the “District of America.” This rumor spread across various social media platforms, including Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and X, often accompanied by a fake audio recording purporting to feature Trump.
The audio, however, was not authentic. It was created using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, featuring a voice that mimicked Trump but with noticeable differences. In the fabricated recording, the speaker expressed disdain for the term “Columbia” in Washington D.C., claiming, “It’s got nothing to do with Colombia. It’s nowhere near Colombia,” before announcing plans to change the name.
The user behind this misleading recording was reportedly a TikTok account named @whmole, which has since been deactivated. Snopes confirmed that prior to its removal, this account had released multiple videos containing similar AI-generated audio clips. A different TikTok video featuring the name change claim exhibited a watermark linking back to @whmole, thereby identifying it as the source of the false claim.
Additionally, the account had a history of disseminating misleading audio recordings, including a purported comparison between Elon Musk and “Isaac Neutron” and comments about daylight saving time related to mortality. The disinformation surrounding these audio recordings highlights the ease with which false narratives can spread online and the challenges of verifying information in the digital age.
The claims surrounding President Trump’s alleged desire to rename Washington D.C. to the “District of America” are unfounded and stem from a fabricated audio recording created with AI. The source of this recording has since been deleted, raising concerns about the proliferation of misinformation on social media. This incident underscores the importance of critically evaluating information that circulates online.
Original Source: www.snopes.com
