President Donald Trump shared an image claiming that President Barack Obama received royalties paid out by the federal government for the use of the word “Obamacare.”
The unofficial name for insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act is obviously not generating royalty payments for Obama, but that didn’t stop Trump from sharing the unattributed claim to his 11 million followers on Truth Social.
“DOGE halts yearly payments of $2.5 million to Barack Obama for ‘royalties linked to Obamacare,’” the post claimed. “Obama has collected this payment since 2010, for a total of $40 million in taxpayer dollars.”
The name “Obamacare” has not been trademarked as of this writing.
The claim that Obama was paid royalties for the use of his name stems from an online publication called the Dunning-Kruger Times. The Dunning-Kruger effect is the tendency for people to overestimate their level of knowledge in a subject they know little about. The website’s About page makes it clear that its articles are not meant to be taken as fact.
“Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie, and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined,” they wrote. “Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.”
“Wow!” Trump wrote, while sharing their Obamacare claims.
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