Recent Facebook posts have suggested former President Donald Trump is still the commander in chief, dispatching U.S. troops to the border. 

"BREAKING," begins one July 22 post. "Trump and Mattis just sent a battalion to the border and they’re bringing hell with them." 

"BREAKING," a July 23 post says. "Trump’s troops have arrived! Look what they’re putting on the border to stop the caravan!"

These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

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Instagram posts

stated on June 25, 2023 in Instagram posts

“The day before 9/11 the Pentagon reported $2.3 trillion missing.”

The July 22 post features a video from YouTube channel The Next News Network, but it’s not breaking. It’s from Oct. 25, 2018, when then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was expected to sign an order sending at least 800 troops to the U.S-Mexico border. 

The July 23 post, meanwhile, has a video showing a montage of clips of migrants and members of the military set to dramatic music. These, too, appear to be old. One, for example, shows an October 2018 shot of the Guatemala-Mexico border where thousands of migrants were stopped.

Trump is not the president and no longer has the authority to send U.S. troops to any border. 

We rate claims that he recently did Pants on Fire!