"Donald Trump has appointed NBA legend Karl Malone as the new director of Child Protective Services."
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No, Donald Trump didn’t name former NBA player Karl Malone director of Child Protective Services
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The post originated on an account that shares parody posts.
President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments for his incoming administration have generated headlines and controversy, including the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., from consideration to become the next attorney general.
An Instagram post claims to reveal related news, about the supposed newly appointed "director of Child Protective Services."
"Donald Trump has appointed NBA legend Karl Malone as the new director of Child Protective Services,"a Nov. 14 Instagram post featuring an image of Trump and Malone said.
This post was 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, Instagram and Threads.)
Child Protective Services is not a federal agency; it is managed by individual states with support from the federal government. And Trump has not appointed Malone to any federal position.
We found other posts sharing the same claim on Facebook and X.
Some of the Instagram post’s commenters questioned the news’ authenticity. "Is this real or not? The (cabinet) picks have been so bad I can’t even tell anymore," one said. Others appeared to believe it: "(Malone) loves kids I’m sure he’ll do a great job."
Featured Fact-check
(Screenshot of the Instagram post.)
The Instagram post appears to be a screenshot of a Nov. 13 X post by the X account AI Knows Ball. The account description reads, "Follow for the most outta pocket NBA ai images | parody."
The same X account shared a post Nov. 14 saying "Rumor: President-Elect Donald Trump plans on appointing Michael Jordan to establish a Federal Gamblers Recovery Initiative. The program will provide counseling services, financial literacy education, and a hotline for individuals struggling with gambling addiction, all while promoting ‘competitive American spirit.’" This claim is also false.
PolitiFact found no official announcements from Trump or articles from credible media outlets in the Nexis news database to corroborate either claim about Malone or Jordan.
Trump has announced his Cabinet picks on his Truth Social account, but PolitiFact found no Truth Social posts about Malone.
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees the Administration for Children and Families; Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Health and Human Services secretary.
This is not the first time we’ve fact-checked fake posts about Trump’s potential Cabinet picks. We also rated False a post claiming Trump named Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., education secretary.
We rate the claim that Trump named Malone director of Child Protective Services False.
Our Sources
Instagram, Post, Nov. 14, 2024
X, The NBACentel post, Nov. 19, 2024
X, The NBACentel page, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
New York State, Child Protective Services, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
Alabama Department of Human Resources, Child Protective Services, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
Minnesota Department of Human Services, Child protection, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
Truth Social, Donald Trump’s profile, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
ABC News, Trump transition live updates: Gaetz says he will not rejoin Congress, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
CNN, EXCLUSIVE: Ethics committee told of second sexual encounter between Matt Gaetz and 17-year-old at party, sources say, Nov. 21, 2024
PolitiFact, Is Matt Gaetz ‘an accomplished attorney’? Digging into Trump AG pick's record as a Florida lawyer, Nov. 15, 2024
X search, Karl Malone, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
Nexis search, "Karl Malone Child Protective Services", accessed Nov. 22, 2024
Yahoo Entertainment, Karl Malone Dodges Question About Impregnating Minor When He Was 20 Years Old, Feb. 21, 2023
BBC, Trump picks Pam Bondi as attorney general after Matt Gaetz withdraws, Nov. 22, 2024
Administration for Children and Families, Website, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
PolitiFact, Scientists fear what’s next for public health if RFK Jr. is allowed to ‘go wild’, Nov. 14, 2024
Children’s Bureau, Child Welfare Services, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
X page, AI Knows Ball, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
Snopes, No, Trump Didn't Appoint Former NBA Star Karl Malone as Child Protective Services Director, Nov. 21, 2024
KGW-TV, No, a president cannot unilaterally appoint most Cabinet members, Nov. 11, 2024
United States Senate, Constitution of the United States, accessed Nov. 14, 2024
PolitiFact, No, Donald Trump didn’t name Lauren Boebert education secretary, Nov. 15, 2024
First Star Institute, Federal Child Welfare Oversight, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
Stop It Now, What is Child Protective Services?, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
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No, Donald Trump didn’t name former NBA player Karl Malone director of Child Protective Services
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