The good word: Texas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes isn’t missing, despite online claims

A Texas megachurch pastor who was mentioned in a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs is now the target of online rumors floating the possibility he was kidnapped. 

"TD Jakes MYSTERIOUSLY VANISHES: The search for the renowned bishop begins!" a Sept. 20 Facebook post said. 

A video in the post claims that Bishop T.D. Jakes, who founded The Potter’s House Church in 1996 in Dallas, was "declared missing by family." 

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.)

A Jakes spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the post. 

Featured Fact-check

Threads posts

stated on October 26, 2024 in a Threads post

Four Florida counties had “zero results” Oct. 26, and “something underhanded might be happening.”

But we found no evidence, such as credible news reports or statements from the church or Jakes’ family, that he suddenly disappeared. Such rumors have been circulating online since at least May, and Jakes has appeared publicly many times since then. 

Rather, several social media accounts associated with Jakes and The Potter’s House shared footage of Jakes delivering a sermon Sept. 29.

On Sept. 20, when this Facebook post about Jakes’ supposed disappearance was published, the T.D. Jakes Ministries Facebook account shared video of Jakes speaking to high schoolers in New Orleans.

What we didn’t find? "Increasingly urgent," in the words of the unfounded post about Jakes’ disappearance, calls for help locating him. 

We rate this post False.