{"id":"1794599273529-news-segment","slug":"ice-rumor-from-a-squirrel-meme-coin","title":"ICE rumor from a squirrel meme coin","summary":"The BBC reported that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is set to face a leadership challenge, with Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen calling for new leadership after the midterms.\n\nMicrosoft has been restoring services including Outlook and Teams after a global outage, and says restoration is continuing.\n\nPope Leo XIV is in Peru as part of a Latin America tour, weeks after surgery for lung cancer, according to the BBC. This is BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg's analysis/opinion on Putin's negotiating stance, not a separate checkable factual claim.","publishedAt":"2026-11-13T19:47:53.529Z","channel":{"id":"news","name":"Oncast News","language":"en"},"show":"Washington","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: The BBC reported that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is set to face a leadership challenge, with Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen calling for new leadership after the midterms.\nSource: [bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmy4930jq749o?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Schumer = Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer; Van Hollen = (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmy4930jq749o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)\n\nTRUE: Microsoft has been restoring services including Outlook and Teams after a global outage, and says restoration is continuing.\nSource: [bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwvg238zrnm5o?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Microsoft = technology company; Outlook and Teams = Microsoft  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwvg238zrnm5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)\n\nTRUE: Pope Leo XIV is in Peru as part of a Latin America tour, weeks after surgery for lung cancer, according to the BBC. This is BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg's analysis/opinion on Putin's negotiating stance, not a separate checkable factual claim.\nSource: [bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwg7l8n7dx5mo?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Pope Leo XIV = head of the Catholic Church; Peru = country in  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwg7l8n7dx5mo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"The BBC reported that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is set to face a leadership challenge, with Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen calling for new leadership after the midterms.","sourceName":"[bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmy4930jq749o?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Schumer = Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer; Van Hollen =","sourceUrl":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmy4930jq749o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss","claim":"Democratic Senate leader Schumer set to face leadership challenge - Maryland Senator Van Hollen says \"new leadership\" is needed for Democrats following the party's recent midterm successes.","author":"the BBC"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Microsoft has been restoring services including Outlook and Teams after a global outage, and says restoration is continuing.","sourceName":"[bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwvg238zrnm5o?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Microsoft = technology company; Outlook and Teams = Microsoft ","sourceUrl":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwvg238zrnm5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss","claim":"Why is Microsoft's outage lasting so long and will emails be lost? - Microsoft says it is continuing to restore services including Outlook and Teams following a global outage.","author":"the BBC"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Pope Leo XIV is in Peru as part of a Latin America tour, weeks after surgery for lung cancer, according to the BBC. This is BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg's analysis/opinion on Putin's negotiating stance, not a separate checkable factual claim.","sourceName":"[bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwg7l8n7dx5mo?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Pope Leo XIV = head of the Catholic Church; Peru = country in ","sourceUrl":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwg7l8n7dx5mo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss","claim":"The Peruvian city that has embraced Pope Leo as one of its own - Pope Leo XIV is in Peru as part of his Latin America tour, just weeks after having surgery for lung cancer.","author":"the BBC"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmy4930jq749o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss","name":"[bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmy4930jq749o?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Schumer = Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer; Van Hollen =","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"the BBC"},{"url":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwvg238zrnm5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss","name":"[bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwvg238zrnm5o?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Microsoft = technology company; Outlook and Teams = Microsoft ","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"the BBC"},{"url":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwg7l8n7dx5mo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss","name":"[bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwg7l8n7dx5mo?atmedium=RSS&atcampaign=rss) NAMES: Pope Leo XIV = head of the Catholic Church; Peru = country in ","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"the BBC"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794599273529-news-segment-ice-rumor-from-a-squirrel-meme-coin","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/news","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1794599273529-news-segment-ice-rumor-from-a-squirrel-meme-coin","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1794599273529-news-segment-ice-rumor-from-a-squirrel-meme-coin and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Brian","text":"There's a post on X claiming ICE just detained Mark Longo, the Peanut the squirrel guy."},{"host":"Bella","text":"The squirrel that became a whole internet cause?"},{"host":"Brian","text":"Same one. The account says federal immigration authorities have taken him into custody."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Which account?"},{"host":"Brian","text":"One called Simone Biles Crypto."},{"host":"Bella","text":"So a crypto account with a squirrel meme coin is the source."},{"host":"Brian","text":"That's my point. It's all sides of the internet at once."},{"host":"Bella","text":"And no official word from ICE, no statement, no named source. It's a rumor."},{"host":"Brian","text":"But the Peanut story is already political. People will run with this."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Run with what? A post from an account named after a gymnast?"},{"host":"Brian","text":"That's not the point. The point is a false federal detention claim moves fast."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Then we label it clearly: unverified, possibly nonsense, not a news alert."},{"host":"Brian","text":"If it's false, it scares people. If it's true, we'll find out soon enough."},{"host":"Bella","text":"There's no \"if it's true\" yet. That's the entire problem."},{"host":"Brian","text":"No, the problem is everyone waits for a correction, and the correction never travels as far as the lie."},{"host":"Bella","text":"And whose fault is that? The accounts that post first and verify never."},{"host":"Brian","text":"But ignoring it won't make it disappear. That's why we're talking about it."},{"host":"Bella","text":"We're talking about it because you brought it up! Fine, it's a live example."},{"host":"Brian","text":"I brought it because listeners will see it in their feed without our context."},{"host":"Bella","text":"And now they have the context: one post, no official confirmation."},{"host":"Brian","text":"Fair. But doesn't it tell you something that a squirrel meme coin leads to an ICE rumor?"},{"host":"Bella","text":"It tells me crypto accounts will say anything for attention."},{"host":"Brian","text":"And that's never happened before."},{"host":"Brian","text":"Speaking of stuff that isn't real, there's another one from an account calling itself MNC News."},{"host":"Bella","text":"What's MNC News?"},{"host":"Brian","text":"It posted a straight-faced update about \"Michiganistan\" and a war with Ohio."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Michiganistan?"},{"host":"Brian","text":"The post says Detroit is doubling manufacturing to combat the U.P. revolt."},{"host":"Bella","text":"The Upper Peninsula revolt. That's parody, right?"},{"host":"Brian","text":"Obvious parody, but written like a cable news chyron."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Someone will screenshot it, crop the satire label, and it's suddenly real."},{"host":"Brian","text":"Same disease as the Peanut post. Fake news with a wink."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Except one's a joke and one's a false claim about federal agents."},{"host":"Brian","text":"They both exploit the same trust gap. People don't know what to believe."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Because accounts post garbage without consequences."},{"host":"Brian","text":"I'm not defending the accounts. I'm saying we all have to say what's confirmed."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Then say it: the ICE thing is unverified. The Michiganistan thing is parody."},{"host":"Brian","text":"And the only real story is that people would rather share a wild claim than wait."},{"host":"Bella","text":"It's also cheaper than doing reporting."},{"host":"Brian","text":"That one hurt because it's true."},{"host":"Bella","text":"If a federal agency detains someone, there will be a record. Until then, not news."},{"host":"Brian","text":"But it's worth noticing how fast these things travel. That's what I want people to see."},{"host":"Bella","text":"I'll give you that. The speed is worth watching."},{"host":"Brian","text":"And if it turns out false, the second story is a lot of people got worked up over nothing."},{"host":"Bella","text":"They already are. Next thing you know, Michiganistan declares independence."},{"host":"Brian","text":"Now you're writing for the parody account."},{"host":"Bella","text":"No, I'm saying when the line between joke and headline disappears, that's a problem."},{"host":"Brian","text":"Then the best reply to that post is one word: source."},{"host":"Bella","text":"One word. That's the whole segment."},{"host":"Brian","text":"And until someone answers it, the rumor stays a rumor."}]}