India, Aug. 24 -- Posts claiming that Malia Ann Obama, the daughter of former President Barack Obama, was arrested for shoplifting in Bel Air have gone viral on social media. However, the news is fake and the former President's younger daughter was not "booked and released on a 40,000 bond," as the post claims.

No records show that Malia Obama was arrested for shoplifting, either at Bel Air, Maryland, or the Bel Air neighborhood in California (San Diego County). In fact, claims about Malia Obama being arrested have a long history in far-right social media.

False posts about Malia and her sister, Sasha Obama's arrest, can be traced back to as early as 2016. TheLastLineOfDefense, a satirical source, falsely claimed that the Obama sisters ...