India, Nov. 15 -- As the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) dealt with an unprecedented nationwide ground stop on Friday, a hoax about Trump and his top aides has gone viral.

Multiple posts on social media claimed that Donald Trump and top officials in his administration have been moved to a bunker due to a potential threat. One of the voices that amplified the claim was far-right commentator and former Trump ally, Alex Jones. Jones claimed that a cyberattack purportedly caused the outage, and that Trump and other officials were moved to a bunker fearing more attacks.

FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon that a cyberattack or AI malfunction was not behind the outage. Sean Duffy, the US tran...