A compelling report of former U.S. President Donald Trump commissioning a new line of warships named the 'Trump-class' has been making fresh rounds online. But the story is not new, nor is it true.

The viral claim is a phantom from the past—an April Fool's Day joke published by The Guardian newspaper back in 2019. Yet, its resurgence in December 2025 highlights a critical challenge for every news consumer in Kenya and beyond: how do you spot a fabrication when reality itself has become so profoundly strange?

The Joke That Became Prophecy

The original satirical article spun a tale of grandiose battleships, quoting a supposed Navy Secretary about a future USS Defiant dominating the seas. It was designed to be just plausible enough to be funny. The joke, however, has gained a new, unsettling life because other acts of presidential self-branding, once considered equally improbable, have actually happened.

In early December 2025, the Trump administration officially renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace, a congressionally-created independent body, as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. The move, which followed a contentious battle over control of the agency, was justified by the State Department as a way to “reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation's history.”

Days later, the board of the iconic John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, comprised of Trump appointees, voted to rename the institution the 'Trump-Kennedy Center'. The decision sparked immediate outrage and legal questions, as the center's name is enshrined in federal law and would require congressional approval to change officially.

A Break With Naval Tradition

The warship hoax played on the deep-seated traditions of the U.S. Navy, making the fictional announcement all the more jarring. For over two centuries, the naming of America's naval vessels has followed specific, evolving conventions overseen by the Secretary of the Navy.

• Battleships: Traditionally named for U.S. states.
• Aircraft Carriers: Often named for famous historic warships, battles, and, more recently, U.S. Presidents.
• Destroyers: Named in honour of naval heroes and distinguished figures.
• Submarines: Historically named after fish and sea creatures, later shifting to cities and states.

Naming an entire class of warships after a living president would be an unprecedented departure from these norms, which is precisely what made the original story a clever piece of satire.

The Challenge of Verification

The blurring of lines between parody and policy presents a profound challenge. When real-world events begin to mirror the absurd, the task of the citizen is no longer just to consume news, but to constantly investigate it. The fact that the current, real Secretary of the Navy is indeed John Phelan—the same name used in the 2019 hoax—only adds to the confusion.

For Kenyans, this global dynamic is a mirror to our own struggles with sophisticated misinformation campaigns on social media. It underscores a new reality: the most effective 'fake news' isn't always a lie, but often a truth so strange it feels like a fabrication.

In this environment, the question is no longer simply, "Is this story true?" but rather, "Has the world changed so much that it *could* be true?"