The rumor began circulating after Donald Trump urged New Mexico to immediately change its name to “New America.”
OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK: Amid a series of geographic renaming proposals by President Donald Trump, social media was flooded with a viral rumor claiming that the town of Mexico, New York, had officially changed its name to the “Epstein List” to avoid being renamed by the administration. The claim quickly sparked online speculation and required a formal investigation.
Claim: New York’s Mexico Renamed to ‘Epstein List’
According to posts spreading across Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, the small town of Mexico, New York, proactively changed its moniker to “Epstein List” to dodge any potential forced renaming by the president.
The viral posts even fabricated a quote attributed to Town Supervisor Mark Henderson, which read: “We figured if we changed our name to something he absolutely doesn’t want to talk about, we might fly under the radar.”
This hoax emerged against the backdrop of Trump’s recent policy pushes and executive orders targeting geographic titles—such as proposals to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” The social media posts gained hundreds of thousands of views, with many users falling for the joke while others recognized it as a spoof.
Fact Check: A Satirical Origin
The rumor is entirely false. There is no official record, municipal announcement, or legal documentation showing that the town in Oswego County changed its name.
Had such a bizarre municipal decision actually occurred, it would have immediately become a major national news story. However, comprehensive searches across major search engines found zero credible media reports supporting the claim.
Instead, the investigation traced the rumor back to a Facebook page called The Innerloop Blog, which explicitly labels its content in its bio as a satirical source providing “Rochester NY’s #1 Source for Fake News.”
The Context Behind the Hoax
The satirical post gained traction immediately following a genuine statement from President Trump on Truth Social, where he demanded that the state of New Mexico alter its name.
“New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America,” Trump wrote. “We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!”
His post continued, arguing that the rebranding would boost home values, increase incomes, and instill greater national pride, while jokingly suggesting it might even fix the state’s election processes.