Social media users are spreading false claims that former President Donald Trump’s convictions have been overturned and that he has been repaid $500 million. The original post appeared on the pro-Trump TikTok account of a user named Legends 291, and similar claims have since spread to other social media platforms including Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.
“Trumps Convictions have all been overturned and he is getting his $500,000,000.00 Back!” the TikTok post’s text said. “Proven in the Appellate Courts that it was all political and a sham. TRUMP 2024.” The post received more than 150,000 likes on the video-based platform.
The TikTok post includes audio of news footage from WNBC 4 New York that has no relation to the textual content of the post. The news segment reports that Sheena Wright was resigning from her position as first deputy mayor of New York City in the wake of the Justice Department’s indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Trump was not mentioned or referred to a single time in the audio.
Screenshots of the TikTok post were soon reshared across other social media platforms.
“Is this true?” asked one Facebook user. “And don’t read some headline and tell me you know.”
Trump has spent the last two years embroiled in various legal cases. He’s been convicted in one criminal trial, lost two civil defamation suits, and was found guilty in a lawsuit brought by the state of New York alleging fraud. None of those decisions have been overturned.
Regarding the criminal cases, Trump was convicted in New York in May on 34 counts of fraud related to his hush-money payments to the adult film performer Stormy Daniels. Special counsel Jack Smith has brought two federal cases against him, one for his alleged mishandling of classified documents after his presidency and one for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump also faces state charges in Georgia for racketeering, related to his attempt to meddle in the 2020 election. Both federal cases and the Georgia case have faced delays, but all are still active.
As for the civil cases, the writer and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll won two civil judgments against him for defamation—one in 2023 and one in January of this year—totaling $88.3 million. However, Trump has appealed both judgments. And in February, New York state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $454 million and ruled him culpable for financial fraud. Engoron found that Trump had inflated the value of his assets on financial statements—on properties including his Florida Mar-a-Lago home and Trump Tower in Manhattan—which deceived banks and insurance companies of the former president’s accurate net worth.
That decision has not been overturned. Trump appealed the decision after securing the $175 million required for him to post bond. A New York appellate court on September 26 heard opening arguments for the case from New York state prosecutors and lawyers representing the former president, though no decision—upholding or overturning the judgment—has been issued. The court is considering the appeal from Trump’s legal team and the case is currently pending.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling in Trump v. United States prompted Trump’s legal team to appeal the New York conviction, arguing evidence used in the trial is now protected under presidential immunity and cannot be used to prosecute him. Merchan is scheduled to rule on Trump’s appeal on November 12, precisely one week after the presidential election. The sentencing date for Trump’s New York criminal conviction was initially scheduled for July 11, though the judge presiding over the trial—Judge Juan Merchan—later delayed the sentencing until November 26, weeks after Election Day.
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