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January 28, 2025

Press Secretary Leavitt falsely claims US sent $50 million for "Gaza condoms"

PubMed Central
PubMed Central
today.lorientlejour.com
Al Jazeera English
CBS News
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Demonstrably false claims made during inaugural press briefing appearance

Karoline LeavittKaroline Leavitt claimed on Jan. 28, 2025 that $50 million was “about to go out the door to fund condoms in Gaza,” a figure PolitiFact, Reuters and the Washington Post found unsupported (PolitiFact; Reuters; Washington Post).

USAID’s fiscal year 2023 data shows $8 million spent globally on condoms, and at a procurement price of 5 cents each, $50 million would buy approximately 1 billion condoms for Gaza’s 2.1 million population (Washington Post; Al Jazeera).

The Washington Post Fact Checker awarded Leavitt’s statement Four Pinocchios, its highest rating for falsehoods (Washington Post, Jan. 29, 2025).

🤝Civic Action🏛️Government📰Media Literacy

Test Your Knowledge

10
Q1

This was Karoline Leavitt's first official press briefing as White House Press Secretary.

Q2

The International Medical Corps confirmed it was using U.S. funds to distribute condoms in Gaza.

Q3

What phrase did Leavitt use to describe the alleged condom spending?

Q4

How much money did Karoline Leavitt falsely claim was earmarked for Gaza condoms?

Q5

How many condoms could $50 million buy at typical USAID prices?

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People, bills, and sources

Karoline Leavitt

Karoline Leavitt

White House press secretary

Elon Musk

Tech entrepreneur and X owner

What you can do

1

Review the official Jan. 28, 2025 White House press briefing transcript at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/ to verify Karoline Leavitt’s exact wording on Gaza condom funding.

2

Examine PolitiFact’s detailed fact-check at https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2025/jan/30/karoline-leavitt/no-the-us-did-not-spend-50-million-to-fund-condoms/ for source documents and evidence rebutting the $50 million claim.

3

Use the USAID Data Explorer (https://explorer.usaid.gov/) to retrieve fiscal year 2023 spending records, confirming the $8 million global condom budget and zero condom shipments to the Middle East from FY 2021–2023.