A viral Facebook post shared over 700 times claims around 200,000 children were rescued on March 4 from underground catacomb tombs near the White House.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence of any such rescue mission occurring.

Fact Check:

The March 7 Facebook post claims: “On March 4, 3 days ago, 4 underground floors of catacomb tombs were detonated by the military. Smoke can be seen coming up from the grounds around the White House. Approximately 200k children were rescued.” The post goes on to state “this is what the deep state monsters have been hiding.”

There is no indication, however, that the U.S. military demolished catacombs or rescued 200,000 children from underground areas near the White House in March 2021. Had such events occurred, news outlets would have certainly reported on it. Check Your Fact searched District of Columbia-based media outlets such as Roll Call, The Hill and The Washington Post, but found no reporting of smoke near the White House due to underground tombs being “detonated by the military.”

The Department of Justice and Metropolitan Police Department have not put out any press releases announcing the military’s alleged discovery either. A Defense Department duty press officer confirmed to Check Your Fact that there was no truth to the Facebook post’s claim. (RELATED: Viral Image Claims To Show The White House Dark For The ’10th Night In A Row’)

This isn’t the first time a false claim about children being rescued from underground tunnels has gone viral. In May 2020, Check Your Fact debunked the baseless rumor that thousands of children who had been held captive underground and abused were rescued and given shelter in a field hospital set up in New York City’s Central Park, an allegation linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory.