New White House press secretary has a history of conspiracy-laced social media posts

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President Donald Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, repeatedly made baseless accusations of pedophilia against prominent Democrats and shared conspiracy-related content, including claims that echoed the debunked “Pizzagate” theory and that Hollywood elites were pedophilic cannibals, according to a CNN KFile review of her social media posts.

The posts, many from 2022, reveal a history of inflammatory rhetoric and conspiracy-related content from a woman now poised to become one of the administration’s most visible spokespeople.

Zacharia also has a record of since-deleted social media activity that shows her advocating for hardline policies and criticizing the administration she is now poised to represent.

She pushed for more aggressive action on immigration, suggesting in a series of now-deleted posts from June 2025 that the administration should suspend habeas corpus for migrants because the circumstances justified invoking the Constitution’s exception for cases of rebellion or invasion. The fundamental legal protection allows people to challenge their detention in court.

Zacharia also publicly criticized the direction of Trump’s second administration, warning Republicans of a potential midterm “bloodbath” in a now-deleted tweet.

In another deleted tweet, she shared a post accusing the Justice Department of covering up for people implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. She also promoted on Truth Social a repost that claimed that comedian Joan Rivers died mysteriously after saying that former President Barack Obama was gay and that former first lady Michelle Obama had a penis.

In response to questions about her previous social media activity, Zacharia said in a statement to CNN, “I am grateful to serve President Trump as Press Secretary, and I will diligently and effectively amplify his successful agenda.”

In another statement, Steven Cheung, White House communications director, told CNN, “Katie is a fabulous and wonderful addition to the team. She is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary.”

Neither the White House nor Zacharia addressed the content of the posts.

Some of Zacharia’s since-deleted posts on X were first reported by The Bulwark. Her posts on Truth Social, the social media platform founded by Trump where she worked as communications adviser, remain publicly available on her account.

In posts on Truth Social in 2022, Zacharia repeatedly accused prominent political figures and Hollywood elites of pedophilia, at times invoking conspiracy theories about powerful people sexually abusing children.

“ Pedo Podesta. #pedoPodesta ,” Zacharia wrote in a September 2022 post about John Podesta, a longtime Democratic political operative and former White House chief of staff who had been a central target of the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

The false theory emerged during the 2016 presidential election after Russian-linked hackers released emails belonging to Podesta, then Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman. Conspiracy theorists falsely claimed the emails contained coded references to child sex trafficking and that Clinton and other prominent Democrats were operating a child sex abuse ring out of the basement of Comet Ping Pong, a pizzeria in Washington, DC.

The restaurant did not even have a basement, and the baseless claims had real-world consequences when in December 2016, a North Carolina man armed with a rifle entered the restaurant and fired shots while attempting to investigate the supposed trafficking ring.

Days after her first post on Podesta, Zacharia tagged Fox News host Sean Hannity and Trump in another post, asking why Fox News didn’t do a “ feature ” on “what a pedophile Podesta is.”

In another post, Zacharia wrote, “ The radical left Hollywood elitists are sick pedo cannibals. Change my mind ,” responding to a September 2022 Variety article about actor Timothée Chalamet receiving a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival for his role in “Bones and All,” a film about two young cannibals in love.

Just weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Zacharia also posted seemingly in support of Vladimir Putin, reposting a post that the Russian president was fighting a secret network of powerful elites.

“Putin is at war with the CABAL - and the Ukraine is in bed with them,” read the post from an account named Richard Tomas, which included an image featuring prominent political figures, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and billionaire George Soros.

Zacharia also reposted a baseless claim from Ali Alexander, a far-right activist who helped organize the “Stop the Steal” movement that promoted false claims of widespread election fraud following Trump’s 2020 defeat.

“ Democrats want to mask and rape your children. That’s their satanic platform ,” Alexander wrote in an April 2022 post that Zacharia shared.

Zacharia also reposted a September 2022 post from a Truth Social account called “Oinker” that compared then-President Joe Biden and anti-fascist protesters to Nazis, using the hashtags “#Antifa,” “#PedoHitler” and “#WrongSideOfHistory.”

Zacharia also reposted the baseless conspiracy theory about former first lady Michelle Obama and the death of Joan Rivers. “Remember that time Joan Rivers said Obama was gay and Michelle had a dick then suddenly died?” read the July 2022 post that Zacharia shared.

In another since-deleted tweet, Zacharia expressed frustration with the direction of Trump’s second administration, warning that the GOP could face devastating losses in the 2026 midterm elections if they didn’t shift course.

In a December 2025 post, Zacharia responded to far-right commentator Mike Cernovich, who had criticized figures in the administration for focusing on media appearances, podcasts and cryptocurrency schemes rather than delivering on their promises.

“We had our chance to save our country,” Cernovich wrote, lamenting that prominent figures were instead pursuing “vanity fair interviews, podcasts, and meme coins.” “ 2026 Midterms will be a bloodbath if we don’t shift course now ,” Zacharia replied.

Zacharia also amplified an accusation that the Trump administration’s Justice Department was covering up for people involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors.

On July 8, 2025, Zacharia retweeted a post from right-wing commentator Rogan O’Handley, known online as DC Draino, that questioned whether the Justice Department could be trusted.

“I wish I could get excited about this,” the post read, discussing Trump plans to investigate former FBI Director James Comey and other officials involved in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. “But if the DOJ will cover up for Epstein pedos, how can we trust them to go after these guys?”

The repost came just a day after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo concludin g that investigators had found no evidence of an Epstein “client list,” and no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.

The memo had sparked backlash from prominent Trump supporters, many of whom accused then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and other administration officials of concealing information about Epstein after years of promises to release additional records.

In June 2025, Zacharia also called for suspending the constitutional right to challenge one’s detention in court.

“ Suspend habeas corpus ,” she wrote in one post, first reported by The Bulwark. In two replies to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, she urged suspending it “for reasons of Invasion,” citing the Constitution’s clause allowing suspension “in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion.”

Miller had said weeks earlier that the administration was “actively looking at” the option.

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据 CNN KFile 对 Katie Zacharia 的社交媒体帖子进行审查后发现，这位即将上任的美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的白宫新闻秘书多次毫无根据地指控一些知名的民主党人有恋童癖，并分享与阴谋论相关的内容，包括与已被揭穿的“披萨门”理论相呼应的说法，以及好莱坞精英是恋童癖食人族的说法。

这些帖子，其中许多发布于 2022 年，揭示了这位如今即将成为本届政府最引人注目的发言人之一的女性，过往发表过煽动性言论和与阴谋论相关的内容。

扎卡里亚还有一些已被删除的社交媒体活动记录，这些记录显示她曾倡导强硬政策，并批评她现在即将代表的政府。

她力主采取更强硬的移民政策，并在2025年6月发布的一系列现已删除的帖子中建议，政府应暂停对移民的人身保护令，因为当时的情况符合援引宪法中关于叛乱或入侵的例外条款的正当理由。这项基本法律保护允许人们在法庭上对拘留提出质疑。

扎卡里亚还公开批评了特朗普第二届政府的执政方向，并在一条现已删除的推文中警告共和党人，中期选举可能会遭遇“惨败”。

在另一条已被删除的推文中，她转发了一篇帖子，指责司法部包庇杰弗里·爱泼斯坦丑闻中的涉案人员。她还在Truth Social上转发了一篇帖子，声称喜剧演员琼·里弗斯在发表奥巴马是同性恋、前第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马有阴茎的言论后神秘死亡。

针对有关她之前社交媒体活动的问题，扎卡里亚在给 CNN 的一份声明中表示：“我很荣幸能担任特朗普总统的新闻秘书，我将尽职尽责、有效地宣传他成功的施政纲领。”

白宫通讯主任史蒂文·张在另一份声明中告诉CNN：“凯蒂的加入对团队来说意义非凡，她才华横溢，能够帮助美国人民了解特朗普总统及其政府所做的所有伟大工作，她作为新闻秘书一定会做得非常出色。”

白宫和扎卡里亚都没有对这些帖子的内容作出回应。

《堡垒报》率先报道了扎卡里亚在X网站上一些已被删除的帖子。她在特朗普创立的社交媒体平台Truth Social（她曾担任该平台的通讯顾问）上的帖子仍然公开可见。

2022 年，扎卡里亚在 Truth Social 上发表文章，反复指责一些知名政治人物和好莱坞精英有恋童癖，有时还会援引一些关于有权势的人性虐待儿童的阴谋论。

“恋童癖波德斯塔。#恋童癖波德斯塔，”扎卡里亚在 2022 年 9 月的一篇帖子中写道，帖子内容是关于约翰·波德斯塔，他是一位长期从事民主党政治活动的人士，也是前白宫幕僚长，曾是已被揭穿的“披萨门”阴谋论的主要目标。

这一谬论出现于2016年总统大选期间，当时与俄罗斯有关联的黑客泄露了希拉里·克林顿竞选主席波德斯塔的电子邮件。阴谋论者错误地声称，这些邮件包含有关儿童性交易的暗语，并指责克林顿和其他一些知名的民主党人以华盛顿特区一家名为“彗星乒乓”（Comet Ping Pong）的披萨店地下室为据点，经营着一个儿童性虐待团伙。

这家餐厅甚至没有地下室，而这些毫无根据的指控在 2016 年 12 月造成了现实后果，当时一名北卡罗来纳州男子携带步枪进入餐厅，并在试图调查所谓的贩毒团伙时开枪射击。

在她首次发布关于波德斯塔的帖子几天后，扎卡里亚在另一篇帖子中标记了福克斯新闻主持人肖恩·汉尼提和特朗普，质问福克斯新闻为什么没有对“恋童癖波德斯塔”进行“专题报道”。

在另一篇帖子中，扎卡里亚写道：“好莱坞激进左翼精英都是变态的恋童癖食人族。来反驳我吧。” 这篇文章是对2022年9月《综艺》杂志的一篇文章的回应，该文章讲述了演员蒂莫西·柴勒梅德在威尼斯电影节上凭借在电影《骨头和一切》中的角色获得全场起立鼓掌，这部电影讲述了两个年轻的食人族相爱的故事。

2022 年 2 月，俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰几周后，扎卡里亚也发帖似乎支持弗拉基米尔·普京，转发了一篇帖子，称这位俄罗斯总统正在与一个强大的精英秘密网络作战。

“普京正在与阴谋集团开战——而乌克兰却与他们沆瀣一气，”一个名为理查德·托马斯的账户发布的帖子写道，帖子中包含一张图片，图片上有希拉里·克林顿、巴拉克·奥巴马、乔·拜登和亿万富翁乔治·索罗斯等著名政治人物。

扎卡里亚还转发了极右翼活动家阿里·亚历山大毫无根据的说法。亚历山大曾帮助组织“停止窃选”运动，该运动在特朗普 2020 年败选后散布了有关选举舞弊的虚假说法。

“民主党人想蒙住你的眼睛，强奸你的孩子。这就是他们的撒旦纲领，”亚历山大在 2022 年 4 月的一篇帖子中写道，扎卡里亚分享了这篇帖子。

Zacharia 还转发了 Truth Social 账号“Oinker”于 2022 年 9 月发布的一篇文章，该文章将当时的总统乔·拜登和反法西斯抗议者比作纳粹，并使用了“#Antifa”、“#PedoHitler”和“#WrongSideOfHistory”等标签。

扎卡里亚还转发了关于前第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马和琼·里弗斯之死的毫无根据的阴谋论。“还记得琼·里弗斯说奥巴马是同性恋，米歇尔有阴茎，然后突然去世的那件事吗？”扎卡里亚分享的这篇2022年7月的帖子写道。

在另一条后来被删除的推文中，扎卡里亚表达了对特朗普第二届政府方向的不满，并警告说，如果共和党不改变路线，可能会在 2026 年中期选举中遭受毁灭性失败。

2025 年 12 月，扎卡里亚在一篇帖子中回应了极右翼评论员迈克·塞尔诺维奇，后者批评政府官员专注于媒体露面、播客和加密货币计划，而不是兑现他们的承诺。

“我们曾有机会拯救我们的国家，”塞尔诺维奇写道，他感叹一些知名人士反而忙于“《名利场》的采访、播客和表情包”。扎卡里亚回应道：“如果我们现在不改变方向，2026年的中期选举将会是一场血腥的灾难。”

扎卡里亚还加大了对特朗普政府司法部的指控，称其掩盖了参与杰弗里·爱泼斯坦性侵未成年人的人员的行为。

2025 年 7 月 8 日，扎卡里亚转发了右翼评论员罗根·奥汉德利（网名 DC Draino）的一条推文，该推文质疑司法部是否值得信任。

“我真希望自己能对这件事感到兴奋，”帖子写道，讨论的是特朗普计划调查前联邦调查局局长詹姆斯·科米和其他参与调查俄罗斯干预2016年大选的官员。“但如果司法部连爱泼斯坦的恋童癖都包庇，我们怎么能相信他们会追究这些人的责任呢？”

就在司法部和联邦调查局发布备忘录，得出结论认为调查人员没有发现任何关于爱泼斯坦“客户名单”的证据，也没有发现任何可信的证据表明爱泼斯坦勒索过知名人士之后仅仅一天，这条转发就出现了。

这份备忘录引发了特朗普众多支持者的强烈反对，他们指责时任司法部长帕姆·邦迪和其他政府官员在多年承诺公布更多记录后，隐瞒了有关爱泼斯坦的信息。

2025年6月，扎卡里亚还呼吁暂停宪法赋予公民在法庭上挑战拘留的权利。

“暂停人身保护令，”她在一篇帖子中写道，该帖子最初由《堡垒》（The Bulwark）报道。在回复白宫副幕僚长斯蒂芬·米勒的两封邮件中，她敦促以“入侵”为由暂停人身保护令，并援引宪法中允许在“叛乱或入侵情况下”暂停人身保护令的条款。

米勒几周前曾表示，政府正在“积极考虑”这一选项。