Rumor Claims Sasha Obama Was Asked to Leave Airport, Sparking Social Media Buzz Over Discrimination

A rumor that spread last month claimed that staff at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, asked Sasha Obama to leave the premises, sparking widespread social media buzz. According to the story, Sasha, the youngest daughter of former President Barack Obama, was allegedly discriminated against by airport staff who questioned the legitimacy of her business-class ticket due to her being a Black woman.

The rumor escalated with reports suggesting that the situation only calmed down when Barack Obama himself arrived to “set things straight.” The fabricated tale culminated in a happy ending where Sasha became a champion for travel industry reforms.

The drama first emerged in a YouTube video uploaded on December 21 by a channel called Beneath the Mask. The video, titled “Airport Staff Kicked Out Sasha Obama, But Regretted Everything When Her Father Barack Obama Arrived,” quickly went viral, racking up more than 1M views.

The story was widely shared on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, sparking heated debates and conversations about the incident. However, a quick fact-check revealed that the story was entirely made up.

A simple Google News search yielded no credible reports about the incident, and Snopes confirmed that the video, along with others posted by the same YouTube channel, was designed purely as engagement bait to attract views and ad revenue.

The absurdity of the story was compounded by the fact that the video used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate its thumbnail and script. The AI-created image depicted Sasha, Barack, and airport workers, and the video itself was a 51-minute loop of fabricated claims narrated by AI.

This wasn’t Beneath the Mask’s first attempt at sensationalizing stories about prominent Black figures. Earlier in December, the channel spread claims of “racist resort staff” attacking the Obamas and a “racist pilot” targeting Barack Obama.

Other fabricated stories involved Kevin Hart, Will Smith, and LeBron James, alleging discriminatory incidents that same month. Sasha Obama, born in 2001, has always kept much of her life private.

As a child, she and her sister Malia became the youngest White House residents since the Kennedy era. Sasha, who was largely focused on school and extracurriculars, has quietly navigated her path outside the spotlight, proving time and again that she is much more than just “the former first daughter.”