News outlets falsely report Somaliland called for extradition of Ilhan Omar

Several news outlets have falsely reported that Somaliland’s government called for the extradition of Ilhan Omar, basing their stories on a post from an X account that does not represent the state despite its claims to the contrary.

Fox News, the New York Post, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s the National News Desk and the Independent ran stories on the US representative. The reports centred on a post by @RepOfSomaliland in reaction to claims by JD Vance that Omar had committed immigration fraud, which echoed prior allegations against the Somali-born Minnesota Democrat that she has vehemently denied.

“Deportation?” the post read. “Please you’re just sending the princess back to her kingdom. Extradition? Say the word …”

The account is not an official government channel, and Somaliland’s own foreign ministry had said so publicly in December. It said: “Ministry has begun identifying social media accounts that are NOT official Government of Somaliland channels,” adding that they were not authorized to speak on its behalf.

In a statement to the Guardian on Monday, Somaliland’s ministry of foreign affairs said: “We kindly advise that any news or statements be referenced solely from official and authorized channels to ensure the accuracy and reliability of information.”

Somaliland is a self-declared republic in the Horn of Africa that broke away from Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of the Somali state. Though it has maintained relative stability in a turbulent region, it remains unrecognised by the international community, with Israel being a notable recent exception. Somalia continues to claim it as part of its territory.

Fox News later issued a quiet correction, acknowledging the account was not a verified government outlet. “The post has been corrected to note that the RepofSomaliland X account is not a verified government account,” the rightwing news outlet said, revising its headline to: “Pro-Somaliland account backs extraditing Ilhan Omar after Vance fraud claim.”

The post was a reaction to an interview the vice-president gave to conservative influencer Benny Johnson on 28 March. In the interview, Vance claimed that Omar had “definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America”.

Vance said he had discussed potential legal action with Stephen Miller, the White House immigration adviser, adding: “We’re trying to figure out what the legal remedies are – how do you go after her, how do you investigate her, how do you build a case necessary to get some justice for the American people?”

Johnson pressed Vance specifically on whether Omar’s alleged offenses were grounds for deportation or denaturalization. Omar’s chief of staff, Connor McNutt, dismissed Vance’s accusations as “a ridiculous lie and desperate attempt to distract”, adding a pointed reference to Vance’s past admission that he was willing to “create stories” to redirect media attention.

It is not the first time Omar has found herself at the centre of a viral misinformation story with a Somali aspect. In early 2024, a mistranslated clip of a speech she gave in Minneapolis spread rapidly online, with rightwing figures accusing her of declaring herself “Somalian first”.

The reports spread against a backdrop of escalating rhetoric from the White House targeting Minnesota’s Somali community and Somalia. Just days before Vance’s interview, Trump described Somalia as a “crooked, disgusting country”. The following day he boasted of getting Minnesota “back from Somalia”.

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) condemned the remarks, with Jaylani Hussein, the executive director, warning that portraying an entire people as intellectually inferior “is not just political rhetoric – it is dehumanization”.

Omar, who arrived in the US as a refugee aged 12 and became a citizen at 17, warned in a Guardian interview in December that Trump’s rhetoric was fueling a climate of political violence with real consequences. “We’ve had people incarcerated for threatening to kill me,” she said. She added that her concern extended from herself to anyone “who looks like me in Minneapolis”.

In January, a man sprayed Omar with liquid from a syringe as she addressed constituents at a Minneapolis town hall, hours after Trump had again targeted her with xenophobic remarks. Federal prosecutors subsequently charged Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, with assault.