Kristi Noem Faces Backlash After False Claim Her 'Ancestor' Was a Female Nazi Goes Viral

A social media post featuring photos of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and a female guard at Auschwitz is spreading across social media, along with the post's satirical claim that the guard is a relative of Noem's.

The photo of Noem was taken during her tour of the new "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention facility. The newly-erected immigration detainment center, named for the surrounding swampland infested with alligators and pythons, will soon hold as many as 5,000 migrants awaiting deportation by the Trump administration.

Constructed deep within the Florida Everglades, the caged rows of bunk beds inside hastily constructed tents have drawn comparisons to Nazi concentration camps.

On X, a user made another comparison. Side-by-side photos of an Auschwitz guard and Noem feature both women with open-mouth smiles, laughing — expressions that users note contrast disturbingly with the grim context of their respective locations.

"Throwback pic of a Kristi Noem ancestor (a guard at Auschwitz) and Kristi herself at her own modern 'Auschwitz'.....?" @anarie_whit wrote on X.

Despite the user calling her post "satire" in the comments, many took the caption at face value. The photo was shared with added commentary such as, "The similarity is uncanny," and "Supporting fascism is in her blood."

Another user wrote, "The rotten apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh Kristen Braun?"

Plenty of users condemned Noem, whether they believed the post's false claim or not.

"Call it what you want, but the facility in the Everglades is an American concentration camp," read one comment, with another simply stating, "She is not a good human!"

"We really are in a never ending cycle of vicious human hatred and stupidity," a user wrote.

Noem's roots are in South Dakota, where she was raised on a family farm and eventually became governor, are well-established, and she has also spoken of her Norwegian heritage. According to geneanet.org, Noem's great grandparents on the maternal side immigrated to the U.S. from Norway before they were married in South Dakota in 1909.

Other members of Noem's family tree appear to be based in the U.S. going back well into the 1800s, making it highly improbable that any direct relation fought for Germany in World War II.

Users who are more supportive of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policy berated the post, calling out "defamation" and "fake news." Others dismissed the comparison between an "Alligator Alcatraz," an unopened detention facility, and Auschwitz, an extermination camp where an estimated 1.1 million people died.

"No one's dying cupcake," commented one user.

While users await X to add a community note to the post, which has garnered over 1.2 million views in less than 24 hours, it may be too late to prevent the spread of misinformation to scrolling users who missed the subtlety of the satirical allegation.