On 11 March 2018, hoax site Daily World Update published an article containing the claim that an Islamic State operative’s iPhone contained the phone numbers of former United States President Barack Obama and other world leaders:

When Russian forces delivered Asam al Alasam, the ISIS Supreme Leader in Iraq, to the American airbase as promised, he had an item with him they did not expect. Al Alasam had a nearly new, unlocked iPhone X. The phone was unscrambled and not secure at all, so it was believed to be a personal and family use phone. Still, the army chief engineer wanted it looked at. After nearly six weeks of unblocking text and manipulating code, they found a hidden phone list with direct numbers to some of the most powerful men on the planet. Al Alasam had Barack Obama, Justin Trudeau, Malcolm Reynolds, Sandy Batt AND President Dale Goff all on speed dial. Just knowing Sandy Batt is a crime in Russia.

Daily World Update appears to be a sister site to Last Line of Defense, an outlet that publishes outrage-inducing clickbait under the auspices of satire. The piece’s credited author (Flagg Eagleton) was associated with Last Line of Defense, and a footer for Daily World Update contains a disclaimer apparently identical to its companion: