The claim: Barbara Bush is the daughter of British occultist Aleister Crowley
A Facebook post from Feb. 16 claims that infamous British occultist Aleister Crowley was the father of former first lady Barbara Bush. "This makes George W. Bush the grandson of the worlds (sic) most famous satanist," the user wrote. Crowley (1875-1947) is known for founding a religion called Thelema and popularizing the term "magick" to describe supernatural acts of the occult.
In a comment to USA TODAY,
Casey Zevenbergen, who posted the claim on Facebook, said he saw the claim several times, including on the secure-messaging app Telegram.
"This post has been circulating for many years, I also have seen it on other sites like Telegram. Not sure of its authenticity but it has raised a lot of conversations," Zevenbergen said.