Economists are now concerned that increasing interest rates—the Fed’s main mechanism to fight inflation—could cause even greater economic pain by stifling growth with increased cost of borrowing.

Amid this sour economic backdrop, photos of a large surrounding wall erected around its Reserve Board building in D.C. spread on social media this week, leading to fearmongering and panicked responses in anticipation of a supposedly imminent economic meltdown.

The Claim

A tweet, posted on November 6, 2022, shows a picture of The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building with a barricade around the front.

The accompanying tweet states: “The Federal Reserve Just Put Up Walls …Everything is Fine …”

The tweet, which has more than 30,000 engagements, was quoted elsewhere on social media with other speculation such as “I believe the dollar is about to crash.”

The Facts

With the January 6 insurrection still raw in public memory, the potential of protest or social riots that could descend upon U.S. political institutions is hardly at a low. Between a winter that may put the lives and welfare of many Americans to the test, and midterms fraught with political polarisation, tensions are running high.

The prospect of recession—a scenario that the White House vehemently denies it is planning for—may well turn out to be the last straw for many Americans.

However, the walls around the building in Washington D.C. have nothing to do with the economy, the midterms, or any current political or economic matter.

The walls are in fact part of a renovation project, details of which are published on the National Capital Planning Commission’s website.

The project, which received final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission on September 2, 2022, will consolidate its 3,400 employees into a new campus that will include the Eccles building (which was originally constructed between 1935 and 1937).

The project has been in development since 2019; the estimated cost of the project (according to a report from February 2022) came to $42 million. Its first phase is due for completion by 2030, according to planning documents.

So, while uncertainty (and perhaps more economic headwinds) may lie ahead, there is no evidence that the Federal Reserve and its staff have resorted to holing up behind barricades, as the misleading post implies.

That, however, will do little to pacify the fear and uncertainty around the U.S. economy. A Bloomberg Economics model projection published on October 17, 2022, found a recession was almost certain within 12 months, while the CEOs of both Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have said they both expect a recession.

The Ruling

Misleading Material.

The barriers around the Federal Reserve Building in Washington D.C. have nothing to do with the economic performance of the country or any other political matter.

It is part of a project to renovate the building that has been in the works since at least 2019, with costs in excess of $42 million. Its first phase is set for completion by 2030.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team