A headline with those exact words is exploding across YouTube and X, claiming that “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth has just announced a $25 billion “Golden Dome” space‑based missile shield for the United States. Thumbnails show glowing domes over American cities and CGI satellites firing laser beams — all packaged as if it were an official Pentagon reveal.

Here’s what is verifiably true as of 2024:

• The United States does not have a “Secretary of War.” The position was abolished in 1947 and replaced by the Secretary of Defense.
  Pete Hegseth is a former Army officer and television commentator, not a Senate‑confirmed defense chief.
• There is no publicly announced $25B program called “Golden Dome,” nor any official plan to build an Israel‑style “Iron Dome” in space.
• What does exist are ongoing U.S. missile‑defense and space programs: ground‑based interceptors, Aegis and THAAD systems, and new generations of tracking satellites run by the Space Development Agency and the U.S. Space Force. None match the sweeping, cinematic system described in the viral clips.

Disinformation researchers say this story fuses real concepts — missile defense, space sensors, Iron Dome branding — with a fictional title and fictional officeholder to create a narrative that feels “almost plausible.” The risk is clear: once audiences believe a “Golden Dome” already exists, debates over cost, oversight and arms control are fought over a system that’s more fantasy than fact.