Before President Donald Trump started mass layoffs of federal workers, he demonized them, arguing, despite evidence to the contrary, that most of them never went into the office.

Elon Musk suggested Social Security data shows millions of improbably and impossibly old people collecting benefits, amounting to massive fraud in the retirement program. But the billionaire's claims about payments to dead people lack evidence -- and experts say his figures appear to count past-issued Social Security cards,