Was an image of a magazine cover featuring a painting of President Trump wearing a crown and the slogan "Long live the king" authentically posted by the White House? Yes, that's true: The image featured a backdrop of iconic New York buildings and used the same font and distinctive red border used by Time magazine. Detection tools say the image…
Is British singer Sam Smith "self-partnered," meaning that they are not single but in a relationship with themselves? No, that's not true: The claim originated on a satirical Facebook page with a clear disclaimer. There is no evidence that Smith ever made that declaration about their dating status, as of this writing. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's approval rating plummet to 4 percent, as of February 2025? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no publicly available poll confirming the figure voiced by President Donald Trump on February 18, 2025. The White House did not reply to a Lead Stories request to disclose the basis for Trump's statement. The claim originated from…
Is the MSNBC television program hosted by the former White House press secretary named "Inside Jen Psaki"? No, that's not true: The program is called "Inside With Jen Psaki." An image circulating on social media had been digitally edited to remove the word "with." The edited image appears in a post (archived here) on X on February 18, 2025. It…
Did the claim that DOGE forwarded the names of 163 members of Congress to the IRS for "Immediate Audit" and that 156 of them were Democrats originate on an actual news website? No, that's not true: The meme featured a fake, cartoonish DOGE logo and came from a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking…
Does a video captioned "Free headphones hack" shared on social media authentically show a Black man stealing a train passenger's headphones? No, that's not true: The video was first posted by a social media creator who shares similar ones of him stealing people's items from trains and dancing afterward as part of an ongoing sketch series. It was reshared to…
Does an authentic photo show two Black women who were the pilots of the Delta Flight 4819 that crash-landed and flipped over in Toronto on February 17, 2025? No, that's not true: The inverted image in a social media post is 16 years old. It shows the first all-African-American female crew to operate a commercial jet for Atlantic Southeast Airlines.…
Does a viral photo accurately portray Argentinian President Javier Milei's sister Karina Milei? No, that's not true: The image has been heavily edited to completely change her face. The original image was taken in 2023 and shows completely different facial features, notably the eyes, nose and mouth. An example of the image appeared in a post on X (archived here)…
Has the Trump administration proposed payment of a 2025 economic stimulus check to Americans, as multiple social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Viral social media posts circulating in February 2025 built traffic by spreading the rumor that stimulus checks of up to $8,000 were soon to be distributed. But there is no public record of President Donald Trump…
Has the DOGE team caused a "very real exodus" from the Washington, D.C., area as evidenced by a big surge in the number of homes listed for sale in the market? No, that's not true: The number of new residential real estate listings in the market in the first two weeks of February 2025 is almost exactly the same as…
Was an ICE van deliberately set on fire during operations in Philadelphia? No, that's not true: A Homeland Security/ICE vehicle caught fire on the morning of February 18, 2025 in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Fire Department extinguished the fire. A spokesperson told Lead Stories the fire marshal interviewed the van's driver, determining the fire was accidental. The video of a burning…
Did the former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, see her net worth increase by $23 million in three years? No, that's not true: Public financial records don't show anything close to that kind of an increase between 2021 and 2024. Based on Lead Stories' calculations, her net worth was essentially in the same range during…
Do viral clips circulating on social media prove that AfD is missing on the authentic ballots in the city of Leipzig, Germany? No, that's not true: The publicly available sample ballot still listed AfD the day the claim began to spread. A press release from Leipzig authorities described what the videos showed as "fake ballots" and ruled out printing errors.…
What is chlorine dioxide, and is it a safe and effective cure or treatment for multiple health ailments, including childhood autism and COVID-19 infection? No, that's not true: Chlorine dioxide is a gaseous chemical that makes a bleach-like substance when added to water. The highly reactive chemical is used as a cleaning agent and can be fatal if ingested. Even…
Does an image shared online in February 2025 show Jonathan Simpson, the pilot of Delta Flight 4819, which crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport? No, that's not true: The person depicted in the image is porn star Johnny Sins, whose image is often used in fake posts. The image featured a Grok AI watermark and, according to an online detection…
Did Global Affairs Canada delete its foreign aid database? No, that's not true: The Canadian government's X account stated that no data was deleted and that it was only experiencing technical problems. The database was publicly available at the time of writing. Lead Stories was able to access the database through its website. The claim appeared in a post (archived…
Did Senator Mitch McConnell die on February 17, 2025 at the age of eighty-two? No, that's not true: A post announcing McConnell's death was published by a parody account spoofing the real account Breaking 911. The spoof account has a disclaimer which says, "Parody artist. If you fell for my bait, you owe me eight dollars." As of February 18,…
Is a viral article claiming country singer Chris Stapleton filed an official objection to Beyoncé winning a Grammy based on actual news events? No, that's not true: There is no record of Stapleton saying "Eveп she admits this is пot a coυпtry albυm." as the story claimed. Stapleton's social media profiles and website do not mention any such objection and…
Is there such a thing as a "Treasury Access Symbol" (TAS) as a post from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on X said? No, that's not true: The post contained a typo and the document it linked to refers to something called a "Treasury Account Symbol" (TAS). Google shows no use of the term "Treasury Access Symbol" before the…
Was TV host Joy Behar arrested at the airport trying to flee the country after a $50M lawsuit involving comments about White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt? No, that's not true: The story narrated in a viral video was written by AI according to online detection tools, and there have been no actual news reports about any such lawsuit. An…
