by: Maarten Schenk
» Most Recent
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Fake News: Posting An Instagram Picture With Legal Gibberish DOES NOT Modify Your Agreement With Instagram In Any Way
Do you need to post a status update with some legal gibberish on your Instagram feed to prevent the Facebook (the company that owns Instagram) from using your pictures, information,... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Trump Did NOT File Lawsuit To Deport George Soros
Did President Trump file a lawsuit to have George Soros deported from the country? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Number Of People Killed By Illegal Immigrants In 2018 Does NOT Equal 83,211
Were 194 people killed in mass shootings in the United States in 2018, while the number of those killed by illegal immigrants was 83,211? No, that's not true: Both numbers... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
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Fake News: NO 22 Tons of Pig Meat Sold As Halal to Muslims in China
Were Muslims in China sold 22 tons of pig meat as halal? No, that's not true: a story to that effect is actually a mixture of two different events that... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Obama And HR4310 Did NOT Make It Legal For The Media To Lie To The American People (It Always Was...)
Did Barack Obama quietly sign into law HR 4310 in 2012 that made it legal for the media to purposely lie to the American people? No, that's not true: HR... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
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Fake News: NO New Jersey Brother And Sister Allowed To Marry After 10-year-long Court Battle
Did a court allow New Jersey siblings James and Victoria Banes to marry after a ten year court battle?No, that's not true: the story was made up by a Canadian... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
»News & Analysis from the world of Fake News
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That Fake 'Drunk Pelosi' Video Was A Dud: How Lead Stories And Facebook Defused A Viral Bomb
A viral video that was digitally altered to make it appear that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was slurring her words and drunk has raised questions about what social platforms... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
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Press Release: Happy Fact-Checking Day! #factcheckingday
Lead Stories is happy to support Fact-Checking Day 2019! ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 2, 2019) - In most of the world, April 1 is a day for fools. April 2is... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Malinformation, Misinformation, Disinformation: Lead Stories NOT Using The Term F*ke N*ws Anymore
Update: Yes, of course this was an April Fools joke :-) For years we here at Lead Stories have put the term "F*ke N*ws" in every headline but it is... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Press Release: The International Fact-Checking Network launches FactCheckEU, its European fact-checking project
Hoaxes know no borders, especially in Europe. That's why the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) is proud to announce the launch of FactCheckEU, a collaborative effort from 19 European fact-checking outlets... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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On The Difference Between Fake News and Satire -- Why Lead Stories Needed A Satire Policy
Things used to be very simple and clear-cut here at Lead Stories. We used our Trendolizer engine to look for things that were trending online that were not true (but... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Christopher Blair Launches New Snopes & DeadState Parody Sites
It appears the feud between Snopes and self-described internet troll Christopher Blair keeps on going: earlier this week he took to Facebook to announce a new parody website that explicitly... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
» Europe
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Fake News: Photo Showing Two Men "Smiling" In Front Of Burning Notre Dame Is NOT Doctored (But We Still Don't Know If They Are "Laughing Muslims")
By Alan Duke and Maarten Schenk - Did the Russian news agency Sputnik digitally insert two smiling men into a photograph taken near the burning Notre Dame cathedral and then... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Press Release: The International Fact-Checking Network launches FactCheckEU, its European fact-checking project
Hoaxes know no borders, especially in Europe. That's why the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) is proud to announce the launch of FactCheckEU, a collaborative effort from 19 European fact-checking outlets... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Inaccurate News: MORE Than Two Whales Found Dead, NOT Only In Germany, NOT All Stomachs Full Of Plastic And Car Parts
Were two whales found dead in Germany in January of 2019 or 2018 and were their stomachs discovered to be "full of plastic and car parts"? No, not exactly: a... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Gypsies DID NOT Install Their Caravans On The Champs-Élysées In Paris For Gilets Jaunes Protests
Did several gypsy clans show up in Paris and did they install their caravans on the Champs-Élysées to participate in the Gilets Jaunes protests after ex-boxer Christophe Dettinger was arrested... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: French Riot Police Did NOT Loot A Store During #GiletsJaunes Protest
Did French riot police officers loot a store during recent "Gillets Jaunes" protests in France? No, that's not true. The confusion was caused by a viral tweet from a user... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Netflix Did NOT Announce French Version of Suicide Squad
Did Netflix announce a French version of the "Suicide Squad" movie? No, that's not true: the rumor was started by a Belgian satire website mocking the French government. It is... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
» Hoax Alert
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Fake News: Prince Andrew NOT Put On Suicide Watch
Was Britain's Prince Andrew put on suicide watch to protect the reputation of the Royal Family? No, that's not true: the story was put out by a satirical website but... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Posting An Instagram Picture With Legal Gibberish DOES NOT Modify Your Agreement With Instagram In Any Way
Do you need to post a status update with some legal gibberish on your Instagram feed to prevent the Facebook (the company that owns Instagram) from using your pictures, information,... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Trump Did NOT File Lawsuit To Deport George Soros
Did President Trump file a lawsuit to have George Soros deported from the country? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Number Of People Killed By Illegal Immigrants In 2018 Does NOT Equal 83,211
Were 194 people killed in mass shootings in the United States in 2018, while the number of those killed by illegal immigrants was 83,211? No, that's not true: Both numbers... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
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Fake News: NO 22 Tons of Pig Meat Sold As Halal to Muslims in China
Were Muslims in China sold 22 tons of pig meat as halal? No, that's not true: a story to that effect is actually a mixture of two different events that... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Obama And HR4310 Did NOT Make It Legal For The Media To Lie To The American People (It Always Was...)
Did Barack Obama quietly sign into law HR 4310 in 2012 that made it legal for the media to purposely lie to the American people? No, that's not true: HR... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
» Politics
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Fake News: Obama And HR4310 Did NOT Make It Legal For The Media To Lie To The American People (It Always Was...)
Did Barack Obama quietly sign into law HR 4310 in 2012 that made it legal for the media to purposely lie to the American people? No, that's not true: HR... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
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Fake News: Chief Justice John Roberts Did NOT Fly With Jeffrey Epstein On At Least Two Occasions
Did Chief Justice John Roberts fly with Jeffrey Epstein on at least two occasions? No, that's not true: The August 2019 release of 2,000 pages of documents relating to a... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
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Fake News: Keanu Reeves (or Russell Crowe) Did NOT Say "For Me Trump Is The Symbol Of A Successful Man And A Role Model For Every Young American"
Did actors Russell Crowe or Keanu Reeves say "For me, Trump is the symbol of a successful man and a role model for every young American, something that our nation... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Donald Trump Did NOT Say "If The U.S. Converts To Wind Power, We'll Run Out Of Wind"
Did President Donald Trump say "If The U.S. Converts To Wind Power, We'll Run Out Of Wind" during a speech at a Pennsylvania rally? No, that's not true: a short... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Mitch McConnell Campaign Did NOT Say 'Boys Will Be Boys' After Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Blasts Disturbing Groping Pic
Did Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign say "boys will be boys" in its reply to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's criticism of a tweeted photo of teen volunteers groping a life-size... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
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Fake News: Kamala Harris Did NOT Say 'After We Impeach, We Round Up The Trump Supporters'
Did Kamala Harris threaten to round up Trump supporters and did she hint she would put them in prison camps after President Trump was impeached? No, that's not true. The... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
» Entertainment
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Fake News: Keanu Reeves (or Russell Crowe) Did NOT Say "For Me Trump Is The Symbol Of A Successful Man And A Role Model For Every Young American"
Did actors Russell Crowe or Keanu Reeves say "For me, Trump is the symbol of a successful man and a role model for every young American, something that our nation... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Michael Jordan Did NOT Rip Up His Democrat Party Card
Did Michael Jordan rip up his Democrat Party Card, saying 'I Just Can't Do It Anymore'? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Lil Nas X Did NOT Get Dropped From Wrangler Endorsement After Coming Out The Closet
Did rapper Lil Nas X get dropped from his Wrangler endorsement after coming out of the closet? No, that's not true: the story was published by a site that makes... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Michael Jackson's Body NOT Cremated & NOT Made Into Necklaces
Was Michael Jackson's cremated body made into necklaces for his children? No, that's not true: The pop icon was embalmed, not cremated, at Forest Lawn Hollywood Cemetery, and later interred... [Read the full story]- by: Alan Duke
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Fake News: David Lynch Did NOT Say Trump Is Destroying The 'New World Order'
Did David Lynch say President Trump is destroying the 'New World Order' or that President Trump will go down in history for destroying it? No, that's not true: a story... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk
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Fake News: Actor Kevin Chamberlin Did NOT Pass Away Due To Cardiac Arrest
Did actor Kevin Chamberlin pass away following a cardiac arrest? No, that's not true: rumors of his death are circulating on social media but he took to twitter himself to... [Read the full story]- by: Maarten Schenk