False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. Here are our most read fact checks of the past year, reflecting our reader's interest in finding out the truth about various viral stories. If you see something suspicious in 2026, do let us know via [email protected] so we can investigate it for you!
10. Fact Check: 'Bubba' Reference In Mark Epstein Email To Brother Jeffrey Epstein Was Not About Trump And A Horse -- Spokesperson Confirmed
Was Mark Epstein referring to a horse named "Bubba" in an email to his brother Jeffrey Epstein when he wrote "Ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba"? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Mark Epstein told Lead Stories in a phone call the 2018 message was not about a horse. The claim that it was a horse spread across social platforms soon after Mark Epstein gave a statement to Lead Stories ruling out viral claims that "Bubba" was a reference to former President Bill Clinton. Epstein also said it was a "humorous private exchange between two brothers."
9. Fact Check: Many Of 274 FBI Agents Noted In Internal Report Were Responding To January 6 Capitol Riot -- Report Says They Were Not 'Undercover' Or 'Embedded' In Crowd
Did the FBI have 274 plainclothes agents undercover and embedded in January 6 crowds at the US Capitol? No, that's not true: Many of 274 FBI agents documented in a report were part of the law enforcement response after the crowd stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The agents were not undercover nor were they embedded in the crowd. The article making the claim appears to be referencing a report showing FBI agents were responding to the crowds at the Capitol and reports of explosives being found, not that they were in the crowd before the riots began. The words "plainclothes" and "undercover" do not appear in the report.
8. Fact Check:Trump Did NOT Say He Talked To 'The President of Puerto Rico'
Did Donald Trump once say he had talked to the "President of Puerto Rico", as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no public record of Trump ever saying that. He did, in 2017, say he had talked to the "President of the Virgin Islands," a gaffe which his staff at that time cleared up in an official transcript, changing "President" to "Governor".
7. Fact Check: President Trump Did NOT Mistake 'Transgenic' For 'Transgender' While Talking About Mice Before Congress
Did President Donald Trump confuse research on transgenic mice with research involving "making mice transgender," when addressing Congress, as some social media users suggested? No, that's not true: On March 5, 2025, the White House issued a press release outlining the research the President was referring to. The listed studies were about the effects of certain medical interventions on mice that were used as lab analogs for transgender humans and only one of them mentioned "transgenic mice" in its abstract.
6. Fact Check: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo Did NOT Say They Are In 'Non-Demi-Curious Semi-Binary' Relationship
Did Ariana Grande or Cynthia Erivo say they are in a "non-demi-curious semi-binary" relationship? No, that's not true: The viral rumor originated from a page that described itself as satire. In part, the disclaimer said that it's where "truth goes to die".
5. Fact Check: Maddow, Colbert And Kimmel Did NOT Launch 'The Independent Desk' Newsroom Together -- Story Contains False Details
Did Rachel Maddow, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel just team up and launch a newsroom named "The Independent Desk"? No, that's not true: The story appeared on a recently launched website that does not list owners or publishers and it just adds Jimmy Kimmel to an older false story about Maddow and Colbert. The new story also contains verifiably untrue details about a non-existing pair of viral hashtags and a social media reaction.
4. Fact Check: Woman With Passport From Nonexistent Country 'Torenza' Did NOT Arrive At JFK
Did a woman arrive from Tokyo, Japan, at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City with a passport of a nonexistent country named "Torenza", as viral videos and text posts claim? No, that's not true: The viral videos reused old footage. It came from a TV show about airline workers that aired on cable in the U.S. in the mid-2000s. The viral videos incorporated AI generated narration and were likely produced by AI editing software.
3. Fact Check: 'The Shooting Of Charlie Kirk' Book Was NOT Published On Amazon By 'Anastasia J. Casey' Day Before Kirk Shooting
Was "The Shooting Of Charlie Kirk" book published by "Anastasia J. Casey" the day before Kirk was shot and killed in Utah? No, that's not true: An Amazon spokesperson told Lead Stories the title was published in the late afternoon on September 10, 2025, and the date of September 9, 2025, that appeared on the website for the book was a technical issue. An AI text detector concluded that it was 92.8 percent likely the book description was written by artificial intelligence.
2. Fact Check: Charlie Kirk Quote About "Brain Processing Power" Slammed Four Specific Black Women -- Read Full Quote
Did the late Charlie Kirk say "Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously" as social media posts claim? No, that's not a precise quote: Attacking affirmative action, Kirk slammed by name four prominent liberal Black women . On his podcast, he specifically criticized Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, TV host Joy Reid, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and attorney and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
1. Fact Check: No Evidence Erika Kirk's 'Romanian Angels' Evangelical Ministry Was Accused Of Trafficking Children Or Banned From Romania
Is there any evidence that Charlie Kirk's widow Erika Kirk's "Romanian Angels" or "Everyday Heroes like You" ministries were accused of "snatching children only to send them straight into sex and organ trafficking networks in the United Kingdom and Israel? No, that's not true: A review of Romanian court records and media reports by Lead Stories' Romanian staff found only positive mentions of the charities' work. The charity promoted a campaign for Americans to "adopt" an orphan by sending them Christmas gifts to be delivered by U.S. military personnel stationed in Romania. It was not involved in international adoptions.
