The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook on March 14, 2024. The post included three images of Obama. The caption read:
Big Mike is in the house
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 17:34:46 2024 UTC)
Lead Stories has already debunked the claim that the image of Obama in a green dress with a bulge is real. We performed multiple reverse image searches from Google and Yandex to find the origin of the other two images.
The original image of Obama in the purple dress was taken on April 24, 2013, by AFP photographer Jewel Samad. The caption of the image as it appears on Getty Images reads:
US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on April 24, 2013 to leave for Dallas, Texas. Obama was heading to Dallas, Texas to attend a Democratic National Committee event later in the day. He will also attend a memorial service in Waco on Thursday for the victims of the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)
A screenshot of the original image is below:
(Source: Getty Images screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 16:48:17 2024 UTC)
Clearly, the bulge is not in the original image: according to a reverse image search through TinEye (archived here), it looks like the bulge was added by 2015.
The original image of Obama wearing a headscarf (archived here) was taken on November 10, 2010, by Reuters photographer Jason Reed. The caption of the image as it appears on Reuters Pictures reads:
U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama tour the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta November 10, 2010. With them is their guide, Grand Imam Ali Mustafa Yaqub (C). REUTERS/Jason Reed (INDONESIA - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION)
A screenshot of the original image is below:
(Source: Reuters Pictures screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 16:58:48 2024 UTC)
The original image was taken from a distance, and the version of the image included in the post made on Facebook is much closer, seemingly to highlight Obama's body. While the zoomed-in version does not appear to add a fake bulge, its inclusion in the set of images in the post made on Facebook and the placement of her hand implies that the folds in Obama's light green suit are some sort of bulge, which obviously is not true.
Other Lead Stories fact checks related to Michelle Obama can be found here.
]]>The claim originated in an article published by LifeSiteNews on March 8, 2024, (archived here) and titled, "Electric cars pollute 1,850 times more than fuel-based vehicles, study finds." It opened:
The 2022 U.K.-based Emissions Analytics study found that after driving both a gas and electric car 1,000 miles, the number of particles collected from the EV was vastly greater than the gasoline-powered car.
(LifeSiteNews) -- A 2022 study found that electric vehicles (EVs) which left-leaning governments in Canada, the United States, and elsewhere are pushing on the population, pollute at a rate far higher than their gasoline or diesel-powered counterparts.
The 2022 study from the U.K.-based Emissions Analytics group found that during a 1,000 mile journey, EVs release 1,850 times more pollutants into the surrounding environment than gas-powered vehicles, due to the heavier weight which eats through tires.
Below is how the post appeared at the time of the publication of this fact check:
(Source: LifeSiteNews screenshot taken Thurs March 14 14:18:00 UTC 2024)
The "study" linked in the article led to an analysis, published by Emission Analytics on May 10, 2022, that is titled, "Gaining traction, losing tread Pollution from tire wear now 1,850 times worse than exhaust emissions" (archived here). Emission Analytics is a UK-based research institution that describes (archived here) itself as "the leading independent global testing and data specialist for the scientific measurement of real-world emissions."
Nick Molden, founder and CEO of Emission Analytics (archived here), told Lead Stories in a phone interview on March 18, 2024, that the findings of his paper were misrepresented by some online news publications.
As part of their analysis, Emissions Analytics compared "real-world tailpipe particulate mass emissions to tire wear emissions, both in 'normal' driving" and found that "the latter is actually around 1,850 times greater than the former."
In other words, tire wear emissions under normal driving conditions are 1,850 times greater than tailpipe particulate mass emissions, one form of pollutants that Molden described as tiny, invisible particles that don't represent all emissions expelled from the tailpipes of fuel-powered vehicles.
The analysis did not compare fuel to electric vehicles, as the articles on LifeSiteNews claimed.
"It's wrong to infer that we're saying there's nothing else coming out of a tailpipe. There is a large amount of C02 [carbon dioxide], and that's why electric vehicles are a very good way of reducing C02 [but] they do have problem with tire particle [emissions]," Molden told Lead Stories. "EVs [electric vehicles] reduce C02 by about 50 percent but tend to increase particles by about 25 percent."
Like-for-like, EVs tend to weigh around 800 pounds more than internal combustion or fuel-powered vehicles, according to Molden. EVs also impart a huge force that allows them to accelerate much quicker.
As part of their research, Molden said his company tested dozens of vehicles under real-world driving conditions. Emissions Analytics also noted that these figures require "careful interpretation." Its article noted that:
The fundamental trends that drive this ratio are: tailpipe particulate emissions are much lower on new cars, and tire wear emissions increase with vehicle mass and aggressiveness of driving style. Tailpipe emissions are falling over time, as exhaust filters become more efficient and with the prospect of extending the measurement of particulates under the potential future Euro 7 regulation, while tire wear emissions are rising as vehicles become heavier and added power and torque is placed at the driver's disposal. On current trends, the ratio may well continue to increase.
The research builds on a 2020 analysis (archived here) that determined tire particulate wear emissions were 1,000 times worse than exhaust emissions under certain conditions and with specific vehicles. These findings are not necessarily representative of standard cars driven around the world nor under the various circumstances for which they are used.
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims related to electric vehicles can be found here.
]]>A video (archived here) published on C-SPAN by the Trump Presidential Campaign on March 16, 2024, under the title "The 100% tariff will be the least of it?" carried a caption saying:
The USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement] created a new incentive to build cars and trucks in Mexico. It requires 75% of a vehicle's parts to be made in one of the three countries in order to remain free from tariffs when moving between the three signatory countries.
This is what the post looked like on C-SPAN at the time of writing:
(Source: C-SPAN screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 15:18:59 2024 UTC)
Trump used the word "bloodbath" during comments on what he said were threats to the U.S. auto industry, especially from China via way of Mexico. The Republican presidential candidate said it twice, starting about 1:40 into the clip:
Now if I don't get elected it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole -- that's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country.
Here's how the candidate's words appeared in the context of that section of the speech (original quote emphasized below):
Mexico has taken, over a period of 30 years, 34 percent of the automobile manufacturing business in our country. Think of it; went to Mexico.
China now is building a couple of massive plants, where they're going to build the cars in Mexico, and think, they think that they're going to sell those cars into the United States with no tax at the border.
Let me tell you something to China. If you're listening, President Xi [Jinping], and you and I are friends, but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you're building in Mexico right now and you think you're going to get that you're going to not hire Americans and you're going to sell the cars to us?
No, we're going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not going to be able to sell those cars -- if I get elected. Now if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole -- that's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country. That'll be the least of it. But they're not going to sell those cars. They're building massive factories.
The entire 95-minute speech (archived here) is available on the C-SPAN website.
Merriam-Webster defines a bloodbath as:
(Source: Merriam-Webster screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 21:29:28 2024 UTC)
After three days of questions surrounding the intent of his "bloodbath" comments following the speech, Trump published (archived here) a post on March 18, 2024, to his social media platform, Truth Social, restating his position. He said:
The Fake News Media, and their Democrat Partners in the destruction of our Nation, pretended to be shocked at my use of the word BLOODBATH, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to imports allowed by Crooked Joe Biden, which are killing the automobile industry. The United Auto Workers, but not their leadership, fully understand what I mean. With the Electric Car Mandate being pushed by Biden, there soon won't be any cars made in the USA - UNLESS I'M ELECTED PRESIDENT, IN WHICH CASE AUTO MANUFACTURING WILL THRIVE LIKE NEVER BEFORE!!! MAGA2024
This is what the post looked like on Truth Social at the time of writing:
(Source: Truth Social screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 21:06:46 2024 UTC)
Other Lead Stories fact checks related to Trump can be found here.
]]>The edited video appeared in a post on X (archived here) where it was published by @AreMond2 on March 17, 2024 with the caption:
There's nothing on MTG'S sign about Cars.
Should MTG be charged with inciting violence?
This is what the post looked like on Twitter at the time of writing:
(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 14:41:08 2024 UTC)
This video is not authentic, and the original copy dates back to February 24, 2024, before Trump's March 16, 2024, comment at an Ohio rally that "It's going to be a bloodbath" if he does not get elected (at 0:47 seconds in this video). In a March 18, 2024, post (archived here) on Truth Social, Trump maintains that his "bloodbath" remark was made in the context of talking about his prediction of economic disaster for the automobile industry.
In the edited version of the video (pictured above), the sign purportedly held by Greene reads, "Honk if you want a bloodbath." A '@Tarquin_Helmet' watermark appears in the lower right corner of this video. This edited video was first shared on X (archived here) on March 17, 2024, by @Tarquin_Helmet. In the comments under the posting, the account holder was asked if the video was edited and they confirmed it was.
At least seven different edits have been done to the signs to make new versions of the video. In one example below (archived here), posted on March 11, 2024, the sign reads, "Honk if it's his jail time." Four additional versions are archived here as thumbnails featured in advanced search results of the @Tarquin_Helmet account on X, and another video featuring an edit to the white sign was posted on Instagram (archived here).
(Image source: Twitter screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 14:46:55 2024 UTC)
On February 24, 2024 Greene was in Columbia, South Carolina, to show her support for Trump in the GOP primary. She posted videos of herself (here and here) on X -- waving to passing cars and holding a white "Trump 2024" sign and alternately, another sign with the blue background and the "Trump Make American Great Again" slogan on a wooden stick. Her posts (pictured below) were captioned:
SOUTH CAROLINA IS TRUMP COUNTRY! #MAGA 🇺🇸
http://SC.DonaldJTrump.comand
South Carolina is ready for four more years of President Trump! #MAGA 🇺🇸
(Image source: Lead Stories composite image with Twitter screenshots taken on Mon Mar 18 18:01:33 2024 UTC)
Additional Lead Stories fact checks pertaining to the 2024 elections can be found here.
]]>The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) where it was published on March 9, 2024. The caption read:
Sasha and Malia with their real parents (they aren't Barry and Big Mike's children)
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 14:10:54 2024 UTC)
The post does not say where this image was obtained or the identities of the two older people. Searching for "Malia Obama AND Sasha Obama AND real parents" (archived here) on an online news index yields numerous results -- about Malia and Sasha with their real parents, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, and fact-checking debunks of other baseless claims involving the Obamas.
A reverse image search (archived here) of the Facebook post found the original image of Sasha and Malia Obama standing next to Barack and Michelle Obama.
A reverse image search (archived here) of the couple in between Malia and Sasha showed this was Anita Blanchard (archived here) and Martin Nesbitt (archived here), a married couple from Chicago. Blanchard, a now-retired doctor, and Nesbitt, a co-founder and co-CEO of the private equity firm The Vistria Group, are close friends of the Obamas (archived here). The original image of the couple can be found here.
Lead Stories reached out to the Obama Foundation and will update this article when a relevant response is received.
Lead Stories has debunked a previous Blanchard and Nesbitt/Obama claim here.
More Lead Stories claims debunking Obama claims are here.
]]>The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X, formerly known as Twitter, on March 17, 2024. It opened:
BREAKING: Reports that the Union Flag is flying at half-mast at some Government Buildings across the United Kingdom tonight amid reports the BBC is on standby for an "imminent announcement" from the Royal Family. #RoyalFamily #BBCNews #KingCharles #KateMiddleton #PrinceWilliam
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 16:34:13 2024 UTC)
The image went viral amid a wave of online rumors about King Charles' health (archived here) on Saint Patrick's Day.
One of the accounts (archived here) that pushed the claim on X used the handle: "BBC ROYAL FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT 𝕏." The account has no official tie to the BBC or the royal family.
What its post presented as a sign of the purported soon-to-be-made "imminent announcement" was an old photo.
A reverse image search shows that the image was initially published (archived here) in 2022 by the Anadolu Agency, a Turkish state-run news agency. It illustrated a story about Queen Elizabeth's death. Contrary to the claim, the photo wasn't even taken in the UK:
(Source: Anadolu Agency screenshot taken on Mon Mar 18 14:56:19 2024 UTC; the content of the page was automatically translated to English by Chrome)
As seen in images of the British Consulate General in Istanbul published on Google Maps (archived here), the building's roof has a distinctive edge that matches the one seen in the photo in question.
No English-language news outlets (archived here) reported that the national flag flown at this location was lowered in March 2024.
Other Lead Stories fact checks discussing international topics can be found here.
]]>The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) on March 14, 2024. Above a composite image of Garth Brooks and the Statue of Liberty, the caption read:
Garth Brooks Announces Plans to Permanently Leave The U.S., 'No Respect For Me Here'
Below the images, the text in the post added:
Garth Brooks Announces Plans to Permanently Leave The U.S., 'No Respect For Me Here'
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 22:58:36 2024 UTC)
This post is on the Facebook account of the Patriots Network. The account's intro (archived here) states:
The Patriots Network is a Network of Satire and Parody affiliated with SpacexMania.com
The link in the comment section of the Facebook post led to a March 14, 2024, article on spacexmania.com (archived here) titled, " Breaking: Garth Brooks Announces Plans to Permanently Leave The U.S, 'No Respect For Me Here.'" This article is listed under the satire category on thespacexmania.com.
A disclaimer on this website under About Satire reads:
Please note that the article under the category 'SATIRE' are satirical in nature and are not meant to be taken seriously. These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up. We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate.
A Google search (archived here) using the keywords "Garth Brooks" AND "To Permanently Leave," AND "U.S." AND "No Respect For Me Here" produced no results to substantiate the claim on Facebook.
Brooks announced in 2023 that he will begin a new Las Vegas concert residency (archived here) with "18 new dates in 2024" that will take place at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The related Caesars Palace press release (archived here) remains on the facility's website.
Lead Stories contacted Brooks' public relations representatives about the claim that he is "permanently" leaving the U.S., and will update this article if a response is received.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks that mention Garth Brooks can be read here. Other Lead Stories fact checks that mention SpaceXMania are here.
]]>The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram by the_wandering_sufis.1 on March 14, 2024. The post's on-screen title said:
WE WILL NOT FORGET ABOUT HERO MONICA PETERSEN WHO WAS 'SUICIDED' WHILE IN HAITI INVESTIGATING THE CLINTONS FOR CHILD TRAFFICKING. MORE DETAILS IN THE COMMENTS.
This is what the post looked like on Instagram at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 17:45:28 2024 UTC)
The post on Instagram directs readers to the comments section for additional details. This is what it says:
Monica Petersen died in November of 2016 while doing research on child trafficking in Haiti.
'Her death has been reported as a suicide, but her Mother says she does not believe that.'
'At Monica's memorial her teacher, Professor Claude d'Estrée made the following statement: '(She) decided to take on one of the demagogues in the field of human trafficking. Produced a 110-page analysis of human trafficking in Haiti - 2 years of research. We were looking for someone who was smart enough and maybe brave enough to publish her work. We will continue to seek out and publish it for her. We are in a state of shock. We may never know what exactly happened to her.'
... Source article with further details below
Monica Petersen 'Suicided' After Exposing Clinton Human Trafficking
The professor supposedly quoted in the article above, Claude d'Estrée, a professor of international law and human rights and founder of the University of Denver's Human Trafficking Center (HTC), where Petersen worked, told Lead Stories in a March 15, 2024, email that the reporting is not true. He said:
Monica was a dear friend and colleague and sadly died by suicide. She was not investigating human trafficking in Haiti nor the Clintons. The [Instagram post] from wandering-sufis-1 is inaccurate and not what I said at her memorial.
Please let Monica rest in peace and leave those of us who knew and loved her alone with our memories of her.
Petersen's obituary (archived here) says she received her master's degree from the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. After graduating, she worked at the HTC as a research fellow and the assistant to the director, who at the time was d'Estrée. The HTC page on Facebook (archived here) announced her death on November 13, 2016:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 22:07:54 2024 UTC)
In addition to d'Estrée's email to Lead Stories, Petersen's obituary from November 2016 states her reasons for being in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, at that time:
After leaving her position at the Korbel School this past June, she moved to Haiti in September to teach and set up an NGO (non-governmental organization). At the time of her death she was teaching Social Sciences at the Union School in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims about child trafficking and of claims related to the Clintons can be found here and here.
]]>The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, on March 11, 2024. It said:
More footage of Haitian cannibalism. This time a group of Haitians boiling a whole human b0dy. Now u understand why Dominicans wants to keep their border closed.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of the writing of this fact check:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 17:12:23 2024 UTC)
The 10-second, low-quality video attached to the post showed a man squatting in front of what seemed to be a cauldron with blurred contents that look red. An image search led to more explicit keyframes from the same video. In those images, the contents of the pot looked like human body parts.
However, the video is not from 2024.
In 2018, a Nigeria-based man named Onilogbo Hakeem, listed (archived here) as one of two people responsible for special effects makeup in the movie "Omambala,"wrote (archived here) the following about the video with the pot:
For those who think this guy is a cannibal, concerning the video going viral on the internet, we are here to clear the air, and to disclaim the allegation....my name is Hakeem effect a special effects makeup artist from Nigeria, ,,and we are on the set of Omambala!!!!! Pls the bloggers who started all this should try and start another publication to clear the air about the fake cheep advertising you've made few days ago.
Hakeem, known professionally as Hakeem Effect (archived here), identified the man in the red hat from the video with the cauldron as Uche Mbachu. Hakeem added:
...the guy in question is a set and props manager.
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 20:00:03 2024 UTC)
Mbachu's account on Instagram describes (archived here) his occupation in four phrases: "Nollywood props and set. Makeup effect Production Manager Street Interviewer."
France 24 (archived here), the French government-owned TV network, reported in 2018 that the same video with the pot was falsely claimed to show cannibalism in Cameroon.
By all accounts, the footage predates Haiti's mid-March 2024 crisis (archived here) over the resignation of its prime minister, Ariel Henry, and the gang warfare that led up to that decision.
Lead Stories contacted Mbachu and Hakeem for additional comments. When we receive their responses, this story will be updated as appropriate.
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Haiti can be found here.
]]>The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly Twitter, that was published by @AlexNewsweekly on March 13, 2024. The caption on the post reads:
Haitians be cooking people like fried chicken. Cannibalism is real folks.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 14:49:28 2024 UTC)
Armed gangs had taken control of most of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, in March 2024 in a bid to force the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Amid mounting chaos and violence in the country, Henry agreed on March 11, 2024, two days before the claim appeared, to resign once a transitional council was set up.
This video has nothing to do with Haiti, however. As India Today initially reported, its depiction of a cannibalistic scene is part of a spooky village set up at a Chinese theme park for Halloween.
Lead Stories found that a reverse image search with Google Lens for the above screenshot (archived here) led to several results. One linked to a fact check published by the Chilean media outlet fastcheck.cl. The fact check contains links to several additional videos of the Halloween props.
Another Google Lens result linked to a Spanish-language post on X from March 12, 2024, in which a user expressed frustration at the spread of disinformation about Haiti. The post included a screenshot of a now-deleted post on X (archived here). Also included in the screenshot was a community note that was attached to the deleted post. The note says:
The video is from a Halloween party. at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom Theme Park in Zhuhai, China, filmed in October 2018.
It's been circulating ever since as fake accusations of cannibalism to different countries.
The composite image below shows thumbnail images from the Instagram account @galaxychimelong, a travel page for the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom. The images showing some of the features at the park's Halloween event were posted on October 31, 2018.
Among these images is a video of a costumed worker casually turning a bound and naked figure on a spit. It is clear that the figure he is turning does not weigh very much because he is turning the spit with only one hand.
(Source: Lead Stories composite image of Instagram screenshots taken on Fri Mar 15 16:58:44 2024 UTC)
A promotional video was posted on the Facebook page Silly Nano Mag on October 17, 2018. The video ends with details about the dates of the Halloween event.
In the composite image below, the Google Lens translation of the original Chinese can be seen on the right. It reads:
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
Halloween
October 9th - November 4th (except October 15th, 19th and 22nd)
5:00 - 11:00 every night
(Source: Lead Stories composite image with Facebook screenshots taken on Fri Mar 15 15:04:42 2024 UTC)
At the 35-second mark (pictured above), the video shows some park visitors poking the rubbery dummy on the spit. This is followed by another scene of a costumed worker turning the spit. The post's caption, translated by Google, reads:
I watched the joyful Pumpkin Festival the day before yesterday, and today it's time to have an adventure that challenges your courage! The real-life layout of 'Nanyang Gu Village' really scares Sharp Jun to the point of leaving his heart. The smoky banana forest, the 'surprise' protagonists of classic Nanyang ghost stories passing by you one by one, and Ghostly music... [Timid friends, watch the video with caution, there is more at 44 seconds
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims related to Haiti or that mention Haiti can be read here.
]]>The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram on January 24, 2024. The posted video included short clips of Biden and Clinton saying similar phrases. The account holder commented:
All scripts and copied all fake
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 08:33:24 2024 UTC)
The clip of Biden was taken from a speech he gave on January 8, 2024, at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. A copy of his remarks can be read here (archived here) and watched:
He said:
As the gospel song sings, 'We've come too far from where we started/ Nobody told me the road would be easy/ I don't believe he brought me this far to leave me.'
Biden was quoting James Cleveland's gospel song "I Don't Feel Noways Tired." You can read the lyrics of that song here (archived here).
Similarly, Clinton was quoting that song when she told the audience at First Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama, on March 4, 2007:
On this Lord's Day, let us say with one voice the words of James Cleveland's great freedom hymn, 'I don't feel no ways tired/ I come too far from where I started from/ Nobody told me that the road would be easy/ I don't believe he brought me this far to leave me.'
You can watch a clip of her speech here (archived here).
In other words, neither politician was plagiarizing the other. Longer clips from their speeches make clear that both were quoting Cleveland's song.
Previous Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton can be read here and here.
]]>The claim reappeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, on January 2, 2024. It said:
🚨Guy Fieri takes a bold step, telling Whoopi Goldberg 'You're not welcome here' and escorting her out of his restaurant🚨
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 14:35:06 2024 UTC)
However, the story was not an authentic news report grounded in facts.
On January 4, 2024, Goldberg refuted (archived here) the claim in her own words on air:
I've never been kicked out of Guy Fieri's restaurant.
The claim originated from an article (archived here) published on July 17, 2023 (archived here), on a website called SpaceXmania. As of this writing, the piece was marked as "satire" -- unlike many social media posts that shared it in the first three months of 2024:
(Source: SpaceXmania screenshot taken on Fri Mar 15 15:08:31 2024 UTC)
The website's About section (archived here) reads:
Our mission? To bring you the freshest fake news, some sassy analysis, and a good dose of satire, all rolled into one crazy concoction that orbits around Elon Musk and everything that's lighting up the viral/trending charts.
... every single article on our site is about as real as a unicorn sipping on a rainbow smoothie. They're pure fantasy, folks, not a snapshot of reality.
We take pride in being the cool cats who offer you a front-row seat to our Satire/Fantasy News extravaganza.
The disclaimer (archived here) placed next to it continues:
SpaceXMania does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (SpaceXMania), is strictly at your own risk. SpaceXMania will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. ...
Please note that the article under the category 'SATIRE' are satirical in nature and are not meant to be taken seriously. These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up. We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate.
Readers should exercise caution and use their own judgment when reading and interpreting our satirical articles. We take no responsibility for any actions taken based on the content of these articles.
A Google News search (archived here) did not produce any credible reports corroborating the purported feud, but it shows many other fact checks addressing variations of the claim.
Lead Stories previously has debunked other online rumors about Goldberg. Our fact checks of claims about the entertainment industry can be found here.
]]>The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by too.weird_too.rare on November 28, 2020, under the on-screen title "Trump's Tax Plan Vs. Biden's Tax Plan." The post's caption said:
@veganteacher1988 // #foryoupage #fyp #fypシ #biden2020 #bidenharris2020 #biden #saturday #november #tiktokart #politicaltiktok #politics #trump
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Mar 14 14:50:25 2024 UTC)
During the 15-second clip, the narrator laid out their claim, which said:
Wait, so Trump passed a bill in 2017 where people who make under $75,000 will have their taxes raised in 2021 and every two years after that until 2027. While the rich get richer ... and y'all crying about Biden raising taxes for people who make over $400,000?
In emails dated March 15, 2024, Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a tax policy think tank, told Lead Stories that "most households received a tax cut from the 2017 tax law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act." He continued:
If we compare the amount of taxes most households would have paid in 2018 through 2025 (including tax credits that lower taxes like the child tax credit) to taxes actually paid, most households would have paid higher taxes if the 2017 tax law had not passed. ...
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), Congress's official scorekeeper, in calendar year 2023, about 14.3% of those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 saw a tax hike greater than $100. About 70% saw a tax cut of $100 or greater.
For those earning between $20,000 and $30,000, about 9.7% saw a tax hike of $100 or greater and 39.7% saw a tax cut of $100 or greater (The rest seeing a tax change of less than $100 in either direction).
A June 28, 2018, analysis of the TCJA (archived here) by the Tax Foundation included these conclusions in its "key findings" section:
- Lower tax liabilities and higher output will boost taxpayer after-tax income, but the impact will differ over time due to many provisions phasing in or expiring over the next decade. ...
- On a conventional basis, the TCJA would result in an increase in after-tax income for taxpayers in all income groups from 2018 to 2025.
Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, another tax policy think tank, told Lead Stories in a March 15, 2024, phone interview that there's a "kernel of truth" in the social media post's claim about the TCJA, but a "very small" one. While the Tax Policy Center's numbers differ a bit from the Tax Foundation, they tell a similar story.
The analysis by the Tax Policy Center broke taxpayers into these income groups:
Gleckman said the 2017 tax law benefited nearly everyone earning $75,000 or less (emphasis ours):
So in that lowest income group, about 1 percent of taxpayers paid a little more than they would have if the law [TCJA] didn't pass. In a second income group, about 5 percent paid a little more, and in the middle-income group, about 7 percent paid a little more. So, average all that out and you're talking about 3, 4 percent of people in those very low-, low-, and moderate-income groups, paid more in taxes. And those are people with very unusual tax situations. For the most part, say 95 percent of people in those groups, either paid the same or paid less.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims about income taxes can be found here.
]]>A version of the claim appeared in a video shared to Instagram on March 11, 2024 (archive), with a text overlay that stated, "DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DISEASE VS DETOXIFICATION." A caption with the post read:
Real enlightening & powerful convo with @YAHKIAWAKENED -- we took a deep dive into holistic health practices and the impact of embracing natural healing methods
🔗 in bio for full conversation
🎥 @drewyeeez
Below is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken Tue March 14 07:55:43 UTC 2024]
The video above implied that "incurable diseases," such as herpes and diabetes, are actually "curable" because they are symptoms of the lymphatic system detoxifying itself rather than through other mechanisms.
Lead Stories reached out to Dr. William Schaffner (archived here), a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and expert with the Infectious Disease Society of America (archive). He responded in a phone interview on March 14, 2024.
"No medical textbook and no teaching in medical school that you will find will provide such a simplistic concept of disease occurrence" as that in the video because "human biology is vastly more complicated than that," Schaffner said.
Though there are some lymphatic system diseases, not all diseases result from the lymphatic system expelling toxins. The lymphatic system does not "detoxify" the body in the manner described in the video, the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (archive) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (archive) wrote to Lead Stories in an email received on March 14, 2024.
The man in the clip identifies himself online as Yahki Awakened, whose claims Lead Stories has previously fact checked. He runs an online herbal supplements company. On its website, the store touts the claim that the "Body Was Created To Heal & Regenerate Itself."
The interview originally appeared in a video shared to the YouTube channel Sway's Universe on March 7, 2024 (archive). Yahki Awakened made these claims at the 15:37 mark. In the video he stated that "disease is not a disease at all," adding that:
... The creator created our body with a self-healing mechanism called a sewage system which is called the lymphatic system. So anytime you start experiencing any of these discomforts, we run to the doctor because the doctor have taught us that these are symptomologies of diseases but what happened if that's a lie, these are actually symptomologies of detoxification.
A part of the immune system, the lymphatic system is a network of organs, vessels and tissues that the Cleveland Clinic describes (archive) as working "together to move a colorless, watery fluid (lymph) back into your circulatory system."
The NIH, which is invested in lymphatic system research and recently established the first National Commission on Lymphatic Diseases (archive), noted that the lymphatic system operates as a waste-removal (archive) or sewer system (archive).
"It would be more precise to say that, instead of the function of 'expelling toxins' referred to in the video, the lymphatic system's role is 'waste clearance' or 'removal of cellular debris and waste," wrote the NIAID, adding that:
The lymphatic system is composed of lymphoid organs distributed throughout the body and lymphatic vessels that transport interstitial fluid (ISF), antigens, lipids, cholesterol, immune cells, and other materials. The lymphatic system is critical for fluid homeostasis, lipid metabolism and immune defense.
As the heart pumps blood outward, gases and chemicals are exchanged through various body parts. Throughout this process, water, proteins and other substances -- fluid collectively known as lymph -- leak through tiny blood capillaries into the body tissue and are drained by the lymphatic system. Lymph is sent through the lymph nodes, or tiny clusters of immune cells that fight off infections, that act as a "sieve" to clarify the body of substances, particularly infectious agents, so that they don't continue to circulate, according to Schaffner.
The NIAID added that while the lymphatic system clarifies tissues, and dysfunctions in the lymphatic system (archive) have been implicated in many disease manifestations, not all diseases result from the lymphatic system expelling toxins, as the video claimed. The agency continued:
Sneezes and coughs do eliminate excess mucus or remove material collected in the sinuses during an infection. However, these reflex mechanisms are hijacked by the infectious agent to enhance their spread, so they are both 'cleansing actions' and also 'disease' manifestations. It is true that many symptoms of infections are the result of immune activity, and that the actual cause of this activity could be distinct from the symptoms. However, symptoms, manifestations, the body's defenses, and tissue repair processes are all part of the disease state. Infections or autoimmunity are actual diseases, even if some of what a person experiences are 'symptoms.'
There are many ways in which diseases occur in the body, most commonly through genetic causes, environmental sources and infectious agents.
"In a vast oversimplification, [Yahki Awakened] has seized on an 'intoxication theory of illness' that holds all illnesses are due to some sort of toxins or poisons, and if we can just get them out of our system, we would remain healthier, disease-free, or have a much lower occurrence of disease, and we would live longer," Schaffner said.
Genetic predispositions, like those that determine a person's eye or hair color, may also determine what diseases a person will inherit throughout life. These "diseases that run in the family" include conditions like heart disease (archive) or sickle cell disease (archive).
Environmental conditions or external factors may also cause certain diseases. People who smoke cigarettes for long periods are more likely to develop lung diseases or cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (archive).
Contagion or germ theory (archive) explains the contraction of infectious diseases, the NIAID told Lead Stories. A dysfunctioning lymphatic system can exacerbate some of these diseases. Infectious agents can also cause disease when entering the body in various ways, such as when a viral or bacterial pathogen enters the body through a wound or is inhaled or ingested.
Lead Stories has fact checked other claims related to germ theory, which can be read here.
]]>The claim reappeared in an article (archived here) published by Lich News on November 26, 2023, under the title "Lia Thomas Says She's Leaving the US for a 'More Tolerant Country.'" It began:
Former NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas has decided to leave the United States, expressing frustration with the pervasive hostility she encounters. In an interview with Media Matters, she shared her discontent, 'Everyone is just so hateful. They won't stop calling me "he/him."'
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
(Source: Lich News screenshot taken on Thu Mar 14 18:10:11 2024 UTC)
A Google search (archived here) of a direct quote attributed to Thomas in the Lich News article revealed a single result, of a link that leads to a November 26, 2023, Dunning-Kruger Times.com article (archived here) that displays the exact same title and claim in the Lich News article.
A Google search (archived here) for a Media Matters interview where Lia Thomas said, "Everyone is just so hateful. They won't stop calling me 'he/him,'" produced no results that prove that this interview took place.
Lead Stories reached out to Thomas' representatives and will update this fact check if a response is received.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims related to Lia Thomas can be found here.
The Dunning-Kruger Times is a satirical website with an about page (archived here) that has the following disclaimer:
About Us
Dunning-Kruger-Times.com is a subsidiary of the 'America's Last Line of Defense' network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery, or as Snopes called it before they lost their war on satire: Junk News
About Satire
Before you complain and decide satire is synonymous with 'comedy':
sat·ire ˈsaˌtī(ə)r noun: The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, OR ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.
The website is named after the Dunning-Kruger effect, a term from a psychology experiment that describes the phenomenon of being ignorant of one's own ignorance. (That experiment has been disputed by a math professor.)
It is run by self-described liberal troll Christopher Blair.
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