Is it true that there will be no way to opt out of the FEMA and FCC Nationwide Emergency Alert Test on October 4, 2023? No, that's not true: If a person does not want to receive the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) portion of the test, they need only to turn their phone off at approximately 10:20 a.m. Alaska Time…

Did Sweden confirm the loss of all Leopard 2A5 tanks delivered to Ukraine? No, that's not true. The government of Sweden did not confirm the loss of the tanks, the press officer for the Swedish Defence Minister told Lead Stories. A post making the claim gives no evidence nor does it cite any sources in Sweden or elsewhere. The claim…

Did USA Today produce and publish a clip capturing Volodymyr Zelenskyy's bodyguard starting a "drunken brawl" in New York City, and did that incident take place during the Ukrainian president's visit to the United States in September 2023? No, none of that is true: A bar's representative, the NYPD and USA Today refuted the claim. The video doesn't even show…

Did Deion Sanders, head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, bench "one of his best" players for kneeling while the national anthem was playing? No, that's not true: The claim was featured in an article on a satirical website. The site's About Us page says: "Everything on this website is fiction." The claim appeared in an article (archived…

Did Katie Hobbs "mysteriously" step down as governor of Arizona? No, that's not true: Hobbs left the state for one night to attend a meeting in Washington, D.C., her office said. State Treasurer Kimberly Yee announced on social media that she was the acting governor while Hobbs was out of state from September 27, 2023, to September 28, 2023. The…

Did a billboard go up on New York's Fifth Avenue during the summer of 2023, reading "No Zelensky No War"? No, that's not true: This video is fake and has been digitally edited. The original video posted on YouTube in 2021 shows the corner of 57th St. and 5th Ave, in New York, at the Tiffany & Co. jewelry store.…

Is the United States "currently under a military occupancy" as of September 24, 2023, as proven by "bipartisan legislation"? No, that's not true: The claim cites unrelated materials that do not confirm the statement in question. The rumor appears to stem from a debunked QAnon conspiracy theory. The story originated from a video published on Facebook on September 24, 2023,…

Do "measurements" of winds, the Pentagon, and a plane prove that an airplane did not crash into the Pentagon on 9/11? No, that's not true: According to multiple credible and corroborating sources, including videos and photographs of the attack, witness accounts and the 9/11 Commission Report, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, killing all…

Were the updated COVID-19 vaccines only tested on 10 mice before they were given emergency use authorization in September 2023? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told Lead Stories that the revised vaccines have adhered to the stringent scientific criteria of the agency concerning safety, efficacy and manufacturing excellence. Human vaccines typically go through rigorous clinical…

Did the Arizona Senate bring indictments against Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Runbeck Election Services, banks and local police for election fraud and other crimes? No, that's not true: The Arizona Senate is not authorized to issue indictments, the state Senate GOP spokesperson told Lead Stories. The video shown in the social-media post that made the claim…