Did Nick Shirley tell Joe Rogan he was going to investigate the "Clinton body bags" list? No, that's not true: The story originated from a network of Facebook pages with satire labels. Shirley, a conservative influencer, has never been a guest on "The Joe Rogan Experience." The claim appeared in an Aug. 16, 2026, post on X account @PetsRescues (archived…
Was a video showing a terrified woman pleading for help as she is tortured in a tank filling with water from the Epstein files or from the movie "The Cell"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence of an association between the video and Jeffrey Epstein, his island or the movie. The video went viral on social media in…
Does a real story report that actor George Clooney expects to be exempt from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's "wealth tax"? No, that's not true: The claim originated on a Facebook page known for posting satirical content. The page carries the disclaimer, "We post only SATIRE stories. Nothing on this page is Real," and describes itself as a source…
Did the official White House X account post a map with the Strait of Hormuz circled, calling it a new U.S. territory? Yes, that's true: The White House did post a screenshot of a message posted by President Donald Trump of a map of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump originally posted the graphic, with a banner that read "NEW…
Recognizing false claims and fake videos shared on social media is a challenge for U.S. voters as the 2026 midterm elections approach. That is why Lead Stories and several other fact-checking organizations active in North America are joining forces in a first-of-its-kind collaboration: a joint newsletter sharing their best election-related work. It features an overview of fact check articles that…
Did Donald Trump refer to the servicemembers deployed at USS Lincoln as "suckers and losers"? No, that's not true: His account on Truth Social didn't show the purported post. Neither an archive of his posts nor credible media reports mentioned the entry in question. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook by a user named "Sharon…
Did the BBC actually publish a news article reporting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture listed the fictional nation Wakanda as a free-trade partner? Yes, but it is not recent: The incident occurred in 2019, which is when the BBC article was released. Additionally, the Wakanda mistake was due to a testing error, not to a genuine belief by the…
Is a video that shows Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saying "the fruit or the color" when asked to spell "orange" authentic? No, that's not true: It is an AI-manipulated video of the congresswoman from a popular meme. The footage is from a 2018 interview she did with Stephen Colbert, where she was not asked to spell "orange." The claim appeared in…
Did "border czar" Tom Homan say that Rama Duwaji, wife of New York City mayor Mamdani, had threatened to have him "disappear" if he came to New York? No, that's not true: The story originated from a network of Facebook pages with satire labels. There were no actual news reports about such a threat. The claim appeared in a post…
Does a real story report that Chelsea Clinton is taking a plea deal from Scotland Yard and getting fined £1.2 million? No, that's not true: The claim originated on a Facebook page known for posting satirical content that carries the disclaimer, "Nothing on this page is real." The image in the original post also bears the same warning label. Lead…
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