Does a photo show basketball star LeBron James kissing an unidentified man in Paris? No, that's not true: A reverse image search showed that the men in the photo are a couple who go by the screen name "TeeAndDrew." An online news search for any credible evidence that the event described in the post actually happened came up empty. The…
Did Mike Tyson announce he wants to box against "Olympic Dude," a derogatory reference to female boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria's team? No, that's not true: Tyson's representative told Lead Stories: "This is absolutely false." Lead Stories could find no news reports about Tyson making such a statement. Social media posts about the announcement offered no evidence that Tyson ever…
Did Olympian Simone Biles reveal that she's pregnant and announce she will retire when she finishes competing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, as a Facebook post said? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, Lead Stories did not find any evidence on her social media nor on credible sports news sites that Biles made such an announcement.…
Did Irish professional boxer Kellie Harrington say she would refuse to compete against "biological males" at the Paris 2024 Olympics? No, that's not true: The Olympic Federation of Ireland told Lead Stories on August 2, 2024, that Harrington "does not recollect a conversation about this," and that there is no record of Harrington making any such statement. Lead Stories also…
Does a video circulating on social media show thousands of Christians in France gathered to pray after the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony purportedly mocked Jesus? No, that's not true: The video shows people gathered in Rosary Square in Lourdes, France, on August 14, 2022 -- the eve of the annual Feast of the Assumption. This video does not show…
Did massive power outages occur in Paris on July 27, 2024, the day after the Olympics opening ceremony? No, that's not true: The energy company responsible for the power outages said power was restored within 10 minutes and that 85,000 residential clients were affected, while the Paris metropolitan area has a population of 11 million. The power cuts were not…
Does a picture going viral on social media show Israeli swimmers making the phrase "Bring them home now" with their bodies during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics? No, that's not true: The photo was taken in 2023 and posted to social media at that time. Also, it was taken at a pool in Israel, more than 2,600 miles from the…
Is Nikki Hiltz a biological man as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: Hiltz was assigned female at birth. Hiltz has openly identified as transgender and nonbinary, opting for they/them gender pronouns, since 2021. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 2, 2024. Above an image of Hiltz…
Has Lia Thomas, the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA swimming championship Division I title, been exclusively banned from competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, as a post on Facebook implied? No, that's not true: The International Olympic Committee outlined a framework for all transgender and intersex athletes. However, national committees oversee athletic participation in their respective…
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