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Did Cher, Patrick Mahomes, Bono and other celebrities pull business deals with Amazon over founder Jeff Bezos' "quiet alignment with Trump," sending messages to Bezos that all began "Wake up, Jeff"? No, that's not true: The posts tell nearly identical stories featuring those and dozens of other famous names all quitting Amazon. The clickbait fictions were published by a network…

Did Patti Labelle, Novak Djokovic, Cardi B, James Hetfield, Morgan Wallen or a long list of other celebrities just open "America's first 100% free homeless hospital" because they wanted to leave a legacy behind? No, that's not true: Viral posts on Facebook were the latest variations of the same made-up story being spread by foreign clickbait accounts mostly run from…

Did Donald Trump endorse a "$6,400 bonus" scheme before Christmas 2023? No, that's not true: Lead Stories could not find any evidence that the former president ever made any of the comments in a video making the claim, and it appears to be an AI-generated voice making the statements. There is no such federal program at the time of writing.…

Did former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama appear in a video promotion for a federal program giving out monthly $5,600 health spending cards to spend on bills, gas, groceries or "anything else you can think of"? No, that's not true: A video of Michelle Obama taken from a BBC interview has been altered with a fake voiceover that sounds like…

Does a video on Facebook show singer Cardi B. endorsing a "health spending card" from the U.S. government? No, that's not true: The footage of music artist Belcalis Almanzar-Cephus comes from a video in which she promoted a "holiday drink" she had made; not a health spending card. The U.S. government has denounced as scams any "spending cards" supposedly issued…

Were New Yorkers advised to pack "go bags" because there is an immediate threat from "Project Blue Beam"? No, that's not true: While city emergency managers have recommended residents create this type of emergency kit, it's not associated with any imminent or specific concern or threat. The claim appears in an August 15, 2022, Instagram video on the "unanswered_universe" account…

Did conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweet that liberals "make up anatomical parts like the 'clitoris'"? No, that's not true. A counterfeit Shapiro tweet that claims he doesn't believe part of the female anatomy is part of a series of satirical posts trolling him. The claim appeared as a post (archived here) where it was published on Facebook on November 1,…

Did conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweet "next Joe Biden is gonna tell me how long my pubes have to be"? No, that's not true. A tweet allegedly by Shapiro that claimed he "doesn't have any pubes yet" is a fake satirical message. The claim appeared as an Instagram post on October 19, 2021. It opens: Next Joe Biden is gonna…

Did conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweet that his wife sleeps in her own bedroom in a Columbus Day message? No, that's not true: A tweet allegedly by Shapiro that claimed his daughter "went into my wife's bedroom," is a fake satirical message. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) on October 14, 2021. It opens: My daughter woke…

Did Kamala Harris say that when she was in college she listened to Snoop and Tupac, although their music was not released until six years after she graduated? No, that's not true: Sen. Harris did tell a radio show host that she listened to Snoop and Tupac when she got high on marijuana, but she did not specifically say it…