&Quot;Denzel Washington&Quot;

Are social media posts claiming that a long list of celebrities have each said "powerful pro-Israel American billionaires" are working to undermine their careers real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from AI-generated Facebook posts produced by a spam operation managed from Vietnam. Among the false posts…

Did a long list of celebrities all say "He will never leave, we have to make him leave, it's up to us to get rid of him" about President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Actor Robert De Niro was the only celeb who did this, appearing on "The Best People with Nicolle Wallace." False claims that Cher, Pink, Tom…

Did Kevin Costner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jared Goff or any celebrities donate millions of dollars to support the funeral arrangements for four of the six U.S. servicemembers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait? No, that's not true: The false claim that at least 37 sports and entertainment celebs made such donations was created and distributed by a spam factory…

Is there a federal "Born In America" act that would prevent naturalized citizens from elected office being promoted by numerous luminaries including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sen. John Kennedy, Rep. Jim Jordan, FBI Director Kash Patel, and movie star Denzel Washington? No, that's not true: Nearly identical versions of a dramatic story about the purported bill, changed only to…

Did actor Denzel Washington drop out of a $500 million project with Netflix, saying, "The company has gone woke"? No, that's not true: The report first appeared on a satirical website known for publishing made-up content. Washington's public relations representative told Lead Stories that the report is a "complete fabrication." The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly say, "It's God's job to forgive terrorists, my job is to send them to him"? No, that's not true: The attribution, which dates to 2015, was refuted shortly after it was made. Lead Stories could not find any other public figure who said that exact quote. The claim appeared in a post on Instagram…

Did Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg and Sylvester Stallone all resign from the Screen Actors Guild to create a new "no-woke" union focused on traditional values? No, that's not true: Washington's representative told Lead Stories the claim is "not true." It appeared on a social media page that clearly identifies itself as an "entertainment website · satire/parody." The claim appeared in…

Did Hollywood director Mel Gibson and actor Mark Wahlberg "join hands to create a non-woke film production studio," as a post on Instagram claims? No, that's not true: The meme image and caption that make this claim were taken word for word from an article published by a self-described satirical website. None of the website's content is real, according to…

Has actor Denzel Washington said that he "won't go woke" for a new role? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Washington ever publicly said this. This statement appeared on a self-identified satire website. The claim originated in an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times on January 3, 2024, titled "Denzel Washington Has One Rule When He Takes…

Did the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) strip former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas of her NCAA National Championship record and refer her case to the Indiana state attorney for "possible fraud charges"? No, neither of those claims are true: This claim is from a satirical website, The Dunning-Kruger Times. There is no evidence Thomas is being stripped of…