&Quot;Denzel Washington&Quot;

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…

Did actor Denzel Washington refuse to play the role of a "secretly gay" character in a Disney superhero movie? No, that's not true: A satirical website originally published the article that makes this claim. The story (archived here) was published by the Dunning-Kruger Times under the headline: Denzel Washington Refuses To Work for Disney's 'Woke Cinematic Universe' The article continued:…

Does a trending video show a man addressing his son before giving the child "his own heart"? No, that's not true: The video is a piece of acting that recreates a monologue from the 2002 American drama "John Q." The claim appeared in a video on Facebook on December 4, 2022. : Father gives his own heart to sick Son…

The celebrity death hoax has long been a clickbait staple, but recently one network has taken it to extremes, using scores of websites to host its content and an automated army of bots to push the links into Facebook groups. Many Facebook users and group administrators have noticed a sharp increase in spam postings of false death hoaxes. Examples of…