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False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. This list reflects reader interest in finding the truth, searching online for answers about suspicious claims they see on their social media feeds or hear their friends repeat. 10. Fact Check:…

Did Cher tell Karoline Leavitt to "sit down, baby girl" after reading out her bio on MSNBC? No, that's not true: The viral story about the singer reacting to a supposed rant from Leavitt about "out-of-touch celebrities who think they can lecture America" originated on a network of websites and Facebook pages run from Vietnam. It contained verifiably false details.…

Were President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama or TV host Jimmy Kimmel silenced after calling Harvard grads "overrated and dumb" when opponents revealed their SAT scores? No, that's not true: There is no public record of Trump, Obama or Kimmel saying it. There is also no record of anyone confronting those men with their SAT scores. Facebook pages administered…

Did Zohran Mamdani, Melania Trump, Sen. John Kennedy or other prominent Americans go live with a 3 a.m. emergency monologue claiming they were under threat for secrets they were about to expose about President Donald Trump or former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden? No, that's not true: Nearly identical stories mentioning those and other names were published by a…

Is Rob Reiner's name on the "Epstein List"? No, that's not true: An image that lists 165 celebrities and politicians, including Reiner, who purportedly visited "Epstein Island" is fake. The actual Epstein flight logs obtained by Lead Stories and the archive of Jeffrey Epstein emails and text messages released by a congressional committee contain no references to Reiner. There is…

Was former first lady Michelle Obama videotaped executing a barbed takedown of Donald Trump on the 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' show in the fall of 2025? No, that's not true: As of November 12, 2025, no such video recording existed. Michelle Obama hadn't been on Kimmel's show for years at that time. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

This is what fact checkers call a "prebunk." A prebunk is like a debunk (another word for fact check), only it's an advance notice of an anticipated false claim. This article is intended to inoculate you from future outbreaks of a specific type of false claims about your favorite entertainment celebrities, sports stars, and politicians. We call this "Viet Spam"…

Did ABC cancel "The View" and replace it with "The Charlie Kirk Show" hosted by the late conservative activist's widow, Erika Kirk, and other people, including Megyn Kelly? No, none of that is true: The show continued to be on air after the beginning of this wave of online rumors. Neither the hosts nor the network made a public announcement…

Did Ozzy Osbourne's widow Sharon publicly announce a "$20 million pledge to the Charlie Kirk Memorial Fund"? No, that's not true: No news media reported it. Sharon Osbourne's account on Instagram didn't discuss it, either. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published on October 13, 2025, by thebeatles.vietut.com. It opened: BREAKING NEWS: Sharon Osbourne Stuns America with a…

Did California Governor Newsom suspend Kid Rock from performing in the Golden State? No, that's not true: A message posted on X.com by the California governor on his official press office account is satirical. It's one in a series Newsom's staff posted in 2025, mocking and parodying President Donald Trump's social media posts. There is no evidence that Kid Rock…