Was an American soldier holding a "China flag" when President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California unusual or a breach of protocol as implied by a tweet from Graham Allen? No, that's not true: A State Department spokesperson told Lead Stories that anytime a foreign leader is hosted in the United States, a member of the…
Did the United Arab Emirates (UAE) send eight planes to Israel, carrying military aid and equipment in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel? No, that's not true: There's no proof to support that assertion. Additionally, the UAE has condemned Israeli ground operations in Gaza and also denied reports of the U.S. military using an Emirati…
Does a map published on social media claiming to show U.S. military bases around Iran accurately portray America's military presence there? No, that's not true: The map overestimates the number of U.S. bases in the region. U.S. Central Command, which has command authority over U.S. forces in the Middle East and West/Central Asia, and military experts contacted by Lead Stories…
Did vaccines kill millions during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918? No, that's not true: According to medical research and medical experts, the pandemic, which killed at least 50 million people worldwide, was caused by an influenza A (H1N1) virus. A social media post offered no evidence to support its claim, which is contradicted by the body of medical research…
Are written assertions that "American Troops do not want to die for Israel," and that the U.S. military in the region "does not have enough assets to support Israel" taken from an authentic leaked U.S. military officer's internal memo? No, that's not true: The purported email being cited and quoted on social media is fake. A press release from the…
Does a well-known video of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, now on social media, show an inflatable prop rather than a real military plane? No, that's not true: There's no credible evidence to suggest that the scores of people in the clip were running alongside and hanging onto a blow-up version of the massive cargo jet. Additionally, in…
Does a video show planes that belong to the U.S. military carrying heavy equipment to Israel amid the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict? No, that's not true: The video on X used in the claim uses a clip that predates the conflict. The U.S. sent military equipment to Israel after the beginning of the conflict but that's not in the video. The…
Does a viral clip show Pakistan sending its F-16 fighter jets to Palestine in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel? No, that's not true: The footage predates the conflict and shows an exercise in Turkey. It was posted on social media in May 2023, months before the invasion. No credible sources have reported Pakistan sending…
Did the U.S. Army arrest U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen for committing treason? No, that's not true: The website where this claim was made has a disclaimer that states it publishes satirical content. The U.S. military is currently not authorized by Congress to arrest civilians. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on September…
Did the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) reveal in August 2023 that the wildfires in Hawaii were caused by a "weather weapon" developed by the U.S. government? No, that's not true: The claim is part of a Chinese disinformation campaign. Additionally, there is no credible information or evidence to suggest that the wildfires in Hawaii were caused by such a…
Lead Stories is a U.S. based fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or
inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
Spotted something? Let us know!.
@leadstories
