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Did White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt say that "Trump mistook Greenland for Iceland" because "they share the same border"? No, that's not true: The internet rumor attributing those words to her originated from a satire account. Lead Stories found no credible sources citing the quote in question as Leavitt's actual words. The claim originated from a post (archived here)…

Was Nekima Levy Armstrong visibly crying in anguish in a Department of Homeland Security photo of her arrest by the FBI for her role in a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota? No, that's not true: The photo of Armstrong's arrest posted by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem showed Armstrong's face as composed and expressionless. About one half hour…

Did President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan quietly drive themselves to a Virginia nursing home to serve breakfast to elderly residents on Christmas Day 1983? No, that's not true: This is a completely made-up story that is contradicted by historical records, including President Reagan's personal diary entry for that date. It was published by a Pakistani-based spam factory…

Did an actual news outlet report that an oil executive said Donald Trump "smelled like rotten roast beef" and audibly farted multiple times during a White House meeting with oil industry leaders? No, that's not true: The viral message making those claims originated on a satirical X.com account. There were no actual news reports that any participant in the Jan.…

Did Erika Kirk lose custody of her children, as indicated by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in an interview? No, that's not true: Rep. Luna said in a podcast interview that Kirk "lost her kids," but later said she "meant to say the kids lost their dad." There is no evidence to conclude that the widow of Charlie Kirk lost custody…

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. Here are our most read fact checks of the past year, reflecting our reader's interest in finding out the truth about various viral stories. If you see something suspicious in 2026,…

Does a viral image show Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro captured? No, that's not true: An authentic photo was digitally altered to swap Maduro's head onto the body of a captive. The image originally showed Ukrainian-born pro-Russian businessman and politician Victor Medvedchuk. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on January 3, 2026. It read: 😁The White House…

Is the letter in which convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein told another convicted sex offender, Larry Nassar, that "our president shares our love of young, nubile girls" real? No, that's not true: The Department of Justice, which published the letter as part of the Epstein file release, later referred to the letter as "fake." The agency said it relied on…

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.…

Does the new Trump-Kennedy sign at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have gold appliques like President Donald Trump added to the walls of the Oval Office? No, that's not true: Though Trump's name was added, there were no news reports that gold ornaments were added to the facade of the Kennedy Center. Photos taken by Lead Stories on…