&Quot;Human Trafficking&Quot;

Does a video of a rental van being stopped on an Atlanta highway show the rescue of children from human traffickers? No, that's not true: The people in the back of the van were members of two families who were moving household goods, not human trafficking victims, according to Gwinnett County, Georgia, police quoted in several news reports. The driver…

Is a picture of a goat statue covered in fake money with President Donald Trump's face on it being displayed at Mar-a-Lago real? Yes it appears so: Video of the statue appeared on the Instagram account of Project G.O.A.T., which calls itself an "art-based awareness and support campaign in the fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children." Details…

Does a viral image show a suspect in the U.K. stabbing that left three little girls dead in July 2024? No, that's not true: Posts on social media recycled an unrelated image from 2023. The police did not disclose the identity of the person arrested or release an image of him. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on…

Did a Florida judge find that an individual "lied" about actions made by social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate? No, that's not true: The judge who made the decision did not rule yet on the question if the person actually defamed the Tate brothers. Rather, he denied a motion to dismiss defamation counts the brothers filed against the person,…

Did human rights activist Monica Petersen die in Haiti while investigating Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton for sex trafficking? No, that's not true: The American activist died in Haiti in November 2016, but there is no credible evidence linking her death to any investigation into the Clintons or sex trafficking. A former colleague at the University of Denver's Human Trafficking…

Were the tunnels discovered under a Brooklyn synagogue in early January 2024 connected to the former mansion of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: the New York City Department of Buildings stated that there's only a single 60 feet long tunnel under the facility, not nearly long enough to connect to the former Epstein property almost nine…

Does a tunnel discovered by authorities under a New York City synagogue in early January 2024 prove that human trafficking was taking place there? No, that's not true: There's no evidence to support such a claim. The New York City Police Department stated that it's not "looking into anything of that nature," and the New York City Department of Buildings…

Does a viral video show a hidden underground route used for "trafficking"? No, that's not true: The video shows an old, now-defunct salt mine in Romania. It's open to the public and functions as a museum. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on TikTok on March 16, 2023. The text overlay read: go do y'all's research on these…

Did the Arizona Senate bring indictments against Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Runbeck Election Services, banks and local police for election fraud and other crimes? No, that's not true: The Arizona Senate is not authorized to issue indictments, the state Senate GOP spokesperson told Lead Stories. The video shown in the social-media post that made the claim…

Did a truck driver in New Mexico rescue "Approximately 15 Children Trapped in Padlocked Cages in the Back of a Pickup Truck" during a kidnapping incident? No, that's not true: The New Mexico State Police told Lead Stories, "This story is not correct, this was a mother and her four kids, not a human trafficking incident." The claim appeared in…