2024 U.S. Elections

Did President-elect Donald Trump post a map of Finland on Truth Social? No, that's not true: A manual review of his account did not show such an entry as of this writing, January 14, 2025. The map in question did not correctly reflect current Finnish borders nor those in the year seen in the image. The claim appeared in a…

Did 22 states fail to upload their Electoral College certifications, which were needed to certify election results on January 6, 2025? No, that's not true: The National Archives confirmed that all 50 states and the District of Columbia submitted their Electoral College Certificates for the 2024 election. By law, these results must be reported by the fourth Wednesday in December,…

Is there a scenario in which Congressional Republicans can be forced to vote for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as vice president so President-elect Donald Trump can be sworn in as president? No, that's not true: Even if President Joe Biden resigned before his second term ends in 2025, thus temporarily making Vice President Kamala Harris president, Congress would have to approve…

Did President Joe Biden deviate from standard protocol following the death of former President Jimmy Carter on December 29, 2024, by ordering flags to be set at half-staff during President-elect Donald Trump's second inauguration? No, that's not true: Federal law requires flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days after the death of a president or former president. This…

Was the 2016 months-long Spanish political crisis the same as a government shutdown in the U.S.? No, that's not true: Spain, unable to form a new government at the time, did not experience a gap in national funding, and most government services were delivered as usual. In the U.S., shutdowns are triggered by the absence of an adopted permanent or…

Was there ballot cheating during a bomb threat search when the vote-counting livestream went offline in Orange County, California, in November 2024? No, that's not true: The Orange County registrar of voters told Lead Stories that "the ballots always remained secure under the custody of the Sheriff's Department." There's also no evidence of fraud at any time during the ballot-counting…

Did Canada ban President-elect Donald Trump from entering the country as of November 2024 because of his felony conviction? No, that's not true: A person is only declared inadmissible when they try to cross into the country, and no credible source reported that Trump tried to enter Canada before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited him in Florida. Contrary to…

Did Wendy's, Olive Garden and 13 other restaurant companies named in a social media post donate to Donald Trump in the 2024 election? No, that's not true: None of the political action committees for the restaurants listed in the social media post donated to Trump in the 2024 election, according to federal election reports publicly available as of this writing.…

Did Walmart donate $3.5 million to President-elect Donald Trump and Republican campaigns while giving nothing to Democrats ahead of the 2024 election? No, that's not true: Walmart's political donations come from an employee-funded political action committee, not the Walmart corporation. Public records show that while this committee supports both Republican and Democratic candidates, it didn't donate to either major party's…

Did actor Tom Hanks withdraw his 2025 Oscar nominations and leave the United States, saying "I've had enough" in an Instagram video? No, that's not true: This story comes from a self-described satirical website whose About Us page announces it is "dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest in fake news and absurdity." Lead Stories found no sign in…