Recognizing false claims and fake videos shared on social media is a challenge for U.S. voters as the 2026 midterm elections approach. That is why Lead Stories and several other fact-checking organizations active in North America are joining forces in a first-of-its-kind collaboration: a joint newsletter sharing their best election-related work. It features an overview of fact check articles that…
Did the United States have an election with 133 million registered voters in which 159 million votes were cast? No, that's not true: Official government figures for national elections do not support that claim. More than 158 million Americans cast ballots in the 2020 presidential election, but more than 168 million were registered to vote. The claim appeared in a…
Did Republican representative Jack Kimble make a post about other countries potentially invading the U.S. "if we ever had" a "highly corrupt leader" as President? No, that's not true: The post was satire from an account on X that pretends to be a non-existent Republican politician. A screenshot of the post that went viral did not identify the account as…
Did The Economic Times article that declared Kamala Harris won the 2024 election cite reports that concluded voting systems were rigged for Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The reports referred to by The Economic Times all stop short of declaring the election was stolen. Instead, those writers whom The Economic Times cited said there are questions about software and…
Does a "loophole in U.S. law" legally grant permission to noncitizens to vote in federal elections if they believe they are U.S. citizens? No, that's not true: A professor specializing in election law told Lead Stories that what was referred to on social media as a "loophole" described such a narrow exception that "it's hard to imagine whom it might…
Do viral clips circulating on social media prove that AfD is missing on the authentic ballots in the city of Leipzig, Germany? No, that's not true: The publicly available sample ballot still listed AfD the day the claim began to spread. A press release from Leipzig authorities described what the videos showed as "fake ballots" and ruled out printing errors.…
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…
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