Did Sen. Bernie Sanders get a $44 million USAID grant after he dropped out of the 2016 presidential race? No, that's not true: That story originated on a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The claim appeared in an August 18, 2025 Facebook post (archived here) on…
Did President Donald Trump order background checks on Democrats to be made public, showing cases of assault, domestic violence and insider trading? No, that's not true: The post spreading that Trump rumor and the false list of cases came from a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are fabricated. The…
Does a viral post prove that 84% of electronic devices spotted at the joint Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rally in Colorado can be definitively linked to Kamala Harris campaign events and protests for other causes? No, that's not true: The post didn't offer a replicable analysis of the data. Two organizations mentioned in it among the supposed sources said…
Did a white home with a red roof survive a wildfire that leveled every other home in a Los Angeles neighborhood? No, that's not true: This aerial view does not show a real neighborhood impacted by the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles County. Google Lens image search results say the image was made with Google AI. The image appeared…
Does an authentic image show Sen. Bernie Sanders wearing a T-shirt that reads, "Deport Elon Musk"? No, that's not true: This is not a genuine photograph. The picture bears a small "Grok" watermark in the lower right-hand corner, a label indicating that it was created using an AI program. Additionally, the tools at TrueMedia.org determined that the image was 96…
Did Joe Rogan say "he will not be voting for Trump after having him on the podcast"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories reviewed Rogan's podcasts and public statements in the days after Donald Trump's appearance. Neither subsequent episodes of Rogan's podcast, his social media accounts nor credible news reports included any statements by Rogan that he had decided not…
Did GovTrack delete only Vice President Kamala Harris' 2019 report card, which rated her as the most liberal senator that year? No, that's not true: GovTrack told Lead Stories that it consolidated and deleted everyone's 2019 report card. Her 2020 report card, which covers two years, rated Harris as the second most liberal member of the Senate. Founder Joshua Tauberer…
Did President Joe Biden put his hand on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's buttocks while pausing for a photo op during Zelenskyy's December 2022 visit to the United States? No, that's not true: The original image was posted to Twitter by Jill Biden and shows both Jill Biden's and Joe Biden's hands on Zelenskyy's back. The image was digitally edited and…
Was World Economic Forum Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab caught planning a "mass extinction event"? No, that's not true: The article and video that said so did not discuss the actions or words of Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), or anyone from the WEF's board of trustees. The allegedly "leaked" video in the claim presented as proof of…
Will the World Economic Forum (WEF) "freeze" the "bank accounts of "meat eaters to 'educate them,'" and does the Doconomy credit card refuse to let a consumer buy items when they are "deemed to be a net polluter"? No, neither are true: The CEO of Doconomy told Lead Stories that this claim is "clearly a lie," as the carbon emissions…
Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
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