California

Were 675 ballots for former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt found in a dumpster in "San Recto"? No, that's not true: San Recto is not a city or community in California. Lead Stories found no credible news reports or other reliable evidence that such an incident occurred, and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office likewise found no evidence…

Did Shanekka Renee Johnson, who said in a video that she was paid $5 on "Skid Row" to vote for Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor, actually vote for Bass? No, that's not true: Information obtained from the Los Angeles County Registrar's office confirmed that Shanekka Renee Johnson, age 39, could not cast a vote for Bass since she is…

Are photos in a meme showing NBC's "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker's dramatic expressions demonstrating "five stages of Trump Derangement Syndrome" real? No, that's not true: An AI content detection tool concluded the images of Welker's face while interviewing President Trump were likely AI-generated. A review of the interview video does show a range of expressions, but none matched…

Did a late-night ballot drop of 24,000 votes give Spencer Pratt no votes in the Los Angeles mayor race and is that evidence of fraud in the vote counting? No, that's not true: The Los Angeles Times explained there was a one-minute lag between its receipt of the Associated Press automated feed of thousands of Pratt votes and the counts…

Did an Emerson poll show Spencer Pratt leading Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayor's race on May 28, 2026? No, that's not true: Emerson College Polling told Lead Stories "no such poll exists" and the social media post making the claim used "made up numbers." The organization last conducted a poll for the mayor's race in mid-May, and Bass…

Does real police bodycam footage capture the moment a woman appeared to vanish into thin air during a traffic stop? No, that's not true: This simulated footage shows actors in a skit depicting a "rapture pre-enactment." The end of the video clip was edited to remove the credits, obscuring that this short skit is part of the Perhaps Today campaign…

Are social media posts claiming that Pope Leo XIV and a long list of celebrities each filed a $50 million lawsuit against a news host for "vicious, calculated defamation" real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from a spam operation managed from Vietnam that uses AI-generated Facebook…

Could a man who claimed in a viral video that he had a stack of unclaimed ballots mailed to voters who had moved use them to vote for Spencer Pratt for mayor of Los Angeles as he claimed? No, that's not true: The ballots appeared to be for a precinct in West Hollywood, which is a separate city from Los…

Did the Department of Justice issue a warrant to seize Sen. Adam Schiff's financial records or suspend his passport over alleged U.S. House January 6 Committee cash grifts? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page known for its satirical content, which carries the warning "Nothing on this page is real." The original image supporting the claim…

Is a post by Rep. Jack Kimble warning that members of Congress don't even make "$200k per year in Congress despite working nearly 140 days" from a real member of Congress? No, that's not true: The Rep. Jack Kimble account on X.com is a parody account. However, the replies to these posts indicate people are often tricked by the messages…