California

Did California pay the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) more than $100 million mainly to fund protests as a viral social media post said? No, that's not true: California's payments to CHIRLA were overwhelmingly tied to immigration legal services and social welfare programs. There is no evidence in state budget records that any funds were used to pay or…

Did Rep. Ted Lieu say that the full, unreleased Epstein files show President Donald Trump raping children? No, that's not true: Lieu said at a Feb. 3, 2026, news conference that the files include "highly disturbing allegations" of Trump raping and threatening to kill children. He did not reference "unreleased" files, or say that child rapes are seen in them.…

Did Congressman Randy Fine write on social media that "the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one"? Yes, that's true: These words appeared on his official account on X. That account is linked to his congressional page. The statement appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on Feb. 15, 2026. It read: If they force…

Is a DJ Vlad "confession" that Roc Nation bribed the judge, jury, witnesses and police to convict Tory Lanez for shooting Megan Thee Stallion real? No, that's not true: While it was posted by DJ Vlad's X account, it concluded with a sentence calling the claims "these lies." DJ Vlad, a hip-hop producer turned journalist, posted replies on this and…

Does a viral video show real reactions of the people who watched Bad Bunny's 2026 Super Bowl halftime show in the stadium? No, that's not true: The clip was marked as containing AI generated media. The video showed characteristic, AI-associated glitches such as people with three arms and two hands. The claim originated from a video (archived here) published on…

Does a viral image show a real post on Craigslist that offered $200 for attending Kid Rock's performance at Turning Point USA's alternative to the NFL Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: There was no proof the screenshot showed a real post. Lead Stories found differences between what other posts look like on Craigslist and the post in…

Was the little boy who Bad Bunny handed his Grammy trophy during the Super Bowl Halftime show Liam Ramos, the five-year-old Columbia Heights, Minnesota, boy detained by ICE in January 2026? No, that's not true: The boy is actor Lincoln Fox. A spokesperson for the child's school told Lead Stories that "Liam and his family are sequestered during this time."…

Is the business featured in a recent video by Dr. Mehmet Oz related to hospice and home care fraud in Los Angeles? No, that's not true: The business is a family-owned and operated bakery and market and there is no evidence that implicates the business in any fraud prosecution or to the hospice and home care industry. Several other businesses…

Is a video showing an ICE agent entering a classroom at California State University, San Bernardino, legitimate? No, that's not true: The clip was generated using AI. A Sora watermark appears several times, indicating it was created with the generative AI tool. There are no credible news reports that an ICE agent entered a California university classroom as part of…

Did Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Joni Mitchell and dozens of other celebrities each buy the small diner where they ate for free while struggling and now feed free meals to 120 homeless people every day? No, that's not true: 54 virtually identical stories mentioning those and other names were published by a network of foreign websites and Facebook pages. There were…