Hawaii

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey rejects social media claims that she hesitated to open the private road through her Hawaiian estate to help evacuation efforts after tsunami warnings were issued for Hawaii on July 29, 2025. One of her social media accounts publicly shared the denial statement from her spokesperson. The Maui police department put out a statement saying the…

Did a widely-shared video show a submarine appearintg at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina? No, that's not true: The local Coast Guard unit told Lead Stories that no such thing happened. The viral reel was consistent with previously documented instances of a school of fish traveling together in the area, and that was confirmed to Lead Stories by South Carolina's Department…

Did Barron Trump, son of President Trump, get married to Spanish crown princess Leonor and was all of this documented in a lavish wedding video? No, that's not true: A youtube account named "Lovely Trump Family" put out several videos purporting to show such a dream wedding but they all carried disclaimers saying they were generated using artificial intelligence. In…

Did a series of Facebook posts in late March and early April 2025 offer genuine concern over an unidentified woman supposedly found "heavily stabbed" in a black Audi A7, in various locations in the United States? No, that's not true: Such posts were examples of a known "bait-and-switch" scam, which garnered well-meaning shares of the original post before flipping its…

Were the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires intentionally set to implement "smart city" technology across Los Angeles? No, that's not true: While the cause of the wildfires had not been determined at the time of writing, the "smart city" effort to improve technology for municipalities does not include intentionally destroying them first. Los Angeles unveiled its plan to eventually add…

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…

If a wildfire destroys cars, must it always destroy nearby trees as well? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found other examples of wildfires sparing trees while nearby cars and houses were incinerated. Experts explain that trees generally have a higher moisture content and take longer to heat up than closed structures like a car or home, making trees less…

Did Elon Musk discuss communities "putting up blue tarps all over the roofs" in an effort to defend against lasers setting fires in a podcast interview with Joe Rogan, as suggested by a video on Instagram? No, that's not true: The clip added altered video and audio to a real 2020 interview, including AI-generated imagery, to make it seem Musk…

Was the Sephora company "a huge donor" to Donald Trump's 2024 campaign? No, that's not true: Neither the company nor any Sephora employee donated to the Trump campaign or Trump-favored political action committee, according to OpenSecrets.org. The company said in a statement: "Sephora does not make corporate donations to political candidates." Records show some Sephora employees did contribute to Kamala…

Was a 2024 recall of instant ramen noodles linked to deaths of five children in the U.S., as a post on TikTok suggested? No, that's not true: At the time of this publication, one voluntary recall was listed on the Food and Drug Administration website for Sun Noodles products because they may contain undeclared egg white powder. Sun Noodles confirmed…