Huzlers

Lead Stories is sad to learn of the announcement of the passing of Pablo Reyes Santiago (also via his Facebook account) and we offer our deepest condolences to his friends and family. Although he may not have realized it, Pablo was instrumental to the history of Lead Stories as a fact checking website. He was so famous for his pranks…

Do Starbucks coffee shops routinely add human semen to the lattes they sell? No, that's not true: This claim first surfaced in 2014 as an article on a satire website with a disclaimer identifying the website as such. The fake news story might have faded quickly except that a New York City pastor fell for the hoax and publicized the…

Was human meat discovered in a McDonald's meat factory in Oklahoma City? No, that's not true: The video in this post was taken from a now-defunct satirical website and has been around since at least 2014. The claim resurfaced in a post on TikTok (archived here) on February 27, 2023. The 4-minute-plus video opened: OKLAHOMA CITY First Horse Meat, then…

Does a viral image prove that McDonald's uses human flesh for making "hamburgers and sasuages" "worldwide"? No, that's not true: The video screenshot, accompanied by misleading and unrelated hashtags, only shows a lamb being prepared on a mechanical roasting spit. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on November 17, 2022. The text on the image said: Enjoy your hamburgers…

Did Lil Boosie attack George Zimmerman outside a Walmart in Miami, Florida? No, that's not true: Even though the rumor has gone viral in recent days, it was based on a 2014 satirical story making the same claims. The rapper - now known as Boosie Badazz - has taken to social media to refute the falsehood. The claim originated from…

Did a prisoner on death row survive three attempts at lethal injection and was subsequently set free? No, that's not true: It is a hoax story made up by a known fake news website, but copied and republished by other websites as the truth. There was no such case. Igor Hamilton is not the name of a real death row…

Was "P.O.P, Hold It Down" woman Donna Goudeau murdered in prison? No, that's not true: that story was put out five years ago by a site that publishes fictional news but it got recycled in 2019 by a relatively new website. The story reappeared via an article (archived here) published by Urban Industry News on July 18, 2019 under the…

Does a video prove McDonalds was caught using human baby meat in their burgers? No, that's not true: the alarmist sounding video featuring a voiceover during a slideshow of several unrelated photos (showing President Trump, President Obama and Hillary Clinton among others) is mostly based on an article that was sourced from a website known for publishing fiction. The video…

Did scientists just discover pot makes you gay? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a site specializing in fictional urban-themed entertainment stories, or as it is also known, made up stuff. The story originated from an article published by Huzlers on May 27, 2019 titled "New Scientific Study Suggest Marijuana; Could Lead To Homosexuality" (archived here)…

Did 28-year-old Alex Hernandez make over $100,000 selling his photos on Snapchat premium by using the gender-bending filter? No, that's not true: the story was published by Huzlers, an entertainment website that publishes fictional stories it labels "fauxtire". The story originated from an article published by Huzlers on May 25, 2019 titled "Man Using Snapchat Gender-Bending Filter Made Over 100K…