Was an American flag with no stars behind former President Donald Trump at a rally and does such a flag mean those that refuse to surrender will face "total annihilation"? No, that's not true: The lighting in the image may appear to be obscuring the stars but multiple photographs from news sites and photo agencies from the rally where the…

Does a "newly leaked report" from the RAND Corporation, a U.S. think tank, reveal the "true motives behind European Destabilization & The Russia/Ukraine War"? No, that's not true: In an email to Lead Stories and a news release on its website, the RAND Corp. called the "supposedly leaked" report "fake." The claim appeared in the September 12, 2022, issue of…

Is the CERN physics laboratory powered by child sacrifices or human blood? No, that's not true: There's no evidence that the lab, which is often referred to as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, is being powered by anything other than the French electrical grid. In an August 17, 2022, email to Lead Stories the agency said, "CERN is powered…

Does a video show children being saved from a human trafficker who may have been selling them for adrenochrome? No, that's not true: The video shows children being taken out of a truck by authorities after trying to leave a Syrian displacement camp and is not related to the QAnon adrenochrome conspiracy theory. The claim appeared in a video posted…

Was former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assassinated because he didn't follow World Economic Forum (WEF) orders, didn't mandate COVID-19 vaccines, sent 1.6 million doses back and gave citizens ivermectin? No, that's not true: There's no evidence any of those things -- some of which didn't happen -- played a role in his shooting death on July 8, 2022. The…

By Uliana Malashenko Does a video of Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian army prove that their Ukrainian counterparts were killing civilians in Rubizhne, a town in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, in spring 2022? No, that's not true: The words of the POWs are not supported by any visual evidence or documents. Not a single reputable source in…

Did Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas claim "aborted fetus cells" are in COVID vaccines in writing a decision by the Court to not take up a legal challenge by New York health care workers who opposed the state's vaccine mandate on religious grounds? No, that's not true: Thomas was quoting the petitioners' argument in the case. COVID vaccines are developed…

Was an extradition of former President Donald Trump "already in motion" as of June 13, 2022? No, that's not true: That claim is a satirical take on one of the first documented posts from "Q," the mysterious figure that sparked the QAnon movement. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) posted on June 13, 2022. The tweet used "DJT"…

Was the Titanic sunk intentionally in order to kill specific people who opposed a central banking system, thus clearing the way to establish the Federal Reserve? No, that's not true: This antisemitic conspiracy theory was already floating around the internet before it was promoted to followers of QAnon. There is no evidence to support this. In November 2017, a series…

Does a Stew Peters Show video prove mainstream media and the U.S. government lie about the war in Ukraine? No, that's not true: The video by the radio and TV host repeats debunked claims and misattributes information, often embracing Kremlin talking points. The claims appeared in a Facebook post on April 7, 2022, under the translated-from-Russian title "LIE Mode:" It…