Springfield Ohio

Are viral posts claiming your favorite celebrity family adopted or had twin babies and giving them names that "are taking the internet by storm" real? No, that's not true: Nearly identical posts naming at least 49 celebrity families were distributed on Facebook in mid-April 2026 by a spam network managed from Vietnam. The posts appear to be AI-generated and have…

Does a video show a Haitian man in Springfield, Ohio, cutting up an animal or a pet with a machete in public? No, that's not true: Police said the person who shot the video told them the man was cutting up "a big ass ham." The Springfield Police Division said there is no evidence to support the claim that "a…

Can non-U.S. citizens use a driver's license to vote in U.S. elections as an X post suggested Haitian immigrants in Springfield are doing? No, that's not true: Only U.S. citizens who are older than 18 and have registered to vote can vote in the presidential election, according to the Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules website and the U.S. government website.…

Does a video on social media show a "Haitian militia" in Springfield, Ohio? No, that's not true: The video shows a group called Israel United in Christ, which describes itself as a nonviolent organization of "Israelites." The group's website says, "WE DON'T ADVOCATE OR CONDONE ANY ACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST ANY RACE, ETHNICITY OR GENDER!" The claim appeared in a…

Do reports of missing cats in Bangor, Maine, prove that Haitian immigrants were involved with their disappearances? No, that's not true: A Bangor police officer told Lead Stories there's nothing linking the missing cats to Haitians or any other group of people. The officer said it's much more likely that wild predators have been feeding on the felines or that…

Did a video show several Black men in Springfield, Ohio, opening a suitcase full of frogs and showing them to the camera? No, that's not true: The video appeared earlier on TikTok with a caption that said it was from a Carnival in Grenada. It likely shows a Jab Jab masquerade where greased-up performers sometimes carry around live animals. Lead…

Does a police report prove that Haitian immigrants killed and mutilated a cat in Springfield, Ohio, as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: the police report included in the post stated there was "no evidence to support" a caller's claim about Haitian immigrants stealing and killing her cat. It said that it was unknown if the meat…

Does a viral video capture "Bosnian neighbors" roasting a dog in their backyard in the U.S.? No, that's not true: A Cornell University professor of veterinary medicine told Lead Stories that what is seen in the years-old footage does not show dog or even carnivore anatomy, speculating it could be a lamb or a goat. The video recycled an old…

Does an audio recording of a call to authorities in Springfield, Ohio, confirm that Haitians were hunting geese in Ohio illegally? No, that's not true: An investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources didn't find any evidence of wildlife illegally removed from a park. "No supporting evidence to verify the claim was found," the Ohio Department said in a…

Did CNN's fact checker say that Kamala Harris "lied 17 times in the first ten minutes" of the presidential debate? No, that's not true: The claim comes from a network of websites that clearly labels the work as satire, parody and fiction. Also, a spokesperson for CNN told Lead Stories that the claim was "false." The claim appeared in a…