Did French President Emmanuel Macron publish a clip purporting to show Jeffrey Epstein kissing Melania Trump? No, that's not true: Neither his social media accounts nor news reports confirmed that. The video consisted of a digitally modified photo taken from the Epstein library on the Department of Justice DOJ website, altered to insert Melania Trump's face. The claim appeared in…
Did CNN rely on an unnamed "fake news site from Nigeria" to report on Iran's ceasefire statements on April 7, 2026, as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that CNN relied on a Nigerian website. The initial CNN report said that the statement attributed directly to the Supreme National Security Council was…
Does a photo show President Donald Trump sitting with the Easter Bunny in the Situation Room at the White House in April 2026? No, that's not true: The image is a digital fabrication that adds a person in a full-body bunny costume, seated in a chair, to an official White House photo and includes an AI watermark. The original version…
Did First Lady Melania Trump make a public statement defending President Trump, saying "what is happening to my husband goes far beyond ordinary criticism"? No, that's not true: The claim bears the hallmarks of so-called "Viet Spam" campaigns of nearly identical made-up clickbait stories, each featuring a different famous person, created to drive traffic to web pages based overseas, often…
Did Russian President Vladimir Putin say "Don't dare to touch the Strait of Hormuz" on April 1, 2026? No, that's not true: The posts attributing those words to him originated from self-described satire and parody accounts. The fake story was spreading across social media platforms paired with a well-known video meme showing Putin walking. The claim appeared in a post…
Did viral posts share a real Trump Truth Social screenshot about a C-130 crash producing eight Air Force vacancies? No, that's not true: Trump did not post this message, according to Lead Stories' searches of his Truth Social account. No credible media organization reported Trump making such a statement. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X where…
Did Donald Trump post a profanity-laced "unhinged" rant on his Truth Social, claiming he "graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals," along with other false statements? No, that's not true: The message does not appear on Trump's Truth Social account. It is a widely circulated internet meme known as a "copypasta" that has been online beginning in 2010.…
Did Donald Trump post on Truth Social that he would be "vaporizing an entire nation of ANIMALS" on Tuesday? No, that's not true: There is no evidence such a post was published on Trump's account. The profile description of the account that posted a screenshot of the non-existent Trump post stated its posts were for amusement, suggesting it is a…
Did a Texas televangelist send his congregation his Grindr account in an Easter morning e-card in April 2026? No, that's not true: The story originated in a post on X by a satirical account and was subsequently reshared on Facebook without the satire disclaimer. There are no reliable reports to support such an incident or claim. The claim appeared in…
Did President Donald Trump post a warning on his Truth Social account on Easter morning, April 5, 2026, that the United States would soon attack Iran's power plants and bridges and demanding that Iran "Open the Fuckin' Strait"? Yes, that's true: While it is not unusual for fake Trump posts to be widely shared on social platforms, Lead Stories confirmed…
Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
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