Did singer Bruce Springsteen wear a shirt that reads, "KEEP AMERICA TRUMPLESS"? No, that's not true: The text on the shirt was added after the photo was taken. Lead Stories found two credible sources, Vice and Getty Images, that show photos of Springsteen in the same pose, but with no text on the T-shirt. The claim appeared on X, formerly…
Did the Walt Disney Company lose 23 million subscribers after "trying to cancel Elon Musk"? No, that's not true: This claim appeared in an article on a satirical website known for publishing fabricated content. The website has a disclaimer that reads, "Everything on this website is fiction." The claim appeared in an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times on November…
Has a journalist who debunked the "pizzagate" conspiracy theory also been charged with child pornography? No, that's not true: the allegation was based on a faked screenshot of a non-existent New York Post headline. While former ABC investigative reporter James Gordon Meek was sentenced in September 2023 for possessing child sexual abuse material, he is not one of the journalists…
Was an American soldier holding a "China flag" when President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California unusual or a breach of protocol as implied by a tweet from Graham Allen? No, that's not true: A State Department spokesperson told Lead Stories that anytime a foreign leader is hosted in the United States, a member of the…
Did a "Prague newspaper" publish an article referring to Canada as a "confederacy of fools" and describing its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, as "the prince of fools" in 2023? No, that's not true: The purported quote is a years-old repurposed fragment of text whose authorship has never been verified. In the past, the same quote was used to criticize other…
Was Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds interrupted by Trump chants during the speech in which she endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the presidential race? No, that's not true: The audio of the November 6, 2023, speech has been edited to include chants and remarks from a different event that took place on August 12, 2023. The "we want Trump" chants…
Does a video on social media show a British law enforcement officer engulfed in flames during a rally related to the 2023 Hamas-Israel war? No, that's not true: The footage predates the conflict and the incident occurred far from the Middle East. It was recorded in Mexico in 2020. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly…
Did the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps place New York State Attorney General Letitia James under arrest for committing "treason and other high crimes and misdemeanors"? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is false. The website where this claim was made also has a disclaimer that states it publishes satirical content.…
Is a video of jets surrounding Donald Trump's jet real? No, that's not true: The video that appeared in a viral X post is from a video game. A YouTube video with the same footage has "#flightsim" and the acronym to a flight simulation video game in the description. A TikTok video with the same footage also has the same…
Are written assertions that "American Troops do not want to die for Israel," and that the U.S. military in the region "does not have enough assets to support Israel" taken from an authentic leaked U.S. military officer's internal memo? No, that's not true: The purported email being cited and quoted on social media is fake. A press release from the…
Lead Stories is a U.S. based 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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