Did President Donald Trump post about the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting two hours before it took place? No, that's not true. Truth Social shows timestamps based on your device's time zone and updates them automatically to match when you view them. The incident occurred at about 8:36 p.m. in Washington, D.C., which is in the Eastern time zone. The…
Did Jimmy Kimmel make an "expectant widow" joke about Melania Trump after the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD)? No, that's not true: Kimmel made the joke on his late night show on April 23, 2026. He was making a mock speech about the WHCD and was not at the actual event on April 25, 2026. The joke…
Did Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, attend the same 2017 conference as White House Correspondents' Dinner suspect Cole Tomas Allen? No, that's not true: The communications office of the Office of the Second Lady at the White House told Lead Stories that it "can confirm that it was not her." There is also no evidence that…
Does a viral video show high-resolution "unedited raw security footage" of the suspected shooter running through a checkpoint at the 2026 White House Correspondents' dinner? No, that's not true: The video was enhanced with AI, and, in the process, the technology altered the details. The clip showed glitches typical of AI-generated content, and the account that first published it confirmed…
Does a viral social media post show a real passport for someone from India named 'Priyanka Rao' who is supposedly the wife of Cole Tomas Allen? No, that's not true: There have been no news reports mentioning that name in connection with the man who was accused of being the shooter at the 2026 White House Correspondents Dinner. The passport…
Did journalist Taylor Lorenz, who was at the White House Correspondents Dinner, say somebody should "do it" while referring to "killing Trump"? No, that's not true: Lorenz reported on people using that phrase with that meaning in May of 2025. But she was not herself calling for somebody to "do it", she was only reporting on the meme. The claim…
Does a real MSNBC report identify the suspect in the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting as "Kohl Jackson" with a picture? No, that's not true: The post is not authentic. MSNBC no longer exists; it was officially rebranded as MS NOW on Nov. 15, 2025, as part of a spin-off from NBCUniversal. Multiple news outlets identified the suspect as Cole…
Is a photo of President Donald Trump with one eye closed and the other half open with the U.S. Marine Corps flag behind him new as of April 24, 2026? No, that's not true: The image appeared in social media posts in as early as November 2020, although Lead Stories has been unable to pinpoint the exact date it was…
Is a viral video showing President Donald Trump falling asleep during a press event at the White House real and did he actually hit his head on his desk? No, that's not true: The video and screenshots of it shared by social media users originated from a self-described meme account. The clip was digitally altered, likely using AI. The claim…
Did Pope Leo XIV blast White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt or her resume during a television interview? No, that's not true: Social media posts making the claim were created and distributed by a spam operation managed from Vietnam that uses AI tools to create click bait content targeted at American and European audiences. There is no evidence that the…
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.
Spotted something? Let us know!.
