Is the image of a man dressed in drag a real photo of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old man shot and killed by ICE agents in Minnesota? No, that's not true: The person shown wearing a silver skirt and bra with rainbow-colored hair while holding a beer is Kyle Wagner, a self-described Antifa supporter in Minneapolis. That photo is unrelated to…
Was Evan Kilgore the federal agent who shot and killed U.S. citizen and registered nurse Alex Pretti during an immigration enforcement raid in Minneapolis? No, that's not true: Kilgore denied he worked for immigration enforcement agencies and threatened to sue those who spread the claim on social media. Lead Stories found nothing suggesting that the conservative commentator had built a…
Does a video show ICE agents raiding a man's home without a warrant after he shouted about ICE's treatment of his neighbor, saying they "ain't supposed to smack him like that"? No, that's not true: The video shared in January 2026 with claims it showed ICE agents was recorded by Nick Pettit from the porch of his Columbus, Ohio, home…
Did Tom Brady and three dozen other sports and entertainment celebrities confirm that Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis, was a relative? No, that's not true: The claim was made about at least 36 different athletes and entertainers in posts published on dozens of fake Facebook fan pages aimed at American and European…
Did either Karoline Leavitt, Sunny Hostin, Whoopi Goldberg, or Joy Behar say that Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, or a dozen other major artists is "just a musician"? No, that's not true: The claim was made about at least 16 different entertainers in posts published on dozens of fake Facebook fan pages aimed at American and European…
Did President Trump post on Truth Social that "HE HAD A GUN, ONLY CRIMINALS CARRY GUNS ON OUR STREETS, WE NEED LAW AND ORDER" as a viral screenshot claims? No, that's not true: The image, which also contained the signature "Thank you for your attention to this matter" catchphrase, did not show a real post from Trump's Truth Social account.…
Does video show a federal immigration agent taking a gun away from Alex Pretti two seconds before another agent began shooting Pretti? A frame-by-frame look at the first viral video of the incident shared on social media does show a federal agent in a gray coat reaching down with his right hand and then standing up with something in his…
Did Karoline Leavitt dismiss various celebrities, saying "complex social policy" was "out of their league" and dismissing them as just a singer, musician, actor or comedian? No, that's not true: The claim about a televised confrontation in a TV studio was made about at least 26 different people in posts published on dozens of fake Facebook fan pages aimed at…
Are tow trucks impounding ICE vehicles in Atlanta because the U.S. Constitution's 10th amendment does not allow ICE to drive on state roads? No, that's not true: The claim is a satirical post from a known satire account. The 10th amendment simply gives to the American states powers that are not specifically delegated to the federal government elsewhere in the…
Are the stories of Helen Keller's life achievements just a made up scam? No, that's not true: A vague conspiracy aims to erase the well-documented life achievements of Helen Keller. The American author and social activist was both deaf and blind from an illness in early childhood. She was a public figure who traveled and mainly communicated through an interpreter…
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