Assassination

False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. Here are our most read fact checks of the past year, reflecting our reader's interest in finding out the truth about various viral stories. If you see something suspicious in 2026,…

Did Arizona teachers mock the murder of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk by wearing 'Problem Solved' T-shirts covered in what looked like artificial blood? No, that's not true: According to the school district's superintendent, in a since-deleted Facebook post reported on by local media outlets, the T-shirts predated the assassination of Turning Point USA Co-Founder Kirk by more than…

Did Fortnite collaborate to honor the Turning Point USA founder with a "Charlie Kirk Bundle"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence on Fortnite's website of any collaboration involving Kirk and no such announcement can be found on a credible website. The claim that a Charlie Kirk Fortnite character has been created for the game appears to be an…

Did Ozzy Osbourne's widow Sharon publicly announce a "$20 million pledge to the Charlie Kirk Memorial Fund"? No, that's not true: No news media reported it. Sharon Osbourne's account on Instagram didn't discuss it, either. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published on October 13, 2025, by thebeatles.vietut.com. It opened: BREAKING NEWS: Sharon Osbourne Stuns America with a…

Did Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, make public remarks about a third pregnancy in September 2025? No, that's not true: No such announcement appeared on her social media accounts. Furthermore, no credible journalistic organizations reported that between the September 10, 2025, assassination of Charlie Kirk and October 1, 2025. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Did Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, go on social media to announce that she and her husband's organization, Turning Point USA, started a new dating app and that she joined it even before the memorial service for her husband? No, none of that is true: The image used to prove the existence of such a post originated from a subreddit, not…

Is the privately owned aircraft with the tail number N888KG known to be part of the investigation of the assassination of Charlie Kirk? No, that's not true: On September 21, 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media that the investigation ruled out any connection between the shooting and the plane's flights on the day Kirk was shot. The…

Did Ozzy Osbourne's widow Sharon storm off "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" or "Jimmy Fallon's show" over remarks about Charlie Kirk? No, that's not true: Osbourne did not appear on either show since the death of Charlie Kirk. The story originated on a Vietnamese clickbait website that mixed up late-night show TV hosts. It appeared as an article (archived here) published by…

Did Eminem release a tribute song for Charlie Kirk? No, that's not true: As of September 19, 2025, no Eminem's official pages mentioned the purported song. An account that posted the 2-minute 22-second music video included a disclaimer that it publishes "altered or synthetic content". The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on YouTube on September 14, 2025.…

Did Simone Biles write a "lengthy, emotionally charged" blog post about Charlie Kirk, days after his assassination in September 2025? No, that's not true: As of September 19, the gymnast's website and social media profiles contain no trace of a post of any kind about Kirk. Accounts of an explosive criticism of Kirk were completely fabricated. The claim appeared in…