My first memory of the passing of a pope is a traumatic one: someone murdered him. Or at least, that's what everyone around me seemed to believe. I was just 13, but I had a sense that something was amiss: Albino Luciani had been Pope John Paul I for only 33 days, and he was relatively young, in his…
Did Tim Walz respond to conservative commentator Ann Coulter on X after she described his son's behavior at the Democratic National Convention as "weird"? No, that's not true: A screenshot of this supposed response shows signs of digital manipulation. Lead Stories found no evidence confirming that Walz ever responded to Coulter on X. The claim appeared in a post (archived…
Were swimmer Lia Thomas and the NCAA forced to pay swimmer Riley Gaines millions of dollars in a lawsuit? No, that's not true: This claim appeared in an article on a satirical website known for publishing fabricated content. That website has a disclaimer that reads, "Everything on this website is fiction." The claim appeared in an article published by conservativetears.com…
Did celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay ban soccer player Megan Rapinoe from his restaurants for life? No, that's not true: This claim is from a satirical website with a disclaimer that tells readers everything on the website is fiction. There is no evidence from legitimate news sources that Ramsay has banned Rapinoe from his restaurants. The claim appeared in an article…
Did star tennis player Venus Williams receive a standing ovation for "refusing to play a trans woman"? No, that's not true: The claim came from an article on a website that's part of a satirical network. The publishing network's Facebook page says "Nothing on this page is real." The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) on October…
Did Deion Sanders, head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, bench "one of his best" players for kneeling while the national anthem was playing? No, that's not true: The claim was featured in an article on a satirical website. The site's About Us page says: "Everything on this website is fiction." The claim appeared in an article (archived…
Did American swimmer Lia Thomas quit competitive swimming? No, that's not true: This claim is from a satirical website and has not been reported by legitimate news outlets. The website where this claim originated has a disclaimer that reads, "Everything on this website is fiction." The claim appeared in an article published by conservativetears.com on September 27, 2023, titled "Lia…
Does this video show that political commentator Tucker Carlson "broke in tears" talking about Antarctica? No, that's not true: This video does not show Carlson crying while talking about Antarctica. The Facebook video merely shows clips of Carlson speaking, but does not allow the original audio from these moments to be heard. The claim appeared on Facebook on September 6,…
Was Joe Biden caught on camera loudly sniffing a baby when he was meeting families? No, that's not true: The original video shot during the President's visit to the Fort Liberty, N.C., Army base, was posted to TikTok by the mother of the baby. Her video did not feature any sniffing sounds. Someone uploaded a shortened and altered copy of…
Was Amber Heard arrested for perjury and cocaine possession as of June 3, 2022? No, that's not true: This is a completely made-up claim, published by a website that calls itself a "trusted source for satire." The claim appeared in an article published by the Vancouver Times on June 3, 2022, titled "Amber Heard arrested for perjury, cocaine." It opened:…
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