Donald Trump

Does a real video show the Saudi foreign minister stating that "the era of relying on the US has ended"? No, that's not true: According to three translation tools, the caption fabricated the content of the video it claimed to summarize. In reality, the clip showed Faisal bin Farhan discussing in 2022 Saudi Arabia's cooperation with the West and the…

Does a viral post prove that Sharon Simmons, who made a DoorDash delivery to the White House, is a "paid actor"? No, that's not true: The post offered no evidence to support the claim. DoorDash, its spokesperson, and Simmons' own congressional testimony all confirm she is a real "dasher" -- the company's term for delivery drivers. The claim appeared in…

Did Rachel Maddow air a segment claiming that a federal judge has ruled that Melania Trump must testify against her husband? No, that's not true: Maddow never aired a segment that said a judge ruled Melania Trump will be forced to testify in any case. While the chyron on the video says Melania will be forced to testify, the audio…

Does a photo posted by Donald Trump on Truth Social accurately show how Bruce Springsteen looks now, or prior to plastic surgery? No, that's not true: The image has been digitally edited to make the 76-year-old rocker appear haggard. A candid photo of Springsteen posted on Instagram in 2024 shows that he did not look like that at the time.…

Did President Donald Trump post a depiction of himself as a Christ-like healer on Truth Social on April 12, 2026? Yes, that's true: While fake Trump posts are often widely shared on social platforms and can quickly go viral, Lead Stories reviewed this instance and confirmed that Trump posted it. The content appeared on his verified Truth Social account. It…

Did conservative political commentator and podcaster Tucker Carlson say, "Trump faked his assassination attempt in Butler," Pa., in July 2024? No, that's not true: Carlson has asked questions about the Butler assassination plot. But there are no reliable reports to support the claim that he ever said the attack on then-candidate Donald Trump was staged. The claim appeared in a…

Is Donald Trump closing all regional offices of the U.S. Forest Service? No, that's not true: Official terminology will change, but there will still be offices in many regions of the U.S. under the plan announced March 31, 2026. Fifteen new "State Offices", most of them in the national-lands-heavy western states, will replace the Forest Service's 1908 system of nine…

Did French President Emmanuel Macron publish a clip purporting to show Jeffrey Epstein kissing Melania Trump? No, that's not true: Neither his social media accounts nor news reports confirmed that. The video consisted of a digitally modified photo taken from the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice DOJ, altered to insert Melania Trump's face. The claim appeared in…

Did CNN rely on an unnamed "fake news site from Nigeria" to report on Iran's ceasefire statements on April 7, 2026, as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that CNN relied on a Nigerian website. The initial CNN report said that the statement attributed directly to the Supreme National Security Council was…

Does a photo show President Donald Trump sitting with the Easter Bunny in the Situation Room at the White House in April 2026? No, that's not true: The image is a digital fabrication that adds a person in a full-body bunny costume, seated in a chair, to an official White House photo and includes an AI watermark. The original version…