Election

Did the New York Stock Exchange react to Zohran Mamdani's victory in the mayoral election by relocating to Texas from its 230-year base on New York City's Wall Street? No, that's not true: Intercontinental Exchange, the company that owns and operates the New York Stock Exchange, announced in February, when polls showed Mamdani with a single-digit pool of support, that…

Did an exit poll show that 92% of California voters thought Proposition 50 was a ballot measure to impeach President Trump? No, that's not true: The claim originated from a post on a satiric X account on which the original poster of the 92% claim repeatedly made it clear he was being sarcastic. There is no publicly available exit poll…

Were California Proposition 50 votes counted and reported on the day after Election Day but not the results for a 1% tax vote in Shasta County as a person claimed in a viral video? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the county election board confirmed to Lead Stories the results of the election in Shasta County, for both Prop…

Is there a rising number of $2.8 million statues erected or underway to honor people like Dolly Parton, George Strait, Bruce Springsteen, Bill Clinton, Shania Twain, Jimmy Page, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Waltz King André Rieu, and others? No, that's not true: Multiple social media posts using nearly identical language and the $2.8M figure have cranked out the story to appeal…

Did NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani announce a bitcoin tax on all New Yorkers just days after the Nov. 4 election? No, that's not true: This is a made-up story with no verifiable details. The text in the post appears to be AI-generated. There are no legitimate news reports about Mamdani announcing a bitcoin tax. The story originated in a November…

Did a person who is not a U.S. citizen or even a resident arrive in New York City two days before the election and vote for Mamdani for mayor? No, that's not true: The poster admitted that it was a joke post. To debunk their own joke, they showed where they found the picture of a ballot showing Zohran Mamdani's…

Was there a massive walkout at the NYPD the day after a new mayor was elected in New York City? No, that's not true: "There is no walkout," a spokesperson with the NYPD told Lead Stories. The claim was made by a congressional candidate based in Texas without any proof or evidence. There are no actual news reports of the…

Did retired Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz publicly promise to "blow his brains out on live TV" if Zohran Mamdani wins the 2025 mayoral election in New York City? No, that's not true: Dershowitz denied that on his social media account. A search for the origins of the image showing the purported quote led to a summer 2025 story…

Is the repeated appearance of a candidate's name on election ballots in the 2025 New York City mayoral election against the rules? No, that's not true: New York City Board of Elections staff told Lead Stories that those candidates are the nominees of two political parties. That can legally include running as the nominee of two officially recognized parties or…

Did a video of a social media user claiming to be about to cast a ballot for Zohran Mamdani "six or seven times" in the 2025 New York City mayoral election capture a self-incriminating admission of voter fraud? No, that's not true: The clip was part of a viral trend in which people would post videos of themselves saying "six…