Election

Is suspected Spokane arsonist Aaron F. Farinacci a registered Republican voter? No, that's not true: Voters in Washington state do not register by political party, according to the Washington Secretary of State's office. Voters in the state can become members of any political party by contacting the party directly, but they are not "registered" as members of a party when…

Does an image comparison show a real Getty photo of Donald Trump next to a White House-edited version giving him smooth skin? No, that's not true: Both photos are edited, and neither can be attributed to those two sources. Reuters published the original image, which does not look like either of the edited images. The claim appeared in a post…

Did the Federal Communications Commission fine NBC and ABC $25 million each for not carrying President Trump's July 16, 2026, speech and fine CBS $10 million for not airing it in full? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has imposed or threatened to impose fines on these three broadcast networks. Both the…

Is a photo of Donald Trump showing him with heavy facial wrinkles, pale skin and sweat authentic? No, that's not true: The image has been altered to exaggerate facial wrinkles and to add bumps to his skin. The alteration has also lightened parts of his face. The original photo published by a news outlet does not show the same skin…

Did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorse Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Michigan, and call her "a true friend of Israel"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Netanyahu made such an endorsement or statement, and Stevens' campaign called the claim "false." No credible news outlets have reported that Netanyahu endorsed her…

Did Democrats vote against a bill that only contained a ban on members of Congress and their spouses trading individual stocks? Yes, but that is missing context: While H.R. 7008 includes a ban on stock trading, it also includes a separate provision requiring voters to provide photo identification. A vote against the bill was not necessarily a vote against the…

Did former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeal to China to meddle in the 2020 election during a TV interview with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC? No, that's not true: Clinton posed the hypothetical question while mocking special counsel Robert Mueller. In his report, Mueller had dismissed Donald Trump's call for Russia to help obtain Clinton's private emails in the…

Do viral screenshots of a Wikipedia article about French soccer referee François Letexier confirm that he is Jewish? No, that's not true: The edits made after the 2026 Egypt-Argentina FIFA World Cup game didn't link to credible sources stating that. Lead Stories found no publicly available information suggesting that Letexier grew up in an "Orthodox Jewish family." The claim appeared…

Is an email from the Epstein files with a joke about Mitt Romney's wife and Barack Obama real? Yes, that's true: The email appears among the Epstein files on the Justice Department website. It was sent to Jeffrey Epstein by Emirati businessman and billionaire Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem in November 2012. The claim appeared in a post and image (archived…

Have you seen the viral videos showing mass protests in the streets of British cities? Lead Stories has spotted several such videos recently and found that many were created using artificial intelligence. These videos do not show real people or situations. Instead, they seek to exploit feelings of sympathy and patriotism by triggering emotions such as indignation and anger among…