Flag

Has the U.S. flag icon in the header of several federal U.S. government websites been replaced by a nine-star version in 2025, or has this icon been added recently? No, that's not true: The icon in the "official website of the United States Government" banner has been like that since at least 2021, and the icon was uploaded in 2020.…

Did actor Mark Wahlberg say teachers who remove American flags from classrooms should be fired? No, that's not true: A representative for Wahlberg denied it. A social media post saying he made the statement didn't cite any credible evidence proving he did. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on January 25, 2025. Above a side-by-side image…

Does an old photo show Elon Musk's grandfather Joshua Haldeman standing in front of the office of Technocracy Inc. in Canada? No, that's not true: The black-and-white image shows Howard Scott, an American engineer who founded the technocracy movement in 1933, according to reverse image search results. Haldeman's obituary says he was a chiropractor in Canada. The claim appeared as…

Did Elon Musk publicly donate $10 million to help the families of January 6 participants "jump-start their lives," as a post on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: The post was published by a page affiliated with America's Last Line of Defense, a network of satire websites run by a self-professed liberal troll who uses various made-up names including "Busta…

Did basketball great Michael Jordan call for a ban on the pride flag from U.S. schools and sports? No, that's not true: The website that published the article has a satire disclaimer and is known for publishing fabricated content. The article also identifies its content as "SATIRE." No credible reports support the assertion that Jordan called to ban pride flags.…

Did Instagram and its parent company, Meta, force users to follow Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The accounts in question are reserved for the sitting vice president and president, respectively. Ownership was transferred to the leaders shortly after they assumed office. The claim appeared in a post on Instagram on January 21, 2025.…

Does a viral clip offer proof that the January 2025 California wildfires followed the same path as the planned California high-speed rail system?No, that's not true: The clip repeated a recycled falsehood from 2018. It showed an old 2018 map that depicted areas in a "red flag warning zone" of increased fire risk, not actual fires. The claim reappeared in…

If a wildfire destroys cars, must it always destroy nearby trees as well? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found other examples of wildfires sparing trees while nearby cars and houses were incinerated. Experts explain that trees generally have a higher moisture content and take longer to heat up than closed structures like a car or home, making trees less…

Was the New Orleans attacker an immigrant, as a social media post implied? No, that's not true: The FBI and President Joe Biden said Shamsud-Din Jabbar was born in Texas and served many years in the United States Army. A widely shared video shows a man with the same name and likeness saying he was born and raised in Beaumont,…

Did President Joe Biden deviate from standard protocol following the death of former President Jimmy Carter on December 29, 2024, by ordering flags to be set at half-staff during President-elect Donald Trump's second inauguration? No, that's not true: Federal law requires flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days after the death of a president or former president. This…