Government Benefits

Does a viral post about "a 26-year-old man from Chicago" arrested over "hacking into the Cook County Human Services system" to approve all food stamp applications describe a real-life incident? No, that's not true: The mugshot of the imaginary suspect was generated by AI. Earlier versions of the rumor started years ago as pranks and satire. The claim appeared in…

Did Donald Trump announce that people who had cosmetic surgeries would no longer be eligible for any form of government assistance starting in March 2026? No, that's not true:There were no news stories about any such announcement from Trump, despite claims in a viral video. Neither the White House nor Trump's social media accounts showed anything looking like such an…

Are recordings of purported calls of President Trump ranting that he would start a war or let the country starve to avoid releasing the Epstein files real? No, that's not true: The earliest versions of social media posts with two purported Trump recordings include the Sora watermark, which indicates that OpenAI tool was used to make them. None of the…

Has a New Jersey supermarket shuttered its windows ever since Nov. 1, 2025 when SNAP payments were cut off? No, that's not true: The store had not, at the time this was written, closed because of a delay in the dispersal of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown. The store manager told Lead Stories they have been open during their…

Does a viral video capture a grocery theft related to the freeze of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, in November 2025? No, that's not true: A search for the origins of the video showed that it had been online for more than a year before the 2025 SNAP freeze. The video mentioned that the scene in…

Did Walmart announce it would shut down stores for in-person shopping on November 1, 2025, due to the expected lapse in federal funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no credible sources saying that. As of this writing, the company's website continued to advertise multiple in-person November deals. The claim appeared in a…

Would Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former diet supplement company advisor and investor, profit from the Trump Administration's plan to recommend folinic acid for those on the autism spectrum? No, that's not true: As a condition of taking the job of Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Oz pledged in writing to close out by July 3, 2025…

Has the Home Office, the Prime Minister or Parliament announced that starting September 1, 2025, UK banks will automatically flag to 'The Anti-Fraud Unit" any cash withdrawals in excess of 420 pounds, as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: No such program is part of the record of official proceedings. Neither have UK government leaders announced such a…

Did President Donald Trump redefine marriage by decreeing that couples who date for over five years are legally married? No, that's NOT true. There have been no announcements from Trump nor statements from the White House press secretary nor any of their spokespersons regarding new laws aimed at redefining marriage by including within its legal framework unmarried couples who have…

Was TikTok influencer Khaby Lame arrested by ICE and was he "deported"? No, that's not true: A video on X making that claim showed a 220963977 A-number from ICE's detainee locator system that currently does not show any results. An ICE spokesperson said Lame was briefly "detained" on June 6, 2025 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada…