History

Does a viral post accurately summarize Zohran Mamdani's words from a podcast recorded more than five years before he was sworn in as New York City mayor? No, that's not true: The quote was shortened, and it changed its meaning. A longer, more elaborate fragment of his speech shows that he suggested that it shouldn't be the police, but specially…

Do viral posts tell a real-life story about a Connecticut woman named "Ada Morrison" who was committed to a psychiatric hospital for "excessive reading and intellectual pretensions unsuitable for woman"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories extensively researched available records but found no mention of the story outside of social media platforms. Those posts were illustrated by an AI-generated image.…

Were Novak Djokovic, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Dolly Parton and dozens of other celebrities each honored with a full-body bronze statue on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? No, that's not true: The exact same story, usually just altered by changing the name of the celebrity, appeared on dozens of sites and Facebook pages run from Vietnam. There were no real news…

Is the letter in which convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein told another convicted sex offender, Larry Nassar, that "our president shares our love of young, nubile girls" real? No, that's not true: The Department of Justice, which published the letter as part of the Epstein file release, later referred to the letter as "fake." The agency said it relied on…

Did Cher tell Karoline Leavitt to "sit down, baby girl" after reading out her bio on MSNBC? No, that's not true: The viral story about the singer reacting to a supposed rant from Leavitt about "out-of-touch celebrities who think they can lecture America" originated on a network of websites and Facebook pages run from Vietnam. It contained verifiably false details.…

Did Karoline Leavitt or someone else tweet "You Need To Shut Up" at various celebrities and did they all react during a "live show" with millions of viewers? No, that's not true: Dozens of variations of the same story but mentioning different celebrities were posted by a network of Facebook pages and websites operated from Vietnam. Leavitt's personal and official…

Does the new Trump-Kennedy sign at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have gold appliques like President Donald Trump added to the walls of the Oval Office? No, that's not true: Though Trump's name was added, there were no news reports that gold ornaments were added to the facade of the Kennedy Center. Photos taken by Lead Stories on…

Did the White House confirm "Trump's impromptu visit to Walter Reed hospital" to receive "Dementia test of the year" award? No, that's not true: The story originated from a website that says it publishes satire content. The White House website said nothing about it. The claim first appeared in an article (archived here) published on December 19, 2025, by the…

Did a "Josephine Boudreaux, the Black Widow of Louisiana", seduce and kill 11 Klan members in 1872? No, that's not true: This story is made up and only recently surfaced on social media. There is no historical record of this woman, and the story lacks verifying details such as names and places. There are many images purporting to show Boudreaux,…

Did a boy scout named Eric Langford disappear in the Airondirac forests of New York State in 1989 and did he mysteriously return in 2001? No, that's not true: The fictional tale about a kidnapping appeared on a YouTube channel that published fake stories about mysterious disappearances in the past. Several details in the story don't match up with reality…