Illinois

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…

Is Timothy Donahue the ICE agent who shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine on July 13, 2026? No, that's not true: Neither Immigration and Customs Enforcement nor the Maine Attorney General's Office has released the identity of the federal immigration agent involved in the shooting. A news report in April 2026 also identifies Donahue as a Border Patrol…

Are Facebook posts claiming to show "a simple stone marker" where three U.S. states converge real? No, that's not true: These images and text, which do not reflect real geography, are clickbait posts made with artificial intelligence tools. The Facebook pages used to distribute them impersonate local interest groups in each state, but are managed from Bangladesh. Among the false…

Are Facebook posts about plans to build $3.8 billion stadiums for 34 NFL, MLB, NBA, and college sports teams that would transform their cities into global destinations real? No, that's not true: Dozens of nearly identical posts were generated by artificial intelligence tools and distributed by a spam network managed from Vietnam. With the exception of a new stadium for…

Did police discover the body of an elderly woman in a Pima County suburb with clothing found at the scene that closely resembled what Nancy Guthrie was wearing before her disappearance? No, that's not true: "This is not factual," the public information officer for the Pima County Sheriff's Department told Lead Stories. As of February 5, 2026, "TODAY" show host…

Was Evan Kilgore the federal agent who shot and killed U.S. citizen and registered nurse Alex Pretti during an immigration enforcement raid in Minneapolis? No, that's not true: Kilgore denied he worked for immigration enforcement agencies and threatened to sue those who spread the claim on social media. Lead Stories found nothing suggesting that the conservative commentator had built a…

Did a Marcus Holloway serve twenty years in prison for a murder he didn't commit when his wife Sarah was finally discovered alive after being held captive by a Chicago neighbor all those years? No, that's not true: There is no record of a real crime in Chicago matching these details. The fake story appeared across social media published by…

Did Walmart announce that it would shut down 23 "neighborhood markets" locations in New York City due to the "tax system Mamdani has planned"? No, that's not true: As of this writing, Walmart has no stores of any type in New York City. The earlier variations of the claim showed a satire label linking it to the self-professed liberal troll…

Is a federal employee described as an "ICE agent" in social media posts now wanted by law enforcement for his involvement in a Chicago shooting? No, that's not true: No court records say that such an arrest warrant was issued. An attorney for the injured woman, charged with interfering with on-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents, confirmed to Lead…

Was Fox News host Brett Baier correct when he declared Chicago has "the highest murder rate of all the big cities" during an interview with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker? Yes, if you compare US cities with official populations over 1 million. Pritzker asserted Chicago ranks below 30th, but did not provide a citation for that number. Lead Stories found that…