Illinois

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…

Did Nike or Under Armour donate face masks and clothing to ICE agents involved in arresting undocumented immigrants in the United States? No, that's not true: The TikTok host making the claim gave no supporting information about how he confirmed the claim. Lead Stories found no evidence to support the claim and several red flags raising questions about the credibility…

Does a viral video show a "Massive Tornado Hits Springfield Illinois Today July 20, 2025"? No, that's not true: That video clip has been online since at least July 2024. It showed news coverage of Typhoon Yagi striking China's island province of Hainan. The mislabelled video was posted July 20, 2025 to TikTok (archived here) on the @disaster.world1 account, titled…

Does a viral image show "a 27-year-old man from Jackson, Mississippi," who was arrested in early July 2025 "after allegedly hacking into the Hinds County Human Services system and approving every single application for food stamps"? No, that's not true: Variations of this recycled rumor have been circulating on the internet at least since 2020. No credible media organization reported…

Did Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger write the warnings about the Big Beautiful Bill that have been attributed to them in a viral post? No, that's not true: Kinzinger took to social media to call it out as a fake. The words in the meme do not match public statements or social media posts by the two former Republican members…

Does a viral image prove that the newly elected U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV is a "registered Republican" from Will County, Illinois? That omits some context: According to the Will County Clerk's Office file, the new Pope did vote in Republican primaries in the past, but that doesn't make him a "registered Republican" because Illinois does not require eligible voters to…

The conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor is set to start on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. It is a centuries-old ceremony entrenched in secrecy and powerful rituals, which strikes the world's imagination. This year, 135 cardinals from 71 countries across the five continents (of which Pope Francis has appointed 108, and 12 come from countries that never had a cardinal…