North Carolina

Did Sophie Cunningham and other famous people including Alice Cooper, Ice Cube and Myles Garrett say that President Donald Trump is a "tough man" and "no one has fought harder for the heart and soul of America"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Cunningham and the others ever said that about Trump. The claim was an example…

Was Decarlos Brown Jr., accused of killing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, a foreign national who "came in through open borders," as Donald Trump said during the State of the Union address? No, that is not true: Brown was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and graduated from West Mecklenburg High School. Because he was born in the United States, he is…

Do photos and social media accounts of Austin Tucker Martin reveal him to be transgender? No, that's not true: The photos purporting to show Martin, who was killed while allegedly armed and breaking into President Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club, are mislabeled. They show an unidentified person who does not resemble verified family photos of Martin. No credible reporting about Austin…

Did R. Kelly escape from prison in February 2026? No, that's not true: The account that made the claim is clearly labeled a "parody account." Robert Kelly was incarcerated at FCI Butner Medium in North Carolina, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, as of publication date. The claim appeared in a February 10, 2026, post on X account…

Does a video show the final verdict being handed down in the trial of Decarlos Brown for the killing of Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed while riding a train in Charlotte, North Carolina? No, that's not true: This video montage was originally posted on Instagram with a caption suggesting that it was a hypothetical outcome, "This an idea of…

Is a high-end Seattle store called "Matthew's Haberdashery" moving to Charlotte, North Carolina and selling Seattle-made men's clothes at a discount in a moving sale? No, that's not true: the store never existed, and the website and Facebook page appeared just 39 days before the moving sale was underway. Lead Stories easily found the exact photos from the Matthew's website…

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 Charlie Kirk make this final video sometime before he died, "Knowing this day might come"? No, that's not true: A video posted on TikTok contains a mashup of real scenes, but the audio is fake. A specialized detection tool analyzed the audio track from this video and determined that the voice of Charlie Kirk was made with an AI…

Does a video of a grocery meat counter prove the price of rib eye boneless beef has risen to $59.99 a pound in August 2025? No, that's not true: The video shows a package of A5 Wagyu, which is the highest grade of Japanese beef and is subject to a 25.6% U.S. tariff. American-grown rib roasts were priced between $18…

Did North Carolina pass a law allowing foreign doctors to practice medicine in that state without taking a U.S. qualification exam? No, that's not true: The legislation, which was signed into law by North Carolina's governor on July 1, 2025, addresses a severe shortage of primary physicians at the state's rural hospitals by giving non-U.S.-trained doctors "new licensure pathways," according…