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…
Does a video purporting to show an eight-year-old girl asking the court to "severely punish her stepfather" for the murder of her sibling, four-year-old "James Andrew", authentically capture a real-life scene? No, that's not true: The clip was a compilation of unrelated video and photo materials recorded at different times and locations. In reality, the girl's speech addressed the killing…
Did U.S. Border Patrol find thousands of FEMA relief packages along the southern U.S. border in May 2025, which had been re-routed from hurricane-hit states for the benefit of undocumented immigrants? No, that's not true: That claim originated with a Facebook account that describes its content as satirical. America's Last Line of Defense is a frequent source of fake stories…
Does the story that Oprah Winfrey is now the largest land owner in Western North Carolina come from an actual news source? No, that's not true: An image meme that said she "bought out hundreds of families" for "pennies on the dollar" originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking…
Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
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