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Pope

  • Fact Check: Screengrab Does NOT Document A Macron Presidential Plane Attendant With A 'Ripped Bloody Shoulder'

    Fact Check

    Does a social media video authentically show a flight attendant with a "ripped bloody shoulder" on the top platform of the airstair when French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife arrived at Hanoi International Airport on May 25, 2025? No, that's not true: Footage of that moment captured by credible news agencies showed a scarf or patch on her shoulder.…

    • May 27, 2025
    • by: Dean Miller
    Fact Check: Screengrab Does NOT Document A Macron Presidential Plane Attendant With A 'Ripped Bloody Shoulder' Normal Arm
  • Fact Check: Video Does NOT Authentically Show Pope Leo XIV Criticizing JD Vance's Response To Biden's Cancer Diagnosis

    Fact Check

    Did a viral video really show Pope Leo XIV publicly criticizing JD Vance for his reaction to former President Joe Biden's cancer announcement? No, that's not true: The clip used AI-generated sound to make it appear the Pope scolded Vance for attacking Biden with "cold, calculated words" and lacking "human compassion". No actual news websites reported that the Pope publicly…

    • May 22, 2025
    • by: Uliana Malashenko
    Fact Check: Video Does NOT Authentically Show Pope Leo XIV Criticizing JD Vance's Response To Biden's Cancer Diagnosis AI Sound
  • Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Pope Leo XIV Turning Away From Pride Flag -- It's The "Pace" (Peace) Flag

    Fact Check

    Does a video posted to social media show Pope Leo XIV turning away from a Pride flag as he moves through a receiving line? No, that's not true: It's not a Pride flag but a flag commonly flown at Italian peace marches that says "PACE," which is Italian for "peace". Furthermore, it's not clear the Pope turned specifically away from…

    • May 13, 2025
    • by: Dean Miller
    Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Pope Leo XIV Turning Away From Pride Flag -- It's The "Pace" (Peace) Flag Not Pride Flag
  • Fact Check: NO Evidence Pope Leo XIV Said "Be Woke" Or That Statement Containing That Phrase Is Authentic

    Fact Check

    Did Pope Leo XIV release a statement in which he said "Be woke"? No, that's not true: There is no trace of such a statement on the website of the Vatican and no news sources indexed by Google News have reported on it. Had such a statement been made it would have been major news. Lead Stories reached out to…

    • May 10, 2025
    • by: Maarten Schenk
    Fact Check: NO Evidence Pope Leo XIV Said "Be Woke" Or That Statement Containing That Phrase Is Authentic No Evidence
  • New Pope, New Conspiracies, But At The Speed Of Social Media

    Analysis

    ROME - That puff of white from atop the Sistine Chapel has long been a starting gun for conspiracists. With a new character in the story, they proclaim they alone tell the truth about dark forces playing pontifical puppeteers. These stories humans tell to make simple sense of complex events move ever faster, now that there's money to be made…

    • May 9, 2025
    • by: Raffaella Menichini
    New Pope, New Conspiracies, But At The Speed Of Social Media Fighting Fakes
  • Fact Check: NO Evidence Pope Leo XIV Was A 'Celebrated' Jazz Trombone player AKA 'Bobby Prev' In His Spare Time In Chicago

    Fact Check

    Did Robert Francis Prevost moonlight as "Bobby Prev", a "celebrated jazz trombonist" in Chicago who "headlined several jazz festivals in the '70s and '80s"? No, that's not true: The archives of the Chicago Tribune, which has long provided detailed coverage of jazz, contain no celebrations or even mentions of such a musician. Similarly, a search of the GoogleNews index of…

    • May 9, 2025
    • by: Dean Miller
    Fact Check: NO Evidence Pope Leo XIV Was A 'Celebrated' Jazz Trombone player AKA 'Bobby Prev' In His Spare Time In Chicago No Evidence
  • Fact Check: Fake Headline About Pope Leo XIV And 2020 Anarchist 'CHAZ' Protest Did NOT Appear In New York Times -- Location Wrong, Too

    Fact Check

    Did the New York Times publish a story headlined "Pope Leo XIV Was a Founding Member of the 2020 Anarchist Portland Autonomous Zone Known as CHAZ"? No, that's not true: A faked screenshot of such a headline also claimed Robert Francis Prevost spent time writing for an "anarchist zine" in Portland about how to "fist-fight police officers". No such article…

    • May 8, 2025
    • by: Maarten Schenk
    Fact Check: Fake Headline About Pope Leo XIV And 2020 Anarchist 'CHAZ' Protest Did NOT Appear In New York Times -- Location Wrong, Too Fake
  • Fact Check: New Pope Leo XIV Is NOT 'Registered Republican' -- He Voted In Republican Primaries But Illinois Voters Needn't Declare Party Affiliation When Registering

    Fact Check

    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…

    • May 8, 2025
    • by: Uliana Malashenko
    Fact Check: New Pope Leo XIV Is NOT 'Registered Republican' -- He Voted In Republican Primaries But Illinois Voters Needn't Declare Party Affiliation When Registering Fact Check: New Pope Leo XIV Is NOT 'Registered Republican' -- He Voted In Republican Primaries But Illinois Voters Needn't Declare Party Affiliation When Registering Lacks Context
  • White Smoke: Cardinals Choose American Robert Prevost As Pope Leo XIV -- What We Know So Far

    Breaking

    Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native, was chosen as successor to Pope Francis. Prevost, who becomes the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church, has chosen the name Leo XIV. (Source: Lead Stories' screenshot of Vatican TV) Prevost's earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, and a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union…

    • May 8, 2025
    • by: Alan Duke
    White Smoke: Cardinals Choose American Robert Prevost As Pope Leo XIV -- What We Know So Far American Pope
  • Private, Ritualistic And Consequential: The Conclave Is Conspiracy's Natural Habitat

    Analysis

    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…

    • May 3, 2025
    • by: Raffaella Menichini
    Private, Ritualistic And Consequential: The Conclave Is Conspiracy's Natural Habitat Extra Omnes
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EFCSN International Fact-Checking Organization

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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.
Spotted something? Let us know!.

Lead Stories is a:

  • Verified signatory of the IFCN Code of Principles
  • Verified EFCSN member
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