Relief Benefit

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…

Do homeowners have "only six days left" to claim $52,000 in homeowner relief from a program President-elect Donald Trump initiated in January 2025? No, that's not true: A misleading video touts a nonexistent program to entice people to enter their personal information on a website. There is no record of a program as described, or of Trump saying, "Give our…

Did President-elect Donald Trump announce $6,400 "relief checks" that "any American can qualify for"? No, that's not true: A video on Facebook showing Trump announcing the checks is a deepfake. A link in the post did not direct users to an official government website but rather to a health insurance webpage. As of this publication, the government had not announced…

Did President-elect Donald Trump announce during a podcast interview with Joe Rogan that Americans could "claim their $6,400 relief checks" as of November 25, 2024? No, that's not true: The post saying this used altered audio with a real video of a Trump interview on the Joe Rogan show. There was no mention of a "relief" check in the real,…

Did President Joe Biden announce "emergency" $6,400 stimulus checks in November 2024? No, that's not true: An online search found no such announcement from Biden, the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service. Those two government agencies administered three earlier stimulus programs. The claim appeared in a video post on Facebook (archived here) on November, 20, 2024,…

Is the Federal Emergency Management Agency confiscating supplies and donations for Hurricane Helene victims? No, that's not true: An agency spokesperson told Lead Stories that such accusations are "false." State and local officials in multiple Southern states that were hit by Hurricane Helene have unequivocally stated that the federal agency has not confiscated any supplies or donations. The agency does…

Does a video clip show a speaker saying, "We should focus our efforts on LGBTQIA people" during a disaster preparedness meeting by the Federal Emergency Management Agency? No, that's not true: This was a 2023 panel event, not a "disaster preparedness meeting." According to transcripts the statement about LGBTQIA focus didn't come up in the clip or in the longer…

Is the $750 in initial federal aid to Hurricane Helene victims a loan that must be paid back or people's property could be seized? No, that's not true: The $750, which comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Serious Needs Assistance program, is a grant, not a loan, and does not need to be repaid. Additionally, the agency's website states…

Does federal disaster assistance to Helene victims amount to no more than $750 per family? No, that's not true: The White House stated that the $750 in Serious Needs Assistance is an immediate direct payment to eligible households for essential items like food, baby formula, water, medications and other emergency supplies. A FEMA spokesperson told Lead Stories, "that's not the…

Did the White House announce a new debt-relief program for veterans who owe money on their credit cards? No, that's not true: A video on Facebook that made this claim used a fake screenshot of the White House website to create a misleading impression involving an article supposedly published on July 6, 2024. In reality, the Biden-Harris White House made…