Satire

Did Robert De Niro say he had to leave New York City now that Mamdani is officially the mayor as some viral posts are saying? No, that's not true: The actor did not make the comments about having "no choice" and Mamdani wanting to take half of his savings because he was wealthy. The story and quote originated on a…

Are late-night TV hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon joining together to create a new "Freedom Show"? No, that's not true: This is an unsourced clickbait claim, made up and distributed by a spam network based in Vietnam. The network targets American audiences with false stories about celebrities, sports figures, and politicians that are posted on Facebook pages…

Did Greenland's parliament introduce legislation to ban Donald Trump and all his descendants for 100 generations? No, that's not true: The story originated on a social media account that describes itself as "Dadaist graffiti news", comedy and satire. No real news outlet reported such a ban, which would have been international news while Trump was publicly saying he would annex,…

Did the U.S. Department of Homeland Security release an image of Jonathan Ross's arm with an IV tube as evidence that the ICE agent suffered internal bleeding from Renee Good's car? No, that's not true: The photo was taken by a college student in 2016 and used in an attempt to convince his professor that he was hospitalized and should…

Does this viral video show a ceremony during the Minnesota Timberwolves game Jan. 8, 2026 to commemorate the death of Renee Good? No, that's not true: The video was posted on a satire account. The video shows the wrong jerseys for the Timberwolves. Players for the Timberwolves and Cavaliers did stand silently to honor the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman shot and…

Did an actual news outlet report that an oil executive said Donald Trump "smelled like rotten roast beef" and audibly farted multiple times during a White House meeting with oil industry leaders? No, that's not true: The viral message making those claims originated on a satirical X.com account. There were no actual news reports that any participant in the Jan.…

Did a group of "radical libertarian NRA members" face off with ICE agents and their vehicles in Oregon, daring them to move an inch toward them? No, that's not true: A viral message making that claim in the wake of the Minneapolis shooting of a woman by an ICE agent originated on a satirical X.com account. There were no actual…

Did a "Lucas Mamdani", brother to New York City's mayor, buy properties with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to financially benefit from new city policies on affordable housing? No, that's not true: Lead Stories did not find evidence to support the existence of any sibling of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The claim originated from a page with a satire label that was…

Did a federal Judge say the Treasury Department can take back $15 million of USAID money granted to companies owned by Sen. Adam Schiff? No, that's not true: This post originated from a website that produces satire content designed to fool conservatives. The post originally had a visible satire disclaimer but it has been reposted elsewhere with the disclaimer blurred…

False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. Here are our most read fact checks of the past year, reflecting our reader's interest in finding out the truth about various viral stories. If you see something suspicious in 2026,…