Shootings

Does the music video "Try That In A Small Town" by country music singer Jason Aldean only contain "real news footage," as he asserted in a public response to criticism that his song and video promote violence and allude to timeworn lynching threats? No, that's not true: Not every clip in the video is news footage. There are several stock…

Was there a massive vote discrepancy found in the 2022 Arizona midterm election? No, that's not true: An election expert told Lead Stories the claims of vote discrepancy were "100% false." The Arizona Secretary of State spokesperson said the claim falsely used a "static" voter registration list versus a list that showed accurate updates from election day that provides information…

Are school shootings proven to be caused predominantly by the attackers taking antidepressants? No, that's not true: No credible source has confirmed this claim since it was published in 2012. The claim reappeared in a post on Instagram on March 30, 2023. The caption said: 🤔 Just wanted to leave this here... #ssri #antidepressants #healing #iatrogenicmania An article shared in…

Was "Samantha Hyde" positively identified as the suspected shooter in the Nashville Covenant School shooting? No, that's not true: According to local police, it was Audrey Elizabeth Hale. Posts on social media were based on a long-running internet prank that a comedian named Sam Hyde, or some derivation of his name, is named as the suspected gunman by internet trolls…

Did members of the U.S. Marine Corps kill FBI agents at an electrical substation in Meridian, Idaho, on February 12, 2023, Super Bowl Sunday? No, that's not true: The claim was made by Real Raw News, an online publication that repeatedly publishes fake news stories. The claim originated in an article (archived here) published by Real Raw News on February…

Does a video of a congressional hearing show a Democratic congresswoman from California saying she believes pedophilia is an identity and not a crime? No, that's not true: Katie Porter's remarks were about the use of false narratives on social media that label LGBTQ individuals as pedophiles because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. The claim appeared in a…

Was a Ukraine ID card in the name of "Semen Hydenko" (or Samuyil Hydenko) found at the scene of the October 8, 2022, explosion on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia? No, that's not true: The spoof ID card shown in online messages has the face of American comedian Sam Hyde on it. In a bizarre internet in-joke, Hyde is…

Does this video show pirates trying to take over a U.S. military ship? No, that's not true: This video shows scenes taken from different sources, but the opening scene -- a small red target boat under heavy machine gun fire, a scenario that appears several times through the video -- shows a target boat that is part of a U.S.…

Is President Joe Biden "banning switchblades alongside semi-automatic rifles in the coming months as a result of the recent mass shootings"? No, that's not true: The tweet making the claim is fake and was never posted by the account shown. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on June 13, 2022. It opens: It's looking likely that Biden will be…

Did actor Matthew McConaughey tweet that Instagram needs to shut down an account for harassing him because he "wanted to take action against guns"? No, that's not true: The tweet is fake and the account shown for @McConaughey is suspended on Twitter. His real verified Twitter account did not post the message. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on…