Tariffs

Did Donald Trump post on his Truth Social account that he is "...open to reconciling with Elon ..."? No, that's not true: The viral image of the supposed Trump post on the social media platform he owns is fabricated. There is no trace of such a post on Trump's Truth Social account and none was indexed by Google. After their…

Did a video clip authentically show "TACO" written in the sky over President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, in May 2025? No, that's not true: The footage was fake, and most likely generated using AI. The acronym "TACO", meaning "Trump Always Chickens Out" came to prominence among some critics of the president, in May 2025 amid his attempts to impose increased…

Does a video on YouTube confirm that three Japanese car manufacturers publicly announced the decision to exit the U.S. market, facing tariffs planned to be imposed by the Trump Administration? No, that's not true: The clip did not offer any specific details of the purported statement. Lead Stories found no press releases or credible media reports confirming the rumor. Talking…

Does a viral clip show Canada's PM Mark Carney announcing phasing out "all vehicles manufactured before 2000 due to safety and emission standards"? No, that's not true: The video reused the footage of his tariff-related speech while replacing the authentic sound. The audio track was likely to have been generated by AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did U.S. gas prices drop below $1.98 a gallon as President Trump claimed in a May 2, 2025 Truth Social post? No, that's not true: The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.18 on May 2, 2025, according to the AAA survey. The cheapest gas was in Mississippi, where the average price for regular unleaded was…

Did a real TIME magazine cover depict Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney giving the finger, alongside the words "Hey, Donald"? No, that's not true: That design did not appear on a list of magazine covers from 2025. A Canadian-flag ring could be seen on Carney's raised middle finger in the fake artwork. The magazine cover was presented as real in…

Did the account of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. on X post a cartoon depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as having a tariff-related tantrum? No, that's not true: As of this writing, the account's entries did not include that image. Answering Lead Stories' questions, an embassy spokesperson denied that either its official account on X or any other account…

Did White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt say "Avoid woke things like math, and you'll love the tariffs." on Fox News? No, that's not true: A screenshot with that quote in a chyron has been digitally fabricated. The original screenshot said "ONE-ON-ONE WITH KAROLINE LEAVITT". The fake screenshot appeared in a post on Bluesky (archived here) published on April 17,…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump write on social media that he would increase tariffs on China for every 1,000 "likes" he gets? No, that's not true: The viral image of the supposed screenshot of his account was fake. The promise to increase levies on China based on likes did not appear on Trump's social media, as of this writing. The…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump post a meme of Winnie the Pooh on X to troll China's Xi Jinping in 2025? No, that's not true: Lead Stories manually reviewed Trump's account on X and did not find the image social media alleged he published. No credible media organization reported the purported news. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…