Tariffs

Did "all of India's telemarketers" threaten "to go on strike permanently" if the U.S. places increased tariffs on imports from that country? No, that's not true: No media organizations reported that. The viral post that resurfaced at the end of September 2025 appeared to be a joke. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on September…

Does this video clip show Jon Stewart making "a savage reply to Trump's India tariff?" No, that's not true: The video clip posted on social media is not real. The video about Trump's India tariff was posted during the time when Stewart's "The Daily Show" was on summer break. The 28-second video appeared in a post on X (archived here)…

Did sections of the U.S. Constitution concerning habeas corpus and the powers of Congress disappear from the U.S. Congress website before August 6, 2025? Yes, that's true: Archived versions of the pages recorded the changes that omitted sections 9 and 10 from Article 1. The Library of Congress, which manages the Congressional website, acknowledged the deletions and said it was…

Did President Trump incorrectly identify Ferdinand Marcos as the current president of the Philippines in a July 22, 2025, Truth Social post? No, that's not true: Ferdinand Marcos Jr., better known as Bongbong, was sworn in as the Philippines' 17th president on June 30, 2022. A social media post calling Trump a "demented buffoon" for claiming he just met with…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump write on Truth Social that he regretted taking "advise" from tech billionaire Elon Musk, and affirm that there was no "white genocide" in South Africa? No, that's not true: A screenshot shared widely in July 2025 was digitally edited. An archive of the president's account on Truth Social showed that such a post never existed.…

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…