Texas Wildfires

Was the airspace around New Orleans also shut down in early February, 2026, along with El Paso's closure due to alleged national security concerns? No, that's not true: The Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over New Orleans during Mardi Gras issued by the FAA for part of each day from Feb. 13-18, 2026 was announced by the Louisiana State Police on…

Did U.S. Special Forces destroy a DEW, which stands for directed energy weapon, plane? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories the story is "false." The website that made the claim regularly publishes completely fabricated content. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on March 10, 2024, titled "Special Forces Destroy DEW…

Does a video prove Bill Gates suggested destroying agricultural land? No, that's not true: A convoluted post on social media cut out portions of Gates' response to a question, changing the context of what he said. The edited clip of Gates speaking at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., in 2019 was merged with an unrelated video showing cattle running…

Was "80 percent of Texas' cattle grazing land" destroyed in the 2024 wildfires burning across the Texas Panhandle, as is claimed in a post and video on Instagram? No, that's not true: As of this writing, more than 1.2 million acres have been burned in the state in four active fires in the Texas Panhandle, which contains less than 10…

Did Joe Biden let slip that there is a "right roof" with a certain color that will protect a home from being destroyed by lasers or directed energy weapons during wildfires as some conspiracists suggest? No, that's not true: In a video clip of Joe Biden speaking in Brownsville, Texas, he does say how in the aftermath of a wildfire…

Does a viral video of a "green laser" authentically show a beam igniting a Texas wildfire that started in late February 2024? No, that's not true: The clip was posted two months before the blaze. It was first published in a social media account of a person describing themselves as a "video creator" who made no references to Texas…

Did U.S. Marines "neutralize" a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) convoy on Maui around August 20, 2023? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that there's "absolutely no truth to this claim." Also, the website this claim originated from carries a disclaimer stating that it publishes satirical content. The claim appeared in an article published by…

Does this collection of photos show the inner workings of airplanes that spray "chemtrails" and has this information been "declassified"? No, that's not true: These photos do not show "chemtrail spraying equipment." The photos are either misidentified, are a joke, or are intentionally unidentified, but they have been presented in a false context allowing imaginations to run wild. There is…

Was "Kim Martin Morrow the CEO of Netflix" charged with 15 charges for child pornography? No, that's not true. Kim Martin Morrow is not the CEO of Netflix -- that is Reed Hastings -- and neither has been charged on 15 counts for child pornography. The story on someone named Morrow and pornography charges is completely made up, as was…