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  • Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Strike Happening During June 2025 Iran-Israel Conflict

    Fact Check

    Did a widely-shared video show a missile strike occurring during the June 2025 Iran-Israel conflict? No, that's not true: The footage predated that particular round of escalation. It had been online since 2024. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on June 17, 2025. It consisted of a clip of missiles striking an urban environment at…

    • Jun 18, 2025
    • by: Uliana Malashenko
    Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Strike Happening During June 2025 Iran-Israel Conflict 2024
  • Fact Check: Video Does NOT Authentically Show Pope Leo XIV Criticizing JD Vance's Response To Biden's Cancer Diagnosis

    Fact Check

    Did a viral video really show Pope Leo XIV publicly criticizing JD Vance for his reaction to former President Joe Biden's cancer announcement? No, that's not true: The clip used AI-generated sound to make it appear the Pope scolded Vance for attacking Biden with "cold, calculated words" and lacking "human compassion". No actual news websites reported that the Pope publicly…

    • May 22, 2025
    • by: Uliana Malashenko
    Fact Check: Video Does NOT Authentically Show Pope Leo XIV Criticizing JD Vance's Response To Biden's Cancer Diagnosis AI Sound
  • Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Pope Leo XIV Turning Away From Pride Flag -- It's The "Pace" (Peace) Flag

    Fact Check

    Does a video posted to social media show Pope Leo XIV turning away from a Pride flag as he moves through a receiving line? No, that's not true: It's not a Pride flag but a flag commonly flown at Italian peace marches that says "PACE," which is Italian for "peace". Furthermore, it's not clear the Pope turned specifically away from…

    • May 13, 2025
    • by: Dean Miller
    Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Pope Leo XIV Turning Away From Pride Flag -- It's The "Pace" (Peace) Flag Not Pride Flag
  • Fact Check: NO Evidence Pope Leo XIV Said "Be Woke" Or That Statement Containing That Phrase Is Authentic

    Fact Check

    Did Pope Leo XIV release a statement in which he said "Be woke"? No, that's not true: There is no trace of such a statement on the website of the Vatican and no news sources indexed by Google News have reported on it. Had such a statement been made it would have been major news. Lead Stories reached out to…

    • May 10, 2025
    • by: Maarten Schenk
    Fact Check: NO Evidence Pope Leo XIV Said "Be Woke" Or That Statement Containing That Phrase Is Authentic No Evidence
  • New Pope, New Conspiracies, But At The Speed Of Social Media

    Analysis

    ROME - That puff of white from atop the Sistine Chapel has long been a starting gun for conspiracists. With a new character in the story, they proclaim they alone tell the truth about dark forces playing pontifical puppeteers. These stories humans tell to make simple sense of complex events move ever faster, now that there's money to be made…

    • May 9, 2025
    • by: Raffaella Menichini
    New Pope, New Conspiracies, But At The Speed Of Social Media Fighting Fakes
  • Fact Check: NO Evidence Pope Leo XIV Was A 'Celebrated' Jazz Trombone player AKA 'Bobby Prev' In His Spare Time In Chicago

    Fact Check

    Did Robert Francis Prevost moonlight as "Bobby Prev", a "celebrated jazz trombonist" in Chicago who "headlined several jazz festivals in the '70s and '80s"? No, that's not true: The archives of the Chicago Tribune, which has long provided detailed coverage of jazz, contain no celebrations or even mentions of such a musician. Similarly, a search of the GoogleNews index of…

    • May 9, 2025
    • by: Dean Miller
    Fact Check: NO Evidence Pope Leo XIV Was A 'Celebrated' Jazz Trombone player AKA 'Bobby Prev' In His Spare Time In Chicago No Evidence
  • Fact Check: New Pope Leo XIV Is NOT 'Registered Republican' -- He Voted In Republican Primaries But Illinois Voters Needn't Declare Party Affiliation When Registering

    Fact Check

    Does a viral image prove that the newly elected U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV is a "registered Republican" from Will County, Illinois? That omits some context: According to the Will County Clerk's Office file, the new Pope did vote in Republican primaries in the past, but that doesn't make him a "registered Republican" because Illinois does not require eligible voters to…

    • May 8, 2025
    • by: Uliana Malashenko
    Fact Check: New Pope Leo XIV Is NOT 'Registered Republican' -- He Voted In Republican Primaries But Illinois Voters Needn't Declare Party Affiliation When Registering Fact Check: New Pope Leo XIV Is NOT 'Registered Republican' -- He Voted In Republican Primaries But Illinois Voters Needn't Declare Party Affiliation When Registering Lacks Context
  • White Smoke: Cardinals Choose American Robert Prevost As Pope Leo XIV -- What We Know So Far

    Breaking

    Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native, was chosen as successor to Pope Francis. Prevost, who becomes the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church, has chosen the name Leo XIV. (Source: Lead Stories' screenshot of Vatican TV) Prevost's earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, and a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union…

    • May 8, 2025
    • by: Alan Duke
    White Smoke: Cardinals Choose American Robert Prevost As Pope Leo XIV -- What We Know So Far American Pope
  • Private, Ritualistic And Consequential: The Conclave Is Conspiracy's Natural Habitat

    Analysis

    The conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor is set to start on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. It is a centuries-old ceremony entrenched in secrecy and powerful rituals, which strikes the world's imagination. This year, 135 cardinals from 71 countries across the five continents (of which Pope Francis has appointed 108, and 12 come from countries that never had a cardinal…

    • May 3, 2025
    • by: Raffaella Menichini
    Private, Ritualistic And Consequential: The Conclave Is Conspiracy's Natural Habitat Extra Omnes
  • Fact Check: Videos About 'Pope Francis' Dog' Are NOT Authentic News Reports

    Fact Check

    Did Pope Francis' dog "refuse to leave his grave"? No, that's not true: None of the variations of the internet rumor support that by links to credible news reports or authentic footage or photographs from the papal funeral, which was covered in detail by multiple journalistic organizations. There is no evidence that the late pontiff kept any pets during his…

    • Apr 28, 2025
    • by: Uliana Malashenko
    Fact Check: Videos About 'Pope Francis' Dog' Are NOT Authentic News Reports Didn't Happen
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Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
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    Fact Check: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Face $350 Million Lawsuit From 500 January 6 Defendants, in June 2025

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  • Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Incinerators Being Installed At 'Alligator Alcatraz' Facility In Florida -- Old Video From Minnesota Old Footage

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  • Fact Check: Population of 'Tremont, Nevada' Did NOT Disappear in 1954 -- Town Never Existed Horror Fiction

    Fact Check: Population of 'Tremont, Nevada' Did NOT Disappear in 1954 -- Town Never Existed

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Most Recent

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    Fact Check: AI Video Did NOT Show 'White Auroras' Over Norway -- Generated With AI

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    • Jul 4, 2025
    • by: Maarten Schenk
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    Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Incinerators Being Installed At 'Alligator Alcatraz' Facility In Florida -- Old Video From Minnesota

    Fact Check

    • Jul 4, 2025
    • by: Uliana Malashenko
  • Fact Check: Image of 'Alligator Alcatraz' With A Moat Is NOT Real -- AI Photo No Moat

    Fact Check: Image of 'Alligator Alcatraz' With A Moat Is NOT Real -- AI Photo

    Fact Check

    • Jul 3, 2025
    • by: Alan Duke
  • Fact Check: Old Video Screencap Shows White House 'Turned All Red' -- 2022 Event For Gun Violence Awareness 2022 Screencap

    Fact Check: Old Video Screencap Shows White House 'Turned All Red' -- 2022 Event For Gun Violence Awareness

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    • Jul 3, 2025
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  • Fact Check: Video Game Footage Does NOT Show Actual Downing Of Israeli Plane -- Footage NOT Released by Iran Game Video

    Fact Check: Video Game Footage Does NOT Show Actual Downing Of Israeli Plane -- Footage NOT Released by Iran

    Fact Check

    • Jul 3, 2025
    • by: Maarten Schenk
  • What We Know About a Viral Video That Claims ICE is Throwing Deported Immigrants Off Planes and Into the Ocean What We Know

    What We Know About a Viral Video That Claims ICE is Throwing Deported Immigrants Off Planes and Into the Ocean

    Fact Check

    • Jul 2, 2025
    • by: Uliana Malashenko
  • Fact Check: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Face $350 Million Lawsuit From 500 January 6 Defendants, in June 2025 Satire Origin

    Fact Check: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Face $350 Million Lawsuit From 500 January 6 Defendants, in June 2025

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    • Jul 2, 2025
    • by: Lead Stories Staff

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Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
Spotted something? Let us know!.

Lead Stories is a:

  • Verified signatory of the IFCN Code of Principles
  • Verified EFCSN member
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