Fact Check

Was Samuel Hyde named as the suspect in the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO? No, that's not true: Sam, or Samuel, Hyde is a comedian whose name and likeness have been the subject of internet memes associated with shootings since 2015. One of the photos of a person of interest released by the New York Police Department was edited to…

Does a video montage show how factories in India make artificial rice out of recycled plastic? No, that's not true: These videos are real, but what the factories are making has been misrepresented. Some video clips show plastic being recycled to make plastic pellets for use in other plastic products -- but not in food. Other video clips show the…

Did Dr. Anthony Fauci ever say that 72 mandatory childhood vaccines were never safety tested? No, that's not true: Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Lead Stories, "This claim is not true." Vaccines are carefully tested in multiple stages of clinical trials to ensure they are safe and effective before being approved…

Does a video prove that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a hotel in Courchevel, France, for 88 million euros ($93 million) in November 2024? No, that's not true: The video was based on a screenshot of a fake website mimicking the online page of a currently closed hotel. The current owner of the hotel described the posts sharing the video…

Have 83 deaths been caused or attributed to fires caused by spontaneous Tesla explosions, as implied in a meme? No, that's not true: The figures in the meme come from an online database that compiles news reports and government data but does not verify or confirm these reports. According to that database, 83 deaths involved a Tesla car fire, but…

Was Fox News contributor Dr. Kelly Powers' death from cancer due to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: An article calling her "fully vaccinated" implies that she passed away from the COVID vaccine. Powers was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in July 2020, according to an obituary; the COVID vaccine was not available until 2021. The article…

Did actor Jason Momoa say, "I can't stay here," implying he was leaving the U.S. in response to the 2024 U.S. presidential election results? No, that's not true: A social media post attributing those words to Momoa had no credible evidence that he said that publicly. Google searches also didn't produce any credible news reports confirming the post as of…

Did Canada ban President-elect Donald Trump from entering the country as of November 2024 because of his felony conviction? No, that's not true: A person is only declared inadmissible when they try to cross into the country, and no credible source reported that Trump tried to enter Canada before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited him in Florida. Contrary to…

Are social media posts about a missing boy named Grayson Costain diagnosed with autism real? No, that's not true: Lead Stories has debunked many similar stories about a missing child in various locations before. These bait-and-switch posts use an emotional tale about a child supposedly lost in various locations across the U.S. to draw an audience, then flip to display…

Did Fox host and former prosecutor Jeanine Pirro criticize President-elect Donald Trump over pardons? No, that's not true: An authentic video of Pirro was included in a social media post with photographs of Trump. In reality, Pirro was criticizing President Joe Biden for pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. The claim appeared in a post and video on Threads on December…

Will Facebook users be able to answer a survey and receive a pair of UGG boots for $10? No, that's not true: The senior PR manager for UGG told Lead Stories this was not true. The survey takes users to two websites, neither of whose URLs are affiliated with UGG or their parent company Deckers. On the first website, there…

Were social media posts genuinely warning the public in late 2024 about Robert Thibodeau, who was being called a "serial killer on the run" in communities over 2,500 miles apart? No, that's not true: Tipton County, Tennessee, Sheriff Shannon Beasley responded to one of these posts, shared in that area, stating, "This is a scam and NOT TRUE." Through a…

Does an image showing a convoy of military vehicles driving through a city at night depict the situation in South Korea when martial law was declared on December 3, 2024? No, that's not true: The photo is from January 25, 2024, and it shows a nighttime South Korean army mobile training exercise. There is also a YouTube video from January…

Was a prominent HIV researcher who died in the 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 planning to declare the virus a "man-made disease"? No, that's not true: Dr. Joep Lange's work in the field of HIV/AIDS focused largely on developing treatment options and the global inequities of treating the disease, not the origin of AIDS itself. A Google News…

Did Wendy's, Olive Garden and 13 other restaurant companies named in a social media post donate to Donald Trump in the 2024 election? No, that's not true: None of the political action committees for the restaurants listed in the social media post donated to Trump in the 2024 election, according to federal election reports publicly available as of this writing.…

Were COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by military contractors rather than by Pfizer and Moderna? No, that's not true: FDA inspection records show the vaccines were made in drug industry labs. Pfizer pointed Lead Stories to publicly available documents about its facilities in Belgium, Germany and at least two locations in the U.S., including Kalamazoo, Michigan. Under Operation Warp Speed, the government…

Does the fact that Michelle Obama stated she had used in vitro fertilization, or IVF, to get pregnant prove she is a trans woman? No, that's not true: For IVF to work, the person needs to have a uterus. Lead Stories did not find anything from reputable media outlets or other sources to show that Obama is anything other than…

Did Reba McEntire say "drag queens shouldn't be around kids"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories could not locate any evidence of the country music singer having said that. In fact, McEntire has been quoted as saying she was disappointed in an effort in Tennessee to restrict drag performances in public spaces. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush pardon family members? No, that's not true: Neither former president pardoned a member of his family. While Carter's brother Billy and Bush's son Neil were involved in controversies during their relatives' presidencies, neither needed a pardon because they weren't charged with crimes. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads…

Does a photo shared on Facebook authentically show a "pyramid" in Antarctica? No, that's not true: The image in question shows Scott's Hut, a historic 20th-century structure in Antarctica's Ross Sea region near McMurdo Station. The structure is an established historic site recognized by the Antarctic Treaty. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook on December 2, 2024, (archived…