Did the U.S. military destroy a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine warehouse? No, that's not true: The claim was made on the website Real Raw News, which has a history of publishing completely made-up and false stories. "There is no truth here," a Pentagon spokesperson told Lead Stories of the claim. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News…

Did U.S. military "White Hats" arrest Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on April 26, 2022? No, that's not true: The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Secretary of Defense told Lead Stories that Vilsack was not arrested. Vilsack also made public appearances on the day of the alleged arrest and in the days afterward. The only source…

Did an email about "otherkin" -- nonhuman entities in human bodies -- being integrated into Kokomo High School get leaked to the public? No, that's not true: This email is fake and did not come from the school but from a Facebook page called The Kokomo Press. A representative for the school in Kokomo, Indiana told Lead Stories that an…

Did American food processing facilities mysteriously and suspiciously begin to catch fire after President Joe Biden predicted that there could be real food shortages due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? No, that's not true: Several incidents on a list of food processing facilities where incidents have occurred predate Biden's comments on food shortages and also predate Russia's invasion. Some…

Did a Justice Sandy Barron-Batt deny a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Whoopi Goldberg filed by Kyle Rittenhouse? No, that's not true: For one thing, the lawsuit does not actually exist, it was invented by a liberal satire website. The news about the Motion to Dismiss was likewise invented by liberal satirists with a reputation for trolling conservatives and…

Were Anthony Fauci and Loretta Lynch hanged in a "double-header execution" at GITMO? No, that's not true. A Pentagon spokesperson told Lead Stories the claim was a "fabrication." Real Raw News, the website that published the story, is a self-described satire site that routinely makes up false stories about arrests and executions of politicians, celebrities and world leaders. It tells…

Are COVID-19 vaccines "killing people of color at twice the rate of white people," as Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said on April 14, 2022? No, that's not true: There's no evidence the vaccines are killing people in general, so there's no evidence that they're killing people of color at a disproportionately higher rate. Becerra misspoke when he…

Did the U.S. military sentence Dr. Anthony Fauci to hang at Guantanamo Bay? No, that's not true: A duty officer from the Pentagon said this story was fabricated. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made a public appearance on CBS News one day after this Real Raw News article was published. Real Raw News…

Was 80% of all U.S. dollars in existence created within the "last two months" as of April 16, 2022? No, that's not true: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the agency within the Department of Treasury responsible for producing U.S. currency notes, told Lead Stories that the claim is false. Additionally, other "evidence" discussed in the claim is based…

Will Social Security payments just now or in the near future be referred to as "federal benefit" payments? Not exactly: Payments from the Social Security program have been considered federal benefits since the federal government created the program in 1935. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on August 12, 2020. The post's graphic reads: The Social Security…

Did President Joe Biden try to "shake hands with thin air" and then wander around looking confused after he finished a speech at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro on April 14, 2022? No, that's not true: Some footage of the event was framed so that some members of the audience were just off-camera during the speeches…

Does a photo of President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden show a fake presidential seal? No, that's not true: A fuzzy photograph from the April 18, 2022, Easter Egg Roll at the White House does show the real presidential seal, as proven in clearer images in still photos and videos published by national news outlets. The claim appeared…

Did the militant group ISIS not exist before Barack Obama became president of the United States in 2009? No, that's not true: Since 2006 ISIS has existed, according to a former member of the National Security Council and according to The Wilson Center, a nonpartisan policy forum in Washington, D.C. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on…

Was David Axelrod, a political consultant and former White House official for former President Barack Obama, arrested by the military? No, that's not true: There is no evidence for this. Axelrod tweeted from his verified Twitter account one day after his supposed arrest. The only source for this claim is Real Raw News, a self-described satirical site, according to a…

Did the Disney CEO admit that Disney made "a huge mistake by going woke"? No, that's not true: This article was created by the satirical website, USA Taters. The article falsely states that Disney's CEO is Joe Barron. Walt Disney's CEO is Bob Chapek at the time of writing. There is also an explicit satire disclaimer on the About Us…

Did U.S. "Special Forces" arrest Dr. Anthony Fauci on April 9, 2022? No, that's not true: "That statement is completely false," a National Institutes of Health (NIH) spokesperson told Lead Stories. Fauci has made public appearances after the arrest supposedly took place. Also, the claim was posted on a self-described satirical website. The claim appeared in an article (archived here)…

Did Disney shareholders panic after $2.4 billion in losses in a single day? No, that's not true: The website the claim appeared on specializes in satire and comes with this warning in its "About Us" section: "Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real." It is…

Did CNN write a story about how Elon Musk could threaten free speech on Twitter by allowing people to say whatever they want and speak freely? No, that's not true: This is a fake CNN story written by the satirical website, Genesius Times, which claims to provide readers with the "most up-to-date, accurate fake news on the Internet." CNN does…

Did a Twitter employee post a public resignation because he refused to work for Elon Musk? No, that's not true: This tweet was made by @MulhollandL0ver, an account that posts mainly satire. This is not the account of a real Twitter employee. The tweet from @MulhollandL0ver was posted as a reply to a tweet from @disclosetv on April 4, 2022.…

Did Colorado Gov. Jared Polis sign a bill that legalizes abortion up until the time of birth? Not exactly: Although Polis did sign HB22-1279, also known as the Reproductive Health Equity Act, or RHEA, that bill only codified the state's already existing reproductive rights into Colorado law and prevents state and local interference in reproductive measures such as abortion. Even…