Current Events

Is there a legitimate warning circulating about a man named "Talavera, Benjamin" on the run and charged with stabbing to death someone's two Caseyville, IL neighbors, two Pensacola, FL neighbors, two Portage, IN neighbors? No, that's not true: Despite what viral social media posts say, the person in the photos is not named Talavera or Benjamin and is not wanted…

Did the BBC publish an article about King Charles III being in "critical condition" on March 18, 2025? No, that's not true: Neither live nor archived versions of the BBC website contained that report. Buckingham Palace did not make the purported announcement on that day. The claim was spread on X by a self-described "troll account". The claim appeared in…

Did the United States send three aircraft carriers to Iran on March 17, 2025? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the U.S. Navy told Lead Stories that, as of March 18, 2025, there was just one U.S. military ship of this class deployed in the region. As of this writing, the U.S. Department of Defense issued no public statements…

Do posts alerting different communities in the U.S. that "Xavier, Alvaro" is on the run after "stabbing both my neighbors to death" describe a real manhunt and real crimes? No, that's not true: The posts mislead, using a mugshot of a man with a different name who had already been jailed on another continent two months before the "alert" started…

Did White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt argue with a reporter about the history of U.S. relations with France during a March 2025 press briefing? No, that's not true: A transcript posted online and filled with references to World War I and the Louisiana Purchase was fabricated. Authentic video of the press briefing shows that Leavitt briefly answered a question…

Was the X account of Celtic Punk band Dropkick Murphys suspended after they made comments about Elon Musk and MAGA hats during a concert in Boston on St. Patrick's Day, 2025? No, that's not true: The band's founder Ken Casey said they quit Twitter in 2022 after which their handle was taken over by someone pretending to be the band.…

Did the story that George Floyd's family listed "$1,900 in assets on a welfare application" despite receiving $50 million four years ago originate on an actual news site? No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing…

Does a viral video of a woman complaining that she is being forced to sell her BMW to prevent her food stamps allotment being cut from "$4K to 888 month" show a real-life situation? No, that's not true: The clip was initially posted by an account with a satire label. Previously, its author already said that "none of that is…

Did posts on social media show an authentic warning from "the Homicide Bureau" searching for suspects named "Megan Brown" and "Jose Alex Ramirez", wanted in connection with the death of a baby named "Yolanda Clinton"? No, that's not true: The identically worded entries were shared in local groups on Facebook across different, unrelated jurisdictions, but no credible media organization reported…

Did Serbian authorities use a type of sonic weapon against protesters in Belgrade, causing a man to have a heart attack and later die? Here's what we know: The claim that authorities fired an acoustic weapon during a moment of silence at a huge anti-government rally on March 15, 2025, could not be independently verified by Lead Stories. But an…

Did lawmakers in the United States pass new legislation in March 2025, allowing women to retire at the age of 52, with monthly payments of $4,850, regardless of their previous occupations? No, that's not true: neither the White House website, nor any federal government website, contained mentions of any such law. A Google News search also yielded no relevant entries.…

Did the website of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) remove an article about Army Major General Charles Calvin Rogers who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam? Here's what we know: The 2021 article now appears on the DOD website again, but for a while the link did redirect to a 404 page hosted at the…

Does a viral video genuinely show a Tesla Cybertruck being crushed by a digger or excavator? No, that's not true: According to a detection tool, the video was generated using AI. The account that originally posted it has published several similar videos of cars being crushed or destroyed and offers links to a course about AI video creation and a…

Was the story about about Rosie O'Donnell's application for residency in Ireland being denied by the Irish Department of Justice real news? No, that's not true: The story originated on a website with a clear satire disclaimer. It is run by a man known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made up content. The story appeared in an article…

Does a viral image authentically show European leaders taking off their suit coats in support of Ukraine during a group picture? No, that's not true: The image is likely a screenshot from a video that was digitally edited, possibly using AI. Actual footage of the moment the group picture was taken did not show anyone taking off their suit and…

Did President Trump post on Truth Social that he was going to "annexe Alaska" after Greenland, in order to make it the "53rd State" and did he say "the people of Alaska don't want to be part of a backward nation in Canada?" No, that's not true: Viral screenshots of such a post are fake. Trump's actual Truth Social account…

Did a man named "Arnold Bushman" light himself on fire to protest "Disney making the little mermaid black"? No, that's not true: A tweet from October 2024 with that claim was screenshotted and went viral again in early 2025. However the image in the post showed a man named Aaron Bushnell who immolated himself in February 2024 to protest the…

Does a viral video prove that someone in the audience at a Kennedy Center concert yelled "Kill that Vice!" at U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance as he entered the concert hall? No, that's not true: The sentence in question is not clearly audible in the viral recording. When played at a reduced speed, it appears to end with "light" or…

Did Warren Buffett say President Trump is making the best financial decisions in 50 years? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Buffet praised Trump saying he was making stellar financial decisions in March 2025. A search of Google did not return any matching credible news stories. Buffett did blast Trump's tariffs on an interview with CBS News…

Did Elon Musk announce that he had acquired MSNBC for $900 million to "put an end to toxic programming?" No, that's not true: A search of Musk's X account did not show this announcement from him on the days leading up to publication of the claim. As of March 14, 2025, no reliable news outlets were reporting what would have…