Current Events

In February 2025, public health officials in Texas reported the death of an unvaccinated child following a measles infection. As of this writing, national health authorities report at least three outbreaks of the highly infectious, vaccine-preventable disease across eight states. As communities prepare for potential increases in cases, Lead Stories has compiled information summarizing the Texas outbreak, how cases have…

Did the U.S. Justice Department just release the 1998-2004 flight logs for Jeffrey Epstein's Boeing 727? No, that's not true: We've had then since early 2015 and have embedded copies of the flight logs in several Lead Stories fact checks. This reporter investigated allegations of Epstein's abuse of young females as a national correspondent for American Media Inc. in January…

Did BBC News report that "Elon Musk is wasting everyone's time and money, and serves no real purpose"? No, that's not true: A search of the BBC News website on February 27, 2025, yielded no such report or headline. The broadcaster also did not post about the fake report on its social media accounts. The claim appeared in a X…

Did actress Michelle Trachtenberg "Die Suddenly" at the age of 39 because of the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: Social media posts spreading the speculation offered no supporting evidence. As of February 26, 2025, no investigating officers or credible media organization reported any connection between vaccination and Trachtenberg's death. "Died Suddenly," the name on an X account posting the…

Hollywood star Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their New Mexico home on February 26, 2025, and people are alleging that it was an "double suicide." Here is what we know: Oscar-winner Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were all found in different locations in their home and had apparently been dead for some time.…

Does a photo show Bill and Hillary Clinton fleeing the country just before documents from the Jeffrey Epstein case were expected to be released in late February 2025? No, that's not true: The photo circulating on social media is a still frame from a video filmed on July 8, 2018. The video was published in a Daily Mail article the…

Did the General Services Administration send Chelsea Clinton $43,000 per month since 2003? No, that's not true: That story originated on a website named "The Dunning-Kruger Times" which has a clear disclaimer it publishes satire. It is run by a man who runs a network of sites and Facebook pages designed to trick conservatives into sharing made up stories. The…

Did former President Bill Clinton put out a video in anticipation of the release of the "Epstein Client List" in which he said "I did not have sexual relations with those children on that island"? No, that's not true: The video bore a watermark that said "meme/satire" which was visible the entire length of the footage. It was orignally published…

Did President Donald Trump alter or change divorce law in the U.S., ending a mandatory 50-50 equal asset split for divorced couples as claimed by viral posts and videos? No, that's not true: Splitting assets and dividing property under U.S. divorce law is regulated on a state-by-state basis and not at the federal level. There have been no news reports…

Did DOGE halt a $2.6 million annual payment to former President Obama for "Obamacare" royalties? No, that's not true: The story originated in a meme from a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The meme appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on February 25, 2025.…

Did President Donald Trump's eldest son Don Jr. say on his podcast that "the U.S. should have been sending weapons to Russia" instead of Ukraine, as an X post claims? No, that's not true: The episode in question did not contain such a statement. Two AI detectors indicated that the audio in the viral clip was likely a product of…

Does the February 2025 House budget resolution specify an $880 billion unilateral cut in Medicaid funding? No, that's not true: On February 25, 2025, the House passed its proposed budget, a resolution that directs the House Energy and Commerce Committee to make $880 billion in budget cuts to many programs under the committee's jurisdiction, one of which is Medicaid.…

Did Damon Imani appear on "The View" and was he verbally sparring with the hosts? No, that's not true: Imani is a producer, artist and commentator who often publishes digitally edited videos placing himself in various existing videos. They are labeled as satire on his own social media channels but sometimes his videos get shared or stolen without that context.…

Does the February 2025 GOP budget resolution include an end to taxes on tips? No, that's not true: The resolution passed on February 25, 2025, does not specify which tax proposals will be included, and the "no tax on tips" policy remains under consideration. A budget resolution is an agreement between the House and Senate that establishes recommended levels of…

Did New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announce plans for a $1 walking fee or walking tax on people moving around on foot in New York City? No, that's not true: Viral videos that claimed existing congestion tax cameras would be used for facial recognition of pedestrians in order to charge them a walking tax were not based on any actual…

Did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in a case titled "Moore vs Alliant Credit Union" that mortgages and fiat currency are illegal? No, that's not true: There was no such case in front of the Supreme Court and therefore, no such ruling. A person named Zachary Moore was involved in a lawsuit against his mortgage company and lost the case,…

Does a video actually show Karoline Leavitt and Whoopi Goldberg together on "The View," with Goldberg walking off the set? No, that's not true: A now-deleted TikTok video with a caption misspelling Leavitt's first name as "Caroline" was generated using AI. In reality, Leavitt hasn't appeared on "The View" since becoming White House press secretary (or before that). A copy…

Does a Wisconsin bill propose to exclude the term "mother" from all state laws, replacing it with "inseminated person" instead? No, that's not true: The existing text of the bill mentions "inseminated person" twice, specifically in cases of in-vitro fertilization, or IVF. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who backs the bill, made the same point: the phrase only refers to IVF.…

Did a rumor about Kash Patel ordering a SWAT raid on three Pentagon officials, and the existence of surveillance footage capturing a four-star general shredding documents, originate with reliable news sources? No, that's not true: The story originated in a TikTok video that did not offer any sources or evidence. Neither Patel's X accounts nor news websites indexed by Google…

Did President Donald Trump refer to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek as "Tampon Tina" in a post on Truth Social? No, that's not true: Images of such a post circulating on social media appear to have been falsified, as indicated by the type of font and writing styles that differ from Trump's authentic posts. The post was not present on Trump's…