Entertainment

Did Elon Musk tweet, "You know, in some parts of the world, journalists get murdered for crossing the wrong people. Banning the reporters I don't like from my own platform feels like a pretty innocuous alternative to me" on December 16, 2022, the day after several journalists were banned from Twitter? No, that's not true: This screenshot of a tweet,…

Did the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, commonly known as Harry and Meghan, accidentally release a professional photo that was so badly edited that it revealed that their "invisible" daughter Lilibet is not a real child? No, that's not true: This clickbait headline plays off a conspiracy trope that Meghan's pregnancies and children are not real. There is no indication…

Does a trending video show a man addressing his son before giving the child "his own heart"? No, that's not true: The video is a piece of acting that recreates a monologue from the 2002 American drama "John Q." The claim appeared in a video on Facebook on December 4, 2022. : Father gives his own heart to sick Son…

Did Mel Gibson say he wants to "expose the truth about the corrupted elites" on his official Telegram account? No, that's not true: "It's fake," Gibson's representative told Lead Stories about a purported quote from the actor. Gibson does not have a Telegram account, the representative said. The claim appeared on Facebook on December 13, 2022. It opened: Mel Gibson…

Did country singer Jake Flint die from COVID-19 or complications related to the COVID-19 vaccine, as a social media post implies? No, that's not true: Flint's publicist told Lead Stories that Flint's death was not related to the vaccine or the virus, and that his two vaccinations were more than a year before his death. The implied claim appeared in…

Did Pauley Perrette, the actor who formerly starred in the television series "NCIS," die on December 11, 2022? No, that's not true: Perrette is, at the time of writing, active on social media and in recent weeks shifted her posting from Twitter to Instagram. She has posted twice on Instagram since clickbait videos announced her death on YouTube and Instagram…

Is stiff person syndrome, the disease Celine Dion announced in December 2022 that she was diagnosed with, included in a list of adverse reactions reported after vaccination with the Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: Stiff person syndrome was included in the appendix of an April 2021 Pfizer report as part of a "list of adverse events…

Has television personality and bounty hunter Duane Lee Chapman, also known as "Dog the Bounty Hunter," passed away as of December 13, 2022? No, that's not true: Chapman's publicist told Lead Stories on December 13, 2022, that he is "alive and well." The claim appeared in a video on Facebook on December 11, 2022. The caption read: Reality TV actor…

Was Hollywood action film star and martial artist Chuck Norris "fighting for his life" and hospitalized as of December 13, 2022? No, that's not true: No credible news organizations had reported the 82-year-old Norris as hospitalized and on the point of death as of that date. Norris also has been active on his verified social media accounts recently without any…

Did WikiLeaks in December of 2022 release Apollo 11 "moon landing cut scenes filmed in Nevada desert," proving that the moon landing never happened and was instead staged for filming right here on Earth? No, that's not true: The video in this post splices together a scene from a 1977 fictional movie, which was not even filmed in Nevada, and…

The celebrity death hoax has long been a clickbait staple, but recently one network has taken it to extremes, using scores of websites to host its content and an automated army of bots to push the links into Facebook groups. Many Facebook users and group administrators have noticed a sharp increase in spam postings of false death hoaxes. Examples of…

Did actress Shannen Doherty die on December 6, 2022? No, that's not true: The claim was made without credible, publicly available corroborating evidence. "She is fine," her agent told Lead Stories. Donerty is best known for roles she played in a "Little House On the Prairie" television series and Beverly Hills, 90210. The claim appeared in an article published by…

Has Oscar-winning actress and humanitarian activist Angelina Jolie passed away as of December 7, 2022? No, that's not true: No credible news organizations have reported her death as of December 7, 2022, and TIME magazine published on December 7, 2022, a recent video interview she conducted. The claim appeared on the website mz24news.com on December 6, 2022. The headline read:…

Did Simon Cowell die suddenly at the hospital? No, that's not true: His representative told Lead Stories "It's rubbish" and there is no credible reporting on entertainment or news sites about Cowell, an internationally known celebrity, dying as of December 7, 2022. His official social media accounts also do not mention his death. The claim appeared in an article (archived…

Did American singer-songwriter Alan Jackson pass away on December 3, 2022? No, that's not true: A representative at Jackson's office denied this claim. Neither credible news organization nor his official social media accounts have confirmed his death. Jackson has confirmed that he's been diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a form of muscular dystrophy, but this not life-threatening. The claim appeared on…

Has the Canadian singer Celine Dion passed away as of December 6, 2022? No, that's not true: While she is currently suffering from a health issue, it has been reported to be non-life-threatening. No credible news organizations have reported her death as of December 6, 2022. The claim appeared on a website page (archived here) on December 5, 2022. The…

Has actor Bruce Willis passed away as of December 6, 2022? No, that's not true: Although the action star has stepped away from his career because of health concerns, there have been no credible news organizations reporting his death as of December 6, 2022. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published on the F N E W S…

Does this video show a woman exposing her breasts at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, for which she was arrested? No, that is not true: the video began circulating on social media more than a year before the World Cup and appears to have been recorded in July of 2021. The statement appeared on numerous websites, including this November…

Is a swastika-shaped decoration on a Christmas tree in Latvia a Nazi symbol? No, that's not true: The symbol has been a part of the history and mythology of Latvia since the third century. A tree in Latvia this year was decorated with the "Lielvarde Belt and Spruce" that is a traditional Latvian Ugunskrusts symbol, which means "fire cross." The…

Has Dolly Parton, a country music hall-of-famer, passed away as of December 5, 2022? No, that's not true: Parton has been active on her verified social media accounts since the claim was published. There have also been no credible news organizations reporting her death as of December 5, 2022. The claim appeared in an online article (archived here) on May…