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Is there an authentic article with a headline that reads, "They knew: why didn't the unvaccinated do more to warn us?" No, that's not true: There is no evidence that an article with this headline was ever actually published on a website. Lead Stories could not find any instance of the headline appearing beyond a supposed screenshot. The purported headline…

Does a viral post prove that the Minnesota governor and former running mate of Kamala Harris performed a Nazi salute in public? No, that's not true: The post took a single frame from a video out of context. As the recording proves, it was part of a longer movement, not a separate gesture. Walz put his hand in the air…

Did Elon Musk post on X that the MAGA movement would "succeed in all the ways Nazi Germany failed"? No, that's not true: A screenshot of a supposed post from Musk on X containing that quote is fake. Searches of Musk's X account and archived versions of the account found nothing to confirm Musk posted such a statement. A screenshot…

Does an authentic image show Taylor Swift giving a right-handed salute similar to the gesture used by Nazis? No, that's not true: The image has been horizontally flipped to make it look like Swift had performed a right-handed salute, a defining characteristic of the Nazi "Sieg Heil" gesture. Archived video shows Swift, wearing the same outfit with the same hairstyle,…

Does an image being spread on social media show Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez performing a Nazi salute? No, that's not true: It's a still from a video captured while Ocasio-Cortez was reaching out to another member of Congress. It shows Ocasio-Cortez reaching out to hug Sen. Ed Markey at a Green New Deal rally in February 2024 where he was introducing…

Did a video show "over 1,000" migrants entering the United States through the southern border shortly after President Donald Trump's second inauguration? No, that's not true: This video was posted on X in March 2023, a reverse image search showed. An online news search did not yield any evidence that the events in this video took place in January 2025.…

Does a photo authentically show rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs' home being destroyed by the January 2025 Los Angeles fires? No, that's not true: This is not Combs' house. Rather, the photo shows an Ohio mansion that burned down in 2014, predating the Los Angeles fires by over a decade. As of January 13, 2025, Lead Stories found no evidence that…

Do various video clips in a social media post show authentic footage of the Los Angeles County wildfires burning in January 2025? No, that's not true: These clips show evidence of being generated by artificial intelligence. We could not locate any trustworthy sources that used the clips or established their authenticity. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

Was the "Hollywood" sign a casualty of the fires burning in Los Angeles County as of January 9, 2025? No, that's not true: When this fact check was written, the sign was "safe and secure," according to the organization that preserves the sign. Media supposedly showing the sign being on fire were likely generated through artificial intelligence or by simple…

Are several social media posts truly expressing concern over an actual missing teen named "Natallia Goodman"? No, that's not true: "Natallia Goodman" was supposedly missing in multiple locations, indicating that this is a made-up story. The posts spreading the information are part of a common social media real estate scam. One instance of the claim appeared in a post (archived…