Did President Trump just authorize FCC fines of up to $100 million for media outlets caught spreading lies? No, that's not true: That story originated on a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. There were no fact-based news stories about the authorization of the kind of fines…
Did Sen. Bernie Sanders get a $44 million USAID grant after he dropped out of the 2016 presidential race? No, that's not true: That story originated on a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The claim appeared in an August 18, 2025 Facebook post (archived here) on…
Was Oprah Winfrey "ordered to return $22 million she took from FEMA to rebuild her mansion after the Maui fires", as of mid-August 2025? No, that's not true: The rumor originated from a post by a self-described satire account that carries a disclaimer that says "nothing on this page is real". There were no actual news stories about the order…
Was a George Floyd statue located at the National Mall or the "Smithsonian Institute" in Washington, D.C., dismantled and "put in storage"? No, that's not true: The rumor that resurfaced on the internet in August 2025 came from the self-described "network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery". The image accompanying the claim showed a George Floyd statue in Newark, New Jersey.…
Did President Donald Trump order background checks on Democrats to be made public, showing cases of assault, domestic violence and insider trading? No, that's not true: The post spreading that Trump rumor and the false list of cases came from a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are fabricated. The…
Did former President Barack Obama charge the Biden Administration $18 million a year for consulting? No, that's not true: The post spreading that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are fabricated. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up…
Is the Los Angeles Firefighters Union suing California Gov. Gavin Newsom for "dereliction of duty" by refusing requests for water to be turned on during fires in 2025? No, that's not true: The post spreading that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are fabricated. The owner…
Were Rep. Nancy Pelosi's granddaughters arrested trying to smuggle narcotics into the United States? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. A search of news archives showed that the rumor was not even inadvertently accurate. The claim appeared in a July 16, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here), which contained a photo…
Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez say she has "no reason" to cooperate with federal auditors? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page with a "Satire" disclaimer. The fake quote was part of a years-long series of fictional stories posted as rage bait by a liberal troll to generate traffic when conservatives comment on and repost fake articles that…
Did a federal judge in June 2025 give the green light to a $350 million class-action lawsuit against Rep. Nancy Pelosi by 500 January 6th defendants? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. A search of news archives showed that the rumor was not even inadvertently accurate. The claim appeared in a…
Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
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