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Did the U.S. government announce new cost-of-living stimulus or "DOGE" dividends to Americans as of March 10, 2025? No, that's not true: These are a long-running series of false posts that use false benefit claims to convince internet users to go to non-government websites that ask for personal information, using various tactics common to scams. A video in the post…

Does a video show "Turkish commandos" swearing to hunt down "USA/Israel's terrorists" in December 2024? No, that's not true: Lead Stories Turkish-speaking staff confirmed that the uniformed people shown in the footage did not mention the U.S. or Israel. The video was recorded in March 2023 following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, and shows personnel chanting what appear to be…

Did President-elect Donald Trump call Elon Musk a "two bit car salesman" in a post shared on Truth Social? No, that's not true: Lead Stories searched Trump's Truth Social account and found that he did not share such a post as of this publication. No information about this supposed post has been reported on the website of any news outlets…

Was Samir El Hydeouchi identified as the suspect in the December 20, 2024, vehicular attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany? No, that's not true: At the time this fact check was written, the suspect was taken into custody and a German official has stated the driver of the car, who was not named, was a Saudi national, a…

Are social media posts about an "injured" man with dementia who showed up at someone's house real? No, that's not true: Photographs included in the post show a man who was attacked in 2018 in Los Angeles. Several posts falsely claimed the man in the photographs was found in states including Georgia, New Mexico, Washington and California. These posts are…

Did Elon Musk tweet that the "world would not be able to function" without CEOs after the murder of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare Group? No, that's not true: The tweet is fake. Searches of Musk's X account and archived versions of it show the post was fabricated. A screenshot of the purported X post (archived here) appeared…

Was Samuel Hyde named as the suspect in the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO? No, that's not true: Sam, or Samuel, Hyde is a comedian whose name and likeness have been the subject of internet memes associated with shootings since 2015. One of the photos of a person of interest released by the New York Police Department was edited to…

Did an authentic photo show Elon Musk dancing in a mesh halter mini-shirt in 2018? No, that's not true: Two AI detection tools found that the image was generated using AI technology. Lead Stories found that the photo was posted in March 2024 -- not in 2018. Furthermore, the account that posted the image provided no evidence to support this…

Did CNN publish an article calling the "Chill Guy" meme a "figurehead of racist right wingers"? No, that's not true: A screenshot of a real article from 2019 was edited to make it look like it was about the meme. A fake headline and a new opening paragraph was added, and the date on the article was changed to 2024.…

Does an image on social media authentically show Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a ventilator in a hospital? No, that's not true: The picture shows a person with a differently shaped ear. Lead Stories analysis found other inconsistencies that strongly suggested digital manipulation. The image has been on social media since at least 2023. The picture reappeared in a…