Did U.S. Marines arrest Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim "is not true." Also, the website where this claim was made has a disclaimer that states it publishes satirical content. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on August…

Does walking barefoot, or "grounding," change the pH in the body? No, that's not true: That claim is not grounded in science. A retired chemist and a dermatologist both told Lead Stories that there is no evidence that grounding has the ability to change the pH of anything around the body. The chemist said blood pH can change with exercise,…

Did Fox News report that California's Gavin Newsom is the first governor to call for a bill to remove Donald Trump from the ballot in his state? No, that's not true: "The Governor did not say this," Newsom's spokesperson told Lead Stories. And there is no evidence Fox News reported that the Democratic governor was the first to say there…

Does Amtrak have a promotion for a $1 card that allows every U.S. resident to ride their trains with no extra charges for a year? No, that's not true: An Amtrak spokesperson told Lead Stories that the card is a scam offer. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on August 16, 2023. The caption of the…

Did CNN break the news that Elon Musk was unveiling an investment project, and did Musk make a guest appearance via live feed to introduce his new AI trading platform? No, that's not true: This fake promotion is made with real but repurposed video clips that have had an AI text-to-speech voiceover added to them. The video of Musk was…

Did 14 American cities join a "World Economic Forum treaty" imposing a total ban on meat, dairy and private cars by 2030? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, there is no such WEF treaty. The source of the claim cited an unrelated report that explored several emission reduction models and was not meant to become a law…

Does a photograph shared on X (formerly Twitter) in August 2023 authentically show "computers from J6 operation," presumably the January 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol? No, that's not true: While the photograph appears to be unaltered, it was first shared to the platform on March 22, 2019, by DCI Kenya, the official account for the Directorate of Criminal…

Was Hawaii "never really made a state" as a social media post claims? No, that's not true: Hawaii officially became a U.S. state on August 21, 1959. This happened after the U.S. Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act and most people in Hawaii voted for the territory to become a state. The claim appeared in a post on Instagram by…

Did Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin say his football players were not allowed to kneel on the field anymore and then cut the last player to kneel, and did an NFL mediator side with him over the controversy? No, that's not true: All three claims were made on a satire website that has a disclaimer that describes itself as part…

Is the federal government giving out health spending cards worth up to $5,600 that every American qualifies for? No, that's not true: The claim that the government is freely giving out health spending cards with thousands of dollars on them is a scam. Such scams are usually attached to some sort of advertorial asking whether one needs federal assistance or…