Did a report recently reveal that COVID-19 killed pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: Jeffrey Epstein, who was being held on federal sex trafficking charges, was found unresponsive in a New York City jail cell on August 10, 2019, and soon after pronounced dead, about four months before the COVID-19 virus was found in the U.S. His death…

Did pop singer-songwriter Billie Eilish say that she wanted to be poor so she could be more relatable to her fans? No, that's not true: Eilish's publicist called the screenshot "fake press clips." The story originated from @BilliesUpdatess, a Twitter account that has now been suspended. When the fake story was published is not clear. The false story gained a…

Did the Henry County, Virginia, Sheriff's Office confirm images of a bigfoot? No, that's not true: Capt. Scott Barker with the sheriff's office confirmed to Lead Stories on the phone that their department has not seen or validated any images of the mythical creature, nor have they seen the creature in their county. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Are the tweets replicating a Florida emergency room doctor's lament over rising Delta variant cases all part of a pro-vaccine propaganda campaign? No, that's not true: Several replicas appear to be part of a gaslighting ploy by anti-vaccine activists seeking to discredit news of rising hospital loads. Dr. Sam Ghali's tweet was turned into a meme that anti-vaccine and COVID-minimizing…

Did a woman frighten her husband and cause him to have a heart attack by making a likeness of his girlfriend's head and leaving it in their refrigerator? No, that's not true: This unnerving refrigerator photo of an item wrapped with paper printed with a life-size image of a woman's face went viral in early April 2019 without the accompanying…

Did a team of all-Black, all-female chess champions get snubbed by mainstream media? No, that's not true: the middle-school-aged team, which competed in 2016, was recognized by both local and national media outlets. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on July 14, 2021. It featured an image of the all-female University Prep Science & Math team…

Is a letter rejecting AARP membership and criticizing President Joe Biden's "Socialist politics" from 2021? No, that's not true: The letter was written in 2009 during the administration of former President Barack Obama. A copy of the letter circulating online in 2021 included language that didn't appear in the original letter, including comments about the "Biden Regime" and "illegal perpetrators,"…

Are all the "I just left the ER...We are officially getting crushed" memes about the COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak part of a fear campaign aimed at the unvaccinated? Not all of them. Some have been altered to refer to a "Ligma" variant, which does not exist. "Ligma" is the set-up for a "knock-knock"-type prank, in which the person who hears…

Is the United States the only country in the world without universal health care? No, that's not true: At least nine other countries did not have viable universal health care as of 2020. The claim appeared as a meme published in a Facebook post (archived here) on July 21, 2021. A makeshift infographic features an image of a primarily gray…

Did Marjorie Taylor Greene say, "Jesus loves the U.S. most, and that is why the Bible is written in English?" No, that's not true: There is no evidence the Republican representative from Georgia ever said that. There is evidence, though, that the quote or variations of it has been around for decades and has been misattributed to mock a range…