Does a viral image show Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro captured? No, that's not true: An authentic photo was digitally altered to swap Maduro's head onto the body of a captive. The image originally showed Ukrainian-born pro-Russian businessman and politician Victor Medvedchuk. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on January 3, 2026. It read: 😁The White House…

Does a viral video show missiles raining down from the clouds on Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026? No, that's not true: A viral video making the rounds does not show the actual attacks that took place on that date. It is an old video from 2025 that was described at the time as missiles from Iran impacting Tel Aviv.…

Are California and Colorado at the top of the list of states losing population as more people leave than move there? No, that's not true: The latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that California lost population in 2020 and 2021, the first two years of the Covid pandemic. The negative trend reversed and the state gained residents…

Did the FBI and ICE bust a sex-trafficking ring organized by a Harvard or Georgetown professor who recruited students to perform sex work on a luxury yacht off Miami? No, that's not true: The YouTube channel where the claim originated disclosed in the video's description it does not "depict real events or represent any official agency." Lead Stories found no…

Does a video show Iran's crown prince-in-exile Reza Pahlavi being cheered in Cairo, Egypt, as protests in Iran intensified in January 2026? No, that's not true: The video shows Pahlavi being cheered in Oxford, England in February 2023. A news report from that day said thousands of Iranians living in the United Kingdom converged on Oxford to show their support…

Does an image shared by President Trump in a Truth Social post that reads "Eagles going down!" show an American eagle killed by a wind turbine? No, that's not true: The photograph used to illustrate Trump's post is of a European red kite killed by a wind turbine in Spain at least 15 years earlier. This was the second time…

Did BMW launch a motorized unicycle at the 2026 Tech Expo? No, that's not true: The AI-generated video was published by a channel with a disclaimer that they "explore the future of technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics." This same channel has published similar AI-generated videos showcasing one-wheel vehicles that purportedly came from Honda, Ferrari, Ducati, and Tesla. Searches for press…

Does a medical study chart show that drug overdose deaths in the United States sharply declined in 2025 under President Trump? No, that's not true: The chart is based on a medical study published in June 2025 that looked at drug death statistics in the decade ending in October 2024, which was three months before Trump returned to the presidency.…

Are windmills -- also known as wind turbines -- killing all of the bald eagles in the United States, as President Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post? No, that's not true: Studies estimate the number of eagles killed by wind turbines in the contiguous 48 U.S. states was in the hundreds in 2024, including both bald and golden…

Does Sweet Angel Child Care's phone number dial directly to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's office? No, that's not true: The child care center's phone number as listed on the state licensing website and several other online directories does not connect to the governor's office. The number dialed in an online video making the claim was on a Google map listing,…