Fact Check

Did South Korea announce it will deploy troops in Ukraine to engage in active combat against North Korean troops supporting Russia? No, that's not true: On October 30, 2024, neither U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin nor his South Korean counterpart Kim Yong-hyun said anything about it during a joint press conference about the potential engagement of North Korean troops…

Did the E.coli outbreak involving McDonald's occur soon after Donald Trump worked at one McDonald's restaurant for one hour during his 2024 presidential campaign? No, that's not true: The E.coli outbreak traced to some McDonald's franchises began weeks before Trump's announcement he would do a shift at a single McDonald's restaurant. The Food and Drug Administration reported that the outbreak…

Do multiple entries of the same "Voter ID" casting ballots from different addresses on the same date in Michigan's Qualified Voter File indicate potential fraud? No, that's not true: Michigan's Department of State told Lead Stories that the Qualified Voter File only allows one ballot per voter per election. A spokesperson explained that "formatting errors" in displaying the database incorrectly…

Did a Virginia voting machine ballot include an 'i' in Donald Trump's last name, as a video on social media displays? No, that's not true: The misspelling of the presidential candidate's name appears only on an optional ballot review screen -- not on the paper ballot itself -- in Washington County, Virginia. The director of elections there told Lead Stories…

Does a video on social media show podcaster Joe Rogan discussing the topic of rat meat supposedly in Chinese food, and how a person might find out about "how to heal the body from the toxins they feed us" in a podcast? No, that's not true: The deepfake detection platform TrueMedia.org determined with 100 percent confidence that the audio in…

Did Democratic political consultant James Carville say that he believes Vice President Kamala Harris will lose the 2024 U.S. presidential election? No, that's not true: Carville posted on X that he would donate $100 to the Donald Trump campaign if a credible person came forward and proved they heard him make the statements attributed to him in a social media…

Did Kamala Harris' presidential campaign pay superstar Beyoncé $10 million to attend a Harris rally in Houston? No, that's not true: No public evidence exists to support this claim. The Federal Elections Commission's most recent records do not show that the Harris campaign paid Beyoncé for appearing at the rally. A campaign finance expert told Lead Stories he did not…

Did non-English-speaking voters cut in line to vote early in Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, told Lead Stories that a video circulating online is incomplete; some elderly and disabled people were allowed to wait their turn inside. A group of voters applying for mail-in ballots needed the help of translators, and the rest of…

Did Kamala Harris respond with a "blank stare" when a CBS News reporter mentioned that Donald Trump had called for Harris to take a cognitive test? No, that's not true: A video circulating on social media that shows Harris' response has been edited. In the full video, Harris actually challenged Donald Trump, her Republican presidential rival, to take the "same"…

Was Adolf Hitler nominated as a serious candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1939? No, that is missing context: The Nobel websites state that the nomination was not meant to be taken seriously and was withdrawn five days after it was made. According to the nominator, a Swedish anti-fascist, the nomination was intended as irony "to shame" Hitler "as…

Is ivermectin a more effective cancer treatment than chemotherapy? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration says ivermectin is approved to treat parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions like rosacea, but does not list it as a treatment for cancer. The National Cancer Institute told Lead Stories that it has no information "supporting the claim" about ivermectin…

Is Elon Musk developing robots that can carry a fertilized fetus to term for nine months, as posts on social media claim? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such a robot is in development as of this writing. Musk did not talk about this at his October 2024 event, "We, Robot." A version of the claim appeared…

Does a proposed New York state constitutional amendment "grant" voting rights "to illegal aliens" and "strip parental rights" by not informing parents without the child's approval about their decision to get gender transition surgery? No, that's not true: There is no mention anywhere in the proposed amendment of giving undocumented immigrants voting rights. The proposed amendment bans discrimination against gender…

Does a real photo show Elon Musk, Donald Trump and the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, Mark Robinson, together? No, that's not true: This image was made by combining three individual photos taken at different locations on different days. Not only were the subjects from three images collaged together, but some elements in the source photos were digitally altered, notably…

Did Donald Trump call British protesters to join a march on the U.K. parliament in October 2024? No, that's not true: A video that purported to have narration by Trump showed signs that it was not authentic, according to several AI detectors. Lead Stories found no credible sources confirming that Trump ever said the words attributed to him. The claim…

Are armed militias hunting Federal Emergency Management Agency employees in North Carolina? No, that's not true: Although federal and local authorities acknowledged rumors about armed militias in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, no confirmed reports about such groups targeting FEMA employees exist. After pausing for what it termed a "potential threat" to its North Carolina staff, FEMA has resumed door-to-door…

Does a social media video show a line of thousands of early voters in Grand Rapids, Michigan? No, that's not true: The video shows Michigan residents waiting in line to see Vice President Kamala Harris speak at a campaign rally. Early voting in Michigan started a day after this video was posted. The claim about the video appeared in a…

Is a photo of Kamala Harris in a blue McDonald's uniform authentic? No, that's not true: A reverse image search proved that the photo has been altered. It never showed Harris. The original image comes from an online gallery of photos posted in 2007 to commemorate a different woman's death. The claim about the altered photo appeared in a post…

Is an image of a catastrophic plane crash on a bridge authentic? No, that's not true: The image is a digital art creation by Canadian graphic designer Steve McGhee. The original piece of art titled "All Is Lost - Redux" was altered to make it harder to trace its origin through a reverse image search. The claim appeared in a…

Did Liz Cheney tweet questioning why people won't get more than $750 for hurricane damage, saying it's because Donald Trump won't let House Speaker Mike Johnson pass a hurricane relief bill? No, that's not true: The X account that originally posted the fake screenshot carries a disclaimer, "This account itself is not a parody but most of the images we…