Fact Check

Does an audio recording of a call to authorities in Springfield, Ohio, confirm that Haitians were hunting geese in Ohio illegally? No, that's not true: An investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources didn't find any evidence of wildlife illegally removed from a park. "No supporting evidence to verify the claim was found," the Ohio Department said in a…

Did Hillary Clinton suggest jailing Americans for posting "misinformation" and saying "there needs to be deterrence"? No, that's missing context: She said that, aside from indictments against Russians for "direct election interference," civil or criminal charges against Americans parroting Russian state propaganda for money would be a "better deterrence" against Moscow's propaganda efforts. The former U.S. secretary of state was…

Did Howard University professors confirm that Vice President Kamala Harris was "the worst student ever"? No, that's not true: This first appeared in a post on Facebook that had "Satire" in the caption. The Facebook account that initially posted the information says in its bio that it posts satire and nothing on its page is real. The claim appeared in…

Does an authentic photo show Kamala Harris posing arm-in-arm with Sean "Diddy" Combs? No, that's not true: Combs' face has been pasted onto the body of the man who was standing next to Harris when the photo was taken in 2001 by Ron Galella as can be seen on Getty Images. The man in the original photo is TV host…

Has police Deputy Tyler Cooper in a town called Surprise found a 2-year-old boy wandering alone, and can't the police find his mother named Ella? No, that's not true: The "deputy" in the post is not listed by name on either the Surprise, Arizona, police department or county sheriff's department websites. The person who posted the story blotted out the…

Does taking a shower prevent the skin from absorbing vitamin D from sunlight? No, that's not true: Medical experts confirmed to Lead Stories that vitamin D is made in living cells in the skin and thus cannot be washed off. The person giving this advice is Barbara O'Neill, a controversial naturopath who was banned from practice in Australia. The claim…

Did "leaked reports" say George Soros paid ABC moderators $1 million each to fact check Donald Trump during the September 10, 2024, presidential debate? No, that's not true: The story came from a website whose satire disclaimer reads: "These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up." No credible evidence of "leaked reports" or such payments…

Did social-media posts share the true story of a 32-year-old man named Kyle Thomas, for whom "a silver alert" was issued after he reportedly "went missing" in Omaha, Nebraska? No, that's not true: As of this writing, Nebraska had not issued a missing-persons alert for a person named Kyle Thomas. The posts about "Kyle Thomas" are part of a scam…

Did Donald Trump post "0-2" on Truth Social after a second attempt on his life was made on September 15, 2024? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this post appeared on the former U.S. president's account and the font in the alleged post was not the same as the one used on other Truth Social posts from…

Did Whoopi Goldberg vow to go with basketball star Brittney Griner if she leaves the United States? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that Goldberg or Griner ever publicly said in 2024 that they would leave the country. The website that published this says in its disclaimer it takes no responsibility for any errors. The claim appeared…

Is the National Football League "reportedly considering banning" Taylor Swift from the Super Bowl, saying, "We're Tired of Her"? No, that's not true: This claim comes from an article on a website with a satire disclaimer. No publicly available evidence confirms the article's information. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) by Esspots on January 30, 2024. The article…

Did Travis Kelce threaten Elon Musk on X over his remarks about Taylor Swift? No, that's not true: The account that posted the "threat" told Lead Stories it was fake. There is no record that Kelce, Swift's boyfriend who is tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs football team, ever replied to Musk's comments about the superstar singer. The claim…

Did the owner of an eatery prevent a woman from entering the business because her "Trump 2024" shirt was "a little issue for our facility"? No, that's not true: The owner of the TikTok account that first posted the video that depicted this supposed encounter told Lead Stories that "it was a fake video!" and "a silly TikTok." The account…

Did Taylor Swift lose "brand deals worth $125 million" after endorsing Kamala Harris? No, that's not true: The online rumor came from a website that labels itself as satire. The article didn't even mention the name of the Democratic presidential nominee. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on September 12, 2024. It said: Taylor Swift Loses…

Is a New York Police Department memo that says all uniformed members must start displaying their pronouns starting January 1, 2025, authentic? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the NYPD told Lead Stories that the memo is fake. It also misspells the words "authority" and "inputted", further indicators that it's not authentic. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Is a social media post saying that a girl "approximately 3 years old" was found by "Deputy Amy Braidley" authentic? No, that's not true: This is a bait-and-switch post that sends readers to a real estate ad. Lead Stories has previously debunked similar posts with a 3-year-old being found in different locations across the country, each time by a deputy…

Is the average IQ in Haiti 67 as claimed by various posts on social media? No, that's not true: The number is not based on any actual IQ testing in Haiti. It comes from a decades-old book co-authored by an Irish academic who was later stripped of his title. The book used a questionable methodology based on data from neighboring…

Did the ABC television network fire the hosts of the September 10, 2024, U.S. presidential debate, calling them "a disgrace"? No, that's not true: A self-described satire and parody website published the story about the pair's supposed firing. Lead Stories found nothing authoritative to substantiate the claim that ABC fired the two. The claim originated from an article (archived here)…

Does footage of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's first flight actually show the desert landscape of Algeria and not Mars in the background? No, that's not true: Footage of the takeoff and landing of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, posted on YouTube by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, does not show the same scenery as pictured in an Instagram post. The real footage…

Did President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris skip a visit to the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, memorial on September 11, 2024? No, that's not true: Both paid their respects at the memorial to 9/11 victims approximately two hours before former President Donald Trump arrived for a similar visit. They also visited the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department. The implied claim that…