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Did a representative of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott follow a family home after they identified the body of a child killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting and offer to pay them to stand with him to oppose stronger gun laws -- as reported in a May 26, 2022, Twitter thread by an account called @MyCancerJourne3? No, that's not true:…

Does Ted Cruz have a "template ready to tweet" whenever shootings happen? No, that's not true: The Texas senator tweeted in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. But a viral tweet that makes it look like Cruz tweeted the same thing after other U.S. shootings is fake. The claim appeared in a Twitter post…

Did Republican turnout for the Pennsylvania primary on May 17, 2022, increase by some 500,000 votes over 2018? Yes, that's true: Election returns on the Pennsylvania Department of State's website through May 19, 2022, show an even bigger increase than that, topping 600,000 additional GOP ballots compared to 2018, depending on the race. More ballots for Democrats were cast, too,…

Did conservative commentator Candace Owens quote a tweet made by Fox News about ivermectin's hidden cost -- that many are suffering long-term bowel and urinary incontinence? No, that's not true: Both of the tweets shown in the screenshot -- the one spoofing Fox News and the response spoofing Candace Owens -- are fake. The right border of the fake Fox…

When President Joe Biden took office, was there no COVID-19 vaccine available? No, that's not true: The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine both received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorizations (EUA) in December 2021. The vaccines were available but not widely available to the public while former President Donald Trump was still in office. The…

Are people in Alabama who seek or get an abortion "thrown in prison for life," even if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest? No, that's not true: There's no such law in Alabama. In 2019, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill designed to essentially ban abortion in the state, except for when an abortion…

Was the founder of the Timberland boot company an 18th-century slave owner in Mississippi named Timberland Hawkins who hung slaves he couldn't auction from a tree in his field that's still standing and is now featured as the Timberland company logo? No, none of that is true: This post is a spinoff from earlier false social media rumors that the…

Does the government cover free dental work for senior citizens through plans called "Senior Alliance Program" or "Dental Alliance"? No, that's not true: Medicare does not cover most dental work and dental procedures, and Lead Stories did not find any program with the name "Senior Alliance Program" or "Dental Alliance" on the official Medicare website. Medicare Advantage Plans offer dental…

Is this a real photo of a town on Mississippi Highway 14, either past or present, that has a road sign that warns, "Whites Only Within City Limits After Dark"? No, that's not true: This photo is a still frame from the 2018 movie "Green Book," which was set in the early 1960s, and this is not Mississippi, it is…

Did the Biden administration develop a program that allows qualified homeowners to receive solar panels and a Tesla Powerwall battery system for free? No, that's not true: Although the administration proposed a $555 billion budget dedicated to clean energy and climate change efforts in 2021, there is no evidence of a program within that budget that would provide solar panels…

Did Donald Trump issue a statement on his "Save America" letterhead that encouraged "all the Great MAGA Patriots" to boycott the midterm elections in November? No, that's not true: According to Trump's chief spokeswoman, that April 27, 2022, statement is fake. The fabricated statement appears to have originated from The Halfway Post, a Twitter account that describes itself as liberal…

Is Snickers removing the "beloved 'dick vein'" from their candy bars? No, that's not true: Snickers said on Twitter, "THE VEINS REMAIN!" The edited image is a spoof of Fox News Channel TV host Tucker Carlson and cancel culture. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on April 24, 2022, under the title "He's just mad cause he…

Is there a successful self-made billionaire prison investor offering tips and advice to Twitter followers about how to get rich buying private prisons? No, that's not verified: The @prisoninvestor1 account of "Dallas Liam" uses inflammatory tweets to get attention, but does not appear to be a verifiable real person who is investing in private prisons. There is also no record…

Did Arnold Schwarzenegger post a picture of himself sleeping outside by his own statue because a hotel refused him service? No, that's not true: The image was posted by the former California governor as a joke while he was filming a movie in Ohio. The image had nothing to do with the caption of a social media post that claimed…

Was a fourth batch of stimulus checks approved and "coming" in December 2021? No, that's not true: According to information from the U.S. government, by December 2021 the most recent batch of stimulus payments had been sent to qualifying Americans in March 2021. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on December 13, 2021. The post has a…

Did former President Donald Trump dedicate a tweet to billionaire businessman Elon Musk on April 15, 2022, as a thank you for allowing him back on Twitter? No, that's not true: Trump's account @realDonaldTrump is still suspended as of April 15, 2022. Additionally, there is no evidence that Musk is in a position to bring Trump's account back: although Musk…

Is the "Doctor" of Dr. Oz a branded nickname with no meaning, like the name of the soft drink Dr Pepper? No, that's not true: Before Dr. Oz became a household name as a regular guest on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and then in 2009, as the host of his own daytime TV show, "The Dr. Oz Show," he was…

Is the proposed bill in Tennessee that would create a common-law marriage between "one man" and "one woman" actually intended to pave the way for adults to marry children of any age? No, that's not true: According to the sponsor of HB 233, Rep. Tom Leatherwood, the bill is intended to create a form of marriage for just adult men…

Did an airport in New York take "legal possession" of former President Donald Trump's personal Boeing 757 over unpaid storage fees? No, that's not true: A post making the claim appears to be satirical. In reality, Trump's plane left the New York Stewart International Airport in Orange County, New York in November 2021 and arrived in Louisiana, where it was…

Did Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel photoshop his face onto the body of a Black soldier? No, that's not true: A Mandel spokesperson told Lead Stories that this claim is false. A Cincinnati.com article reported that the image is legitimate and that the photo was simply darkened "to make the text clearer" in one of Mandel's campaign ads. This…