Did winning Kentucky Derby jockey John Velazquez turn down a White House invitation, saying he didn't want to see "a horse's ass"? No, that's not true: The quote is fake. Calling the purported quote "ridiculous," Velazquez's agent told Lead Stories the jockey is unfailingly polite. "He wouldn't say anything derogatory about a fly. It's just not him," said Ron Anderson,…

Does a 10-second video clip show President Joe Biden "again" inappropriately kissing a young boy? No, that's not true: The clip, from 2015, shows Joe Biden comforting his grandson, Robert Hunter Biden, at the funeral of the child's father, Beau Biden. Joe Biden strokes his grandson's hair, and kisses him on the cheek and puts his hand on the boy's…

Did protesters at a governing board meeting for the Vail Unified School District in Arizona elect a new school board and legally vote for the district's mask policy to be lifted? No, that's not true: While the protestors did stage what appeared to be an impromptu election for a new school board on April 27, 2021, their election was not…

Does a video prove that "final moves against the deep state" are happening now? No, that's not true: Many of the conspiracy theories claimed in the video are false. Donald Trump is not still president or "in charge," the London 2012 Olympics did not foreshadow the coronavirus outbreak and John McCain and George H.W. Bush were not found guilty by…

During a debate, did Kamala Harris say to Joe Biden, "You will do whatever the Chinese tell you! They gave your son over a billion dollars"? No, that's not true: Kamala Harris never said this to Joe Biden during a debate. The claim seems to have first surfaced on Twitter in late January 2021 and on Facebook in April 2021.…

Is Kamala Harris' book in "welcome bags" for illegal migrant children in California? No, that's not true. The spokesperson for the city of Long Beach told Lead Stories there was one copy of the book that appeared in a widely circulated photo, but the vice president's book was not part of the welcome bags. The claim appeared in an article…

Was Hillary Clinton hanged at Guantanamo Bay on April 26, 2021? No, that's not true: The claim is the latest in a series of false claims about Clinton that have appeared on a website known for publishing fake news. Lead Stories has debunked prior allegations, including the claim that Clinton was arrested, that she faced a military tribunal and that…

Were a quarter of a million illegal votes found in the Arizona audit? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, April 27, 2021, no results from the audit commissioned by Republicans in the state Senate have been released. An exact release date is not known. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on April 26,…

Is Bill Gates fighting to keep the ingredients of COVID-19 vaccines secret? No, that's not true: The ingredients to each COVID-19 vaccine currently in use are not secret. They are publicly available, including on the FDA website. Gates, a billionaire philanthropist and founder of Microsoft, does not own any of the vaccine patents. The claim that he does control them…

Is President Biden cutting 90% of red meat from your diet, limiting you to four pounds a year and one burger per month? No, that's not true. A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson told Lead Stories there's no such proposal. The Biden administration does not have a new climate requirement that would limit the amount of red meat Americans can…

Is the audit in Maricopa County, Arizona, confirming the rumor that a "special watermark is on the real ballots"? No, there's no evidence that's true: Maricopa County ballots do not have watermarks, according to a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Elections Department. Claims of such watermarks are related to a previously debunked conspiracy theory that some entity -- perhaps the…

Did the military arrest former FBI Director James Comey? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the office of the secretary of defense said no such arrest happened. An article making the claim relies on a purported unnamed source and appears on a website that's known for publishing false allegations. Lead Stories could find no credible confirmation of the story…

Did a military drone launched by the "Deep State" target a building near Trump adviser Roger Stone's office in Florida? No, that's not true: The explosion and subsequent fire began with a leaking liquid petroleum tank inside a Styrofoam manufacturing facility on April 20, 2021, according to the local fire chief. The video appeared in a Parler post (archived here)…

Do two photos of Palm Beach, in New South Wales, Australia, purportedly taken almost a century apart, prove there has been no change in the sea level and that climate change is a hoax? No, that's not true: An overall change in sea level over the course of a century can not be measured by comparing two photos and Australia's…

Did Dominion have 70 attorneys in Arizona in April of 2021, trying to stop the audit of ballots from the 2020 election? No, that's not true: A post making the claim offered no sourcing to support it, and a spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems said the company had no such team. "Dominion does not have a team of attorneys in…

Did "President Trump" return in a blaze of glory on Air Force One? Is the military preparing to oust Joe Biden? No, that's not true: A video purporting to show Trump's triumphant return in April 2021 is old. The footage is actually from December 2020. There is also no evidence that the military is preparing to oust President Biden. Claims…

Did U.S. schools stop teaching cursive writing so that future generations would be unable to read the Bill of Rights or the Constitution? No, that's not true: Schools did not stop. At least 21 states still require that their students learn cursive in elementary school. As keyboard skills gained in importance, school reform measures like the Common Core left out…

Does Mike Lindell's "Absolute Interference" video, his third that purports to prove 2020 election fraud, contain only proven statements? No, that's not true: It contradicts itself and recycles claims that have been debunked before, relying on discredited and anonymous guests who make unsubstantiated and disproven allegations. The video's orienting claim is that foreign and domestic actors hacked the election through…

Did the prime minister of Japan hold a "Trump 2024" sign during remarks made alongside Kamala Harris? No, that's not true: A video showing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga with a "Make America Great Again" hat and a sign in support of Donald Trump has clearly been manipulated. Other video of the event shows him as he was, dressed in a…

Was Joe Biden denied entry to the Pentagon on April 16, 2021? No, that's not true: A Pentagon spokesperson denied the claim. There's also no evidence the president visited the Pentagon on that date. He hosted the Japanese prime minister, held a press conference and left the White House for Wilmington, Delaware, according to Biden's public schedule and press reports.…