Blue Feed

Did the Disney CEO admit that Disney made "a huge mistake by going woke"? No, that's not true: This article was created by the satirical website, USA Taters. The article falsely states that Disney's CEO is Joe Barron. Walt Disney's CEO is Bob Chapek at the time of writing. There is also an explicit satire disclaimer on the About Us…

Did U.S. "Special Forces" arrest Dr. Anthony Fauci on April 9, 2022? No, that's not true: "That statement is completely false," a National Institutes of Health (NIH) spokesperson told Lead Stories. Fauci has made public appearances after the arrest supposedly took place. Also, the claim was posted on a self-described satirical website. The claim appeared in an article (archived here)…

Did Disney shareholders panic after $2.4 billion in losses in a single day? No, that's not true: The website the claim appeared on specializes in satire and comes with this warning in its "About Us" section: "Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real." It is…

Did CNN write a story about how Elon Musk could threaten free speech on Twitter by allowing people to say whatever they want and speak freely? No, that's not true: This is a fake CNN story written by the satirical website, Genesius Times, which claims to provide readers with the "most up-to-date, accurate fake news on the Internet." CNN does…

Did a Twitter employee post a public resignation because he refused to work for Elon Musk? No, that's not true: This tweet was made by @MulhollandL0ver, an account that posts mainly satire. This is not the account of a real Twitter employee. The tweet from @MulhollandL0ver was posted as a reply to a tweet from @disclosetv on April 4, 2022.…

Did Colorado Gov. Jared Polis sign a bill that legalizes abortion up until the time of birth? Not exactly: Although Polis did sign HB22-1279, also known as the Reproductive Health Equity Act, or RHEA, that bill only codified the state's already existing reproductive rights into Colorado law and prevents state and local interference in reproductive measures such as abortion. Even…

Did the Waunakee Community School District in Wisconsin put a "furry protocol" in place to normalize students who identify as and act like cats and dogs at school? No, that's not true: According to the superintendent of the school district, there are no such protocols in place. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on March 31, 2022.…

Did California introduce a new bill that would allow mothers to kill their babies up to seven days after birth? No, that's not true: Under California State Assembly Bill 2223, a person would not have a license to kill (LTK) their baby for a week after they're born. The author of the bill suggested an amendment to clarify its immunity…

Did former President John F. Kennedy give a speech seven days before he was assassinated about a plot to enslave every man, woman and child? No, that's not true: According to the communications manager at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, it is a common question that the organization "has found no truth to." No other source has…

Was Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator under the administration of former President Donald Trump, executed at Naval Base Guam on July 6, 2021? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence supporting the claim. The claim was published by Real Raw News, an outlet known for releasing fictitious information. The claim originated in an article…

Did the "Bombshell" report published by Mike Lindell about Mesa County, Colorado, voting systems prove election machine manipulation? No, that's not true: The Colorado Secretary of State's Office, whose election security systems are called into question by the report, calls the analysis "unauthenticated hearsay." Independent of the state analysis, election and cybersecurity experts who reviewed Lindell's "Bombshell" report for Lead…

Did President Joe Biden tweet a stock photo in March 2022 with trees covered in leaves taken in the middle of summer? No that's not true: The photo of Biden boarding Marine One on March 23, 2022, is not old or stock. It was taken at the time the boarding occurred. It shows the South Lawn of the White House.…

Did NPR publish an article on the morning of January 6, 2021, about Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol and clashing with police before any clashes with police had occurred? No, that's not true: This intentionally deceptive post focuses on the National Public Radio article's original publication timestamp while cropping off the well-marked notice that the article had been updated…

Is a meme correct that Chelsea Manning was "in jail" as of March 2022? No, that's not true: Manning was released from jail in 2020 and is free as of this writing. Manning's recent tweets from her verified Twitter account, as well as news reports about her, confirm that she is no longer incarcerated. The claim appeared in a Facebook…

Did the U.S. Supreme Court find the Union -- the name for the United States led by then-President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War -- guilty of "Constitutional Treason" in 1867? No, that's not true: There was never any such ruling by the Supreme Court in 1867, and the quotation by then-Chief Justice Salmon Chase used to justify the claim…

Did California ask electric vehicle owners to avoid charging their cars during a strain on the power grid? Not really: Although the California Independent System Operator (ISO) has encouraged consumers to adjust their electricity usage during a potential power grid strain, the suggestion is not a call to avoid electricity altogether. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here)…

Did George Orwell say or write: "The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it"? No, that's not true: Orwell never said this. The quote is from a freelance writer named Selwyn Duke, who coined it in a 2009 piece about the banning of conservative author Michael Savage from Britain. The meme attributing…

Is the relatively high number of registrations on November 2 and November 3, 2020, evidence of voter fraud in Michigan? No, that's not true: On Election Day alone, close to 32,000 people registered to vote in Michigan, according to officials. A spokeswoman for the Michigan secretary of state told Lead Stories that the registrations were legal and due to the…

Is there "shocking evidence of widespread fraud" in Wisconsin's voter database? No, that's not true: Responding to a slew of allegations, Wisconsin election officials pointed out that lists of inactive voters - who are not on poll books and cannot vote - were used to inflate claims about illegal voters. Another "fraud" example was easily explained by simply looking up…

Is the Biden administration funding the distribution of "crack pipes" and heroin for drug use? No, that's not true: The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared none of the federal funds for harm reduction programs for drug addicts can be used to provide crack pipes. While a description of the HHS grants stated that the grantees would be…