Blue Feed

Does a social media video show Kamala Harris giving a speech in Atlanta on September 20, 2024, while she appeared to be intoxicated? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found the original version of the speech, and the version circulating on social media has been slowed down to make her sound intoxicated. There is no evidence the vice president was…

Does a video show Usher refusing to support Kamala Harris? No, that's not true: In the full video taken from a talk-show appearance Usher said "Yes" when asked if he supports Kamala Harris for president. The video clip used on social media to say the singer didn't support her left that part out. The claim about R&B singer Usher appeared…

Did Taylor Swift lose 17 million followers after posting an endorsement for Kamala Harris on her Instagram account? No, that's not true: Numbers show that Swift actually gained followers shortly after her endorsement. The account that posted this claim has "#Satire" and "#Parody" in their bio. The claim appeared in a now-deleted post on X (archived here) on September 15,…

Did White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre abruptly end a press briefing after Fox News senior correspondent Peter Doocy asked why she, President Biden and Vice President Harris still referred to Donald Trump as a "threat" even after two assassination attempts against the former president? No, that's not true: The social-media video that claims to show Jean-Pierre ending the briefing…

Does a video on X show Tim Walz calling Donald Trump and JD Vance "a threat to democracy" after Trump survived a second apparent assassination attempt? No, that's not true: That attempt was made in September 2024, while videos show Walz's statement was in late July 2024. There is nothing to confirm the video on X was made in mid-…

Did Gov. Gavin Newsom sign a bill banning memes and parody in California? No, that's not true: The bill specifically exempts "Materially deceptive content that constitutes satire or parody." The Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024 mandates that large online platforms either remove or label deceptive and digitally altered election-related content during specific timeframes. The claim appeared in…

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…

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…

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)…

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…

Did CNN's fact checker say that Kamala Harris "lied 17 times in the first ten minutes" of the presidential debate? No, that's not true: The claim comes from a network of websites that clearly labels the work as satire, parody and fiction. Also, a spokesperson for CNN told Lead Stories that the claim was "false." The claim appeared in a…

Did Kamala Harris wear sound-receiving devices disguised as earrings during the September 10, 2024, presidential debate? No, that's not true: The Nova H1 "audio earrings" Harris wore according to some posts on social media do not have the loops seen in the photo of a model wearing them. Those loops were part of a different piece of jewelery the model…

Did Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Elton John endorse Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential race? No, that's not true: Video clips of Johnson and John do not show either one of them having said that they endorse Trump for the 2024 presidential election, as of this writing on September 10, 2024. The two celebrities described Trump as a fan…

Did McDonald's corporate make a statement saying that "they have no record whatsoever of KAMALA HARRIS ever working at any of their locations"? No, that's not true: The McDonald's corporate website page of press releases has no mention of Kamala Harris. A Google search of McDonald's corporate website did not bring up any mention of Kamala Harris at all. There…

Are Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, "kidnapping and eating their neighbors' cats" in 2024? No, that's not true: Springfield police said they had no reports of pets being stolen and eaten. A city official told Lead Stories that there are "no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community." The…

Was Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a convicted felon? No, that's not true: King was indicted for a felony, tax evasion, in 1960, but the jury found him not guilty, the historical record shows. He was never convicted of a felony. King, who spent decades advocating for civil rights for Black Americans, was arrested multiple times for acts of various…

Is a screenshot that shows Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray as transgender and a supporter of Kamala Harris authentic? No, that's not true: The person behind the account frequently changes their profile picture and bio. A previous version of the account warns journalists, lawyers and others that "this context is all fake and made up." The screenshot is…