Does a viral Facebook video provide any information about the crimes alleged in its headline? No, that's not true: The video is a newscast from cable channel One America News Network that does not mention any of the charges against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden that are the subject of its headline. The claim appeared in the…

Is DeAnna Lorraine currently running against Nancy Pelosi in California? No, that's not true: Despite claims in a meme posted in April 2020 that went viral again in June 2021, Lorraine is not currently running in any type of election against Nancy Pelosi. Lorraine did attempt a primary challenge against Pelosi in March 2020 but ended up in fifth place…

Does this video prove there is no COVID-19 pandemic and that public health measures and vaccination campaigns are all part of a well-planned conspiracy that "globalists" planned 10 years ago to seize power and profit? No, that's not true: These recycled conspiracy theories are offered without citing specific peer-reviewed research by scientists with relevant expertise and/or clinical experience treating COVID.…

Were major federal buildings in Washington, D.C. -- including the Federal Bureau of Investigation's headquarters -- shut down on June 14, 2021? No, that's not true: The FBI confirmed that its headquarters have been open. Other buildings such as the White House and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) headquarters were not abandoned at the time either. The…

Did the first case of postmortem study of a patient vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 find viral RNA in every organ of the body? No, that's not true: Researchers found viral RNA in seven of the nine organs they analyzed. "This is not even the majority of all human organs," the study's authors wrote to Lead Stories. The claim was one of…

Does this video say that the Senate has declared "Corona is a lie" and the media are covering up the truth? No, that's not true: The Senate has made no such statement. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and four colleagues, shown in the video, can't speak for the entire Senate, plus they don't say "Corona is a lie" or "the media…

Has former CIA Director John Brennan been hanged at Guantanamo Bay? No, that's not true: A spokesperson at the Defense Department told Lead Stories that this is "completely false." The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on June 14, 2021, titled "John Brennan Hanged at GITMO" (archived here). Real Raw News has a disclaimer on their…

Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issue a report that compared how states voted in the 2020 presidential election with their vaccination rates? No, that's not true: There is no such report, according to a CDC spokesperson. That said, the agency does collect and release vaccination statistics and it's easy enough for anyone with internet access to…

Were President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both out of the country at the same time in June 2021? No, that's not true: although there appears to be no law stating that at least one has to remain in the country while the other is abroad, Biden and Harris have not been out of the country at the…

Did makers of the COVID-19 vaccine "intentionally" add a component in order to force mRNA into body parts -- a process called magnetofection -- which made vaccinated people magnetized? No, that's not true: While magnetofection is a real thing, this developing nanotechnology was not used in the production of the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. There is nothing in the…

Did Coca-Cola produce and disseminate soda cans with the slogan "Try to be less white" featured on the side? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the beverage company told Lead Stories that such cans were never made. The claim follows controversy from February 2021 over diversity training material available to Coca-Cola employees that included content encouraging them to be…

Does this photo show that ballots in Maricopa County, Arizona, have watermarks? No, that's not true: The photo was first posted by Vernon Jones, a former state representative in Georgia who is running for governor in that state. His post says the photo shows ballots that Arizona officials are considering for use in future elections. The claim appeared in an…

Does a list of indictments, arrests and executions reveal a number of politicians, celebrities and royals who have been executed including Barack and Michelle Obama? No, that's not true. This list is completely false. It is part of the baseless and debunked QAnon conspiracy theory: that Donald Trump is fighting a secret international cabal of child sex predators made up…

Were 174 batches of ballots missing in the Fulton County, Georgia, vote count? No, that's not true: A spokeswoman for the county said no ballots were missing. A clip making the claim did not provide any sourcing to support it. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published by "Populist Press" on June 7, 2021. Titled "'Explosive' Evidence Coming…

Did Joe Biden incorrectly refer to bullets as "clips" during a 2019 campaign rally in New Hampshire? Yes -- but he immediately corrected himself. A post that cites Biden's partial remarks at a November 8, 2019, rally is missing context: although Biden did say in the speech that guns should not have "100 clips," he immediately corrected himself and said…

Were Dr. Anthony Fauci's emails leaked to the public? No, that's not true: Several media outlets, including The Washington Post, CNN and BuzzFeed News, filed Freedom of Information Act requests to access copies of Fauci's office emails. As Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, courts have held that, barring certain exemptions, public official…

Did a Starbucks in downtown Denver post a sign in their window that told customers it was closed to "educate white people about their racism"? No, that's not true: That sign is a doctored image that mocks racial bias training Starbucks hosted on May 29, 2018. The training was the company's response to backlash after a store manager at a…

Does the movie "Absolutely 9-0" released by Mike Lindell contain credible evidence of a Chinese cyberattack against the U.S. election? No, that's not true: he reuses the same debunked data he already showed in his previous movies "Absolute Proof" and "Absolute Interference," and it is unlikely this will sway the Supreme Court, even if he somehow manages to get a…

Was former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta executed at the U.S. government's prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? No, that's not true: The claim is "false," the Department of Defense told Lead Stories. The claim was published without on-the-record attribution to knowledgeable sources or any other evidence, and without specific disclaimers saying whether the article is fiction, parody…

Did Facebook and Instagram reinstate former President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts on June 2, 2021? No, that's not true: There was no change in the status of Trump's social media accounts, Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said in a tweet on June 2, 2021. Trump's ability to post new content was suspended by Facebook in the wake of the…