Did Twitter CEO Elon Musk decline a $120 million Bud Light Twitter marketing campaign, saying "my principles come first"? No, that's not true: This story originated from a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conservatives. No corporate statement or credible independent reporting supports the claim. The claim appeared in an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times on May 11, 2023,…
Did Elon Musk brag about firing "crybaby liberals"? No, that's not true: This video was made using AI, or artificial intelligence. The Instagram post where this claim originated seems to be an ad for an app that uses AI to make public figures say whatever the user wants. The claim appeared on Instagram (archived here) on May 4, 2023, with…
Did Hillary Clinton say she sacrificed chickens to Moloch in a 2009 email? No, that's not true: The line in question was not written by her. The content of the exchange shows that the phrase was used as a figurative expression of cautious optimism. The claim appeared in a video published on Instagram on May 7, 2023, under the title:…
Do nasopharyngeal swabs, like those used in PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing for COVID-19, affect your longevity and aging? No, that's not true: Most research about the effectiveness and safety of such swabs suggests that they pose no significant threat to most patients. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on TikTok on April 28, 2023. The video…
Did former Fox News host Tucker Carlson turn down a $30 million offer to host a show on CNN? No, that's not true: This article is satire published by The Dunning-Kruger Times, part of a network of satire sites from America's Last Line of Defense. Although this network offers clear disclaimers that nothing on their websites are true, these stories…
Does a photo on social media depict a Honduran woman named Susana Gonzalez who was the first member of a "caravan" of migrants to be granted asylum in the United States? No, that's not true: This post depicts an old, fake meme that has been recycled online since 2018 by alt-right, conservative online platforms. The woman in the photo is…
Did former President Barack Obama remove half a million pedophiles from government online databases? No, that's not true: The claim refers to changes in criminal record-keeping. The Trump administration issued the memo in February 2017 that more narrowly defined a "fugitive from justice" as a person with an arrest warrant who had also fled state lines. This resulted in 500,000…
Did the World Economic Forum "order" governments "to begin rationing water into homes," proclaiming that access to it is not a human right anymore? No, that's not true: As a non-governmental body, The World Economic Forum (WEF) doesn't have the authority to force independent countries to do anything. The materials cited as proof of the claim, from the March 2023…
Was former President Donald Trump photographed wearing a helicopter helmet and a military-style vest? No, that's not true: The image from social media is most likely AI-generated. The claim originated from a tweet (archived here) published on May 1, 2023. It contained what looked like a picture of Trump posted under the caption: This is what a President looks like.…
Does an image showing President Joe Biden using two different hands to sign documents prove that a "body double" is being used for him? No, that's not true: The picture showing him signing with his left hand -- Biden is right-handed and signs documents with his right hand -- is an Associated Press image that has been flipped to make…
Did the chief executive officer (CEO) of Spotify offer Tucker Carlson $129 million to host a podcast? No, that's not true: This story originated from a website that clearly labels itself fiction/satire aimed at trolling conservatives. No corporate statement or credible independent reporting supports the claim. The claim appeared in an article published by the Patriot Party Press on April…
Did a public high school in Georgia implement a "business model" assignment in which students had to devise ways of "raising and eating human babies to solve the world hunger problem?" No, that's not true: At two points in a video interview shared to social media, it was stated that the supposed business model was meant as a high school…
Did a military tribunal sentence Liz Cheney, a former U.S. representative, to hang? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories this claim "is false." Also, it was made on a self-described satirical website whose disclaimer says it publishes articles for "entertainment purposes." The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on April 23,…
Does BlackRock own Dominion Voting Systems? No, that's not true: A BlackRock spokesperson told Lead Stories the asset management/investment company owns part of Dominion Resources Inc., a completely different company, in the energy sector. The similarly-named voting software and ballot equipment company, Dominion Voting Systems, is owned by Staple Street Capital and its employees. Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox News…
Would a bill in the Florida legislature impose the death penalty for admitting children to drag shows? No, that's not true: Bills before lawmakers in the Sunshine State would make it illegal to take children to drag shows, and would also impose the death penalty for certain sexual offenders against children, but those are two separate pieces of legislation. Taking…
Does a map circulating on social media prove 3-year-old children can get a gender-affirming surgery in the United States? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such surgeries have ever been performed on patients of this age, and the existing standards for gender-affirming care do not recommend any medical interventions before a person reaches puberty. The claim appeared…
Did President Joe Biden "push away" or snub U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when Biden arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April 11, 2023? No, that's not true: The video in this post has been digitally edited. It was shortened to seem as if Biden did not recognize Sunak and instead mistook a British military member in uniform as the…
Did then-presidential candidate Joe Biden claim that the biggest problem during the Revolutionary War was the fact that they did not have airports? No, that's not true: Biden was referring to something then-President Donald Trump had said in a speech. The Facebook video where this claim originated is misrepresenting Biden's speech by leaving out the context. The claim appeared on…
Do photos of British Passport #84764 issued in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 29, 1959 to Mr. Barack Hussein Obama prove that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and "was thus a FAKE and ILLEGITIMATE President"? No, that's not true: A father and son both had the same name, Barack Hussein Obama. These photos posted by Malik Obama, the older…
Did Rep. Jim Jordan slap former Special Counsel Robert Mueller during a congressional hearing? No, that's not true: The social media post making the claim provides no proof. More importantly, such an assault on Mueller by Jordan never happened. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook on April 10, 2023. The title of the video read: 'YOU ARE LYING'…
Lead Stories is a U.S. based fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or
inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
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