Is there evidence Senator Elizabeth Warren said "There is nothing in the constitution that says ordinary Americans have a right to see what we're spending tax dollars on." on January 30, 2025? No, that's not true: A review of news sites, the website of the U.S. Senate and Warren's social media turned up no evidence she ever said those words.…
Does a graph show Chelsea Clinton "taking home $84 million" as some social media posts claim? No, that's not true: The graph originated on a website named datarepublican.com. The amount was labeled as the "Gross receipts" of the "Bill Hillary & Chelsea Clinton" foundation, without mentioning the period it applied to. The same website listed Chelsea Clinton's compensation at that…
Did the husbands of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein conspire to make money by using federal grants to buy land for high-speed rail? No, that's not true: There is no evidence either Paul Pelosi or the late Richard Blum were involved in land purchases connected to the California High-Speed Rail project. A social media…
Did Elon Musk post he found out at DOGE that the Pentagon spent $600 million per year on sushi, the Air Force $1,280 per paper coffee cup and the IRS $230k per month on "Starbucks Cinammon Roast K Cups"? No, that's not true: Those claims originated on a parody account that pretended to be Elon Musk. The account was literally…
Did Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamie Raskin file articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump in January 2025 for his pardons of January 6 participants? No, that's not true: There was no such filing. Neither the representatives' websites nor the congressional site showing legislative activity made any mention of an impeachment resolution. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…
Did an international court charge Dr. Anthony Fauci with 2,967,108 counts of murder? No, that's not true: A headline making that claim originated on The Dunning-Kruger Times, a site with a satire disclaimer. The article itself contained several hints it was all satirical and meant to troll those who just shared the headline. The headline appeared in an article published…
Does a collection of still images demonstrate that other politicians have made the same gesture as Elon Musk did at the closing of his speech at President Donald Trump's inauguration rally in 2025? No, that's not true: These photos do show real moments in time, and they are authentic -- but they do not capture the full context in which…
Does a viral post prove that the Minnesota governor and former running mate of Kamala Harris performed a Nazi salute in public? No, that's not true: The post took a single frame from a video out of context. As the recording proves, it was part of a longer movement, not a separate gesture. Walz put his hand in the air…
Does an image being spread on social media show Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez performing a Nazi salute? No, that's not true: It's a still from a video captured while Ocasio-Cortez was reaching out to another member of Congress. It shows Ocasio-Cortez reaching out to hug Sen. Ed Markey at a Green New Deal rally in February 2024 where he was introducing…
Does a video show an Orange County, California, election worker committing electoral fraud by scanning ballots three times? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the Orange County Registrar of Voters denied the accusation of fraud, saying the video "shows an Orange County election worker scanning a batch of ballots three times, but only saving the batch once." The first…
Does a clip showing open computer files prove President Joe Biden's farewell address was prerecorded? No, that's not true: The recording only showed Biden's photo, not the purportedly prerecorded video file with his speech. Plus, a White House pool photographer took a photo capturing the final moments of the speech and posted it as the president was still speaking. The…
Did President Joe Biden err in saying "end of quote" during his farewell address on January 15, 2025, as some social media posts suggested? No, that's not true: Speakers often say "end of quote" to show they've finished quoting someone else. Biden has used this phrase in his speeches before to clarify things. Public speaking experts told Lead Stories that…
Did Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser under President Joe Biden, say that an "unexpected event" that could keep the president in power is "totally possible"? No, that's not true: Those quotes appeared in a social media post that misrepresents what was actually said. Sullivan said he would only make another press briefing appearance before leaving the position at the…
Did actor Keanu Reeves refuse to present actress Whoopi Goldberg with the Lifetime Achievement award, saying, "She's not a good person"? No, that's not true: This information came from a self-described satirical website that includes the disclaimer, "Everything on this website is fiction." A representative of Reeves also told Lead Stories that this is "absolutely false." The claim appeared in…
Does a photo accurately represent the full leadership team at the Los Angeles Fire Department amid the Los Angeles County January 2025 fires? No, that's missing context: The photo posted on social media shows the current fire chief, a deputy chief and a commander from the department, but they are just three of the 14-member leadership team for the department.…
Did the Biden administration order Los Angeles airspace to be closed "to firefighting aircraft for over a day during his visit" in January 2025? No, that's not true: There was a temporary flight restriction during Biden's visit to the city on January 8, 2025, which is typical for any visiting president to any location. The Federal Aviation Administration told Lead…
Do filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission prove the United States "owns" Canada? No, that's not true: The filings are standard procedure when a foreign country wants to sell securities in the United States. The Form 18-K is specifically "for Foreign Governments and Political Subdivisions." The United States has filed similar paperwork in the United Kingdom. The claim originated…
Did Elon Musk start a public campaign in early January 2025 to cancel "The View"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no confirmation that Musk posted what was attributed to him. No media organizations indexed by Google News reported on what was described as a public campaign. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads on January…
Did federal investigators publicly confirm that the suspect in the January 1, 2025, New Orleans Bourbon Street attack "crossed into the U.S. from Mexico" two days before? No, that's not true: As of January 2, 2025, the FBI said that the suspect was a U.S. citizen who rented a car in Houston, Texas, on December 30, 2024. The post that…
Was the New Orleans attacker an immigrant, as a social media post implied? No, that's not true: The FBI and President Joe Biden said Shamsud-Din Jabbar was born in Texas and served many years in the United States Army. A widely shared video shows a man with the same name and likeness saying he was born and raised in Beaumont,…
Lead Stories is a 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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