Politics

Did NBC News report that the news outlet was told that several of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' classmates "vaguely referred to an event known as the 'muffin incident'"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that NBC News published a claim about a "muffin incident" and DeSantis. The article posted by the news outlet on DeSantis the same day…

Did President Joe Biden fall asleep during an important meeting with the president of Israel? No, that's not true: Biden met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on July 18, 2023. A video clip posted on Instagram shows a moment during the meeting with the sound removed. Biden had some note cards on his lap and he…

Did the German newspaper Handelsblatt publish a cartoon of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its front page in the aftermath of the 2023 NATO summit, calling to "reconsider attitudes" toward support of Zelenskyy and Ukraine? No, that's not true: No such cover could be found on the Handelsblatt official website. The story appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on…

Did U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris laugh at a question about Ukrainian refugees at a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on May 10, 2022? No, that's not true: Harris did laugh following questions about Ukrainian refugees, but she wasn't laughing at them or their plight. The laughter followed an awkward pause as the U.S. vice president…

Does a video show President Joe Biden browsing and selecting books in a store's section called "Brain Exercises for Dementia"? No, that's not true: The video was altered to add a sign with those words on it. Biden was actually picking up children's books in 2012. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram on July 16, 2023.…

Did an unnamed source with the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) disclose to Real Raw News that there are about 19,000 sealed indictments held on U.S. physicians and medical staff for criminally coercing patients to get the COVID-19 vaccine in an unlawful and unethical partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of…

Does a pro-Ron DeSantis PAC ad use a real recording of former President Donald Trump's voice? No, that's not true: The audio of Trump used in the ad was created by artificial intelligence, the spokesperson for the political action committee told Lead Stories. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published by Never Back Down on July 18, 2023,…

Did Vice President Kamala Harris give a speech to say reducing population is a goal of the climate change movement? No, that's not true: While she did say the words "reduce population," a While House official confirmed to Lead Stories that the intended word was "pollution," and a correction made in the White House transcript reflects that. In her speech…

Did a young woman blindside former vice president Mike Pence while he was walking in a parade, hitting him squarely in the back of the head with a water balloon? No, that's not true: The video shows the Stewart Manor 4th of July Parade in Hempstead, New York, where throwing water balloons is part of a long standing tradition --…

Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) say that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) microchip must be "implanted under your skin" to participate in society? No, that's not true: Richard Werner, a German economist and professor who is not employed by the WEF, talked about the possible future use of microchip implants to regulate the availability of CBDC funds and…

Did the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden decide that "international sex trafficking of minors" was no longer an area of concern for prosecution? No, that's not true: A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson told Lead Stories that the suggestion that international child sex trafficking was not a priority for the administration is "false." The DOJ website no longer…

Did President Joe Biden announce that the "US dollar will now become cryptocurrency"? No, that's not true: There's no evidence to back that claim. While the president did issue an executive order (EO) on March 9, 2022, on "Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets," it called on government agencies to look at the risks and benefits of digital currencies. Additionally,…

Did Teresa Ribera, third vice president of Spain and Spain's minister for ecological transition and demographic challenge, fly on a private jet to attend a climate summit? No, that's not true: No aircraft used by Spanish dignitaries landed before Ribera was shown as being in Valladolid, Spain, the city where the summit was held. The claim appeared in a post…

Did President Joe Biden attend a Fourth of July event where every attendee had their phone off? No, that's not true: Evidence from news organization footage shows that people were recording and phones were on. It was possible that because the event was in the evening, and the sun was lower in the sky, rays from the sun blocked out…

Did President Joe Biden wave "to nobody" after delivering his address in Lithuania on July 12, 2023? No, that's not true: The claim is based on video showing only the president, not a wider shot showing the audience beside the stage. The story appeared in a post on Instagram on July 12, 2023. The caption said: Biden points and waves…

Does the idea that 1.4 percent of Americans owned slaves in 1860 represent the true extent of slavery at that time? No, that's not true: That statistic isn't meaningful. By 1860, slave ownership was concentrated in the southern U.S., making only the population in those states relevant to the issue of slave ownership. The population of the southern U.S. also…

Did Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte try to "seize over 3000 farms" to "free land for immigrants" during the unsuccessful negotiations over immigration shortly before the government's collapse in July 2023? No, that's not true: The claim was first made on Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News a year before Rutte conceded that the members of his coalition couldn't reach…

Is there no scientific consensus that climate change is happening? No, that's not true: A scientific survey of more than 88,000 climate-related studies found that more than 99 percent of research agrees that climate change is real and primarily caused by human activities. Furthermore, a majority of credible scientific institutions and researchers in the U.S. and beyond unequivocally and publicly…

Is a "WEF agent" revealing a plan to exclude "less desirable" people from digital currency that will take over the world? No, that's not true: The man in the first clip in the video is a renowned Cornell University professor who was speaking at a World Economic Forum event but he is not an "agent" of the organization. He was…

Did Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' high school yearbook photo have a quote underneath that reads, "My Mount Rushmore is Jesus, Sir-Mixes-a-Lot, and Nintendo 64"? No, that's not true: The photo in a post making that claim is real, but "there is no quote within the yearbook photo beneath Governor DeSantis' photo," according to a representative from the county where DeSantis…