Politics

Are Muslim immigrants the reason why there are piles of garbage in the neighborhoods of Birmingham, England? No, that's not true: Refuse workers in Birmingham, England, are "taking all out indefinite strike action" starting on March 11, 2025. They began striking in January over job cuts, and for better pay. The garbage piles up because it is not being hauled…

Did President Trump post a message on Truth Social that showed a slashed-through upside-down pink triangle symbol that looked like the badge used in Nazi camps to identify those imprisoned as being homosexual? Yes, that's true: The image appeared as the social media preview card when Trump posted a link to a Washington Times opinion piece about military recruitment ads.…

Did "Democrat NGOs" set fire to Tesla Cybertrucks in Seattle on March 9, 2025? No, that's not true: The Seattle Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives told Lead Stories they are still investigating the overnight fires as of March 10, 2025. There is no evidence provided in a social media post that the fires on…

Does a viral video really show President Trump's Air Force One doing several flyovers of an aircraft carrier to honor the Navy personnel on it? No, that's not true: The video was digitally created by an online artist who goes by the name "Iceman Fox1." Their channel on YouTube says it publishes "Mixed reality digital aviation videos." A copy of…

Did the White House publish a quote by President Trump in which he said "illegal border crossings have plummeted" by "much more than 100 percent" in just over one month? Yes, that's true: The quote appeared in a publication titled "REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP BEFORE CABINET MEETING" that was published on the White House website on February 26, 2025. In…

Did a story about two "gender critical feminists" being treated in hospital after a "serious altercation" in a public bathroom originate as real news? No, that's not true: A satire account made it up as a joke and claimed it happened because both thought the other was transgender. The post dated back to April 2024 but screenshots of it have…

Did Donald Trump admit in an Oval Office ceremony on March 7, 2025, that the 2024 election was rigged so that he could become president again? No, that's not true: President Trump was claiming the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden was rigged, not the 2024 election. If he had won in 2020, he would not be president when…

Did French President Macron demand "$150 trillion in interest" for funding US independence, also known as the American Revolution, claiming France's support was a loan? No, that's not true: A viral screenshot with that headline showing an image from Macron's March 5, 2025, speech did not offer any sources to back that up and the speech did not make any…

Did Elon Musk tweet "The USA needs to hold an election. Trump would lose by a landslide." on March 7, 2025? No, that's not true: The post in question does not appear on Musk's X account and it was not indexed by Google. A viral screenshot that appears to show such a post bears signs of digital manipulation. An example…

Does a photo shared to X authentically depict Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina? No, that's not true: The image in question has been edited to exaggerate the politican's eyes, mouth, and facial features. Her official portrait, posted on her Congressional profile online, does not share these same characteristics. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on…

Does a video show conditions in Durban, South Africa in March 2025? No, that's not true: The video in the post was recorded in the aftermath of protests and unrest in July 2021. The same video was posted on X on July 15, 2021 carrying the same caption with which it was posted on X in March 2025. The claim…

Did Donald Trump just designate the month of March as "Women's History Month" by signing an executive order? No, that's not true: The formal observation of Women's History Month was started by Congress in 1987, an expansion of the previous statute designating Women's History Week. Part of the resolution reads: "The President is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon…

Did the group known as the "Patriot Front" disband the day after Kash Patel started as FBI Director or shortly after Christopher Wray resigned from that position? No, that's not true: As of this writing, the group's website is still active. So is their Telegram channel, where they were actively publishing updates. There have been several claims the group has…

Did Representative Jasmine Crockett "completely fabricate" the statistic that "80% of the most violent crime are by white supremacists" as a viral post said? No, that's not entirely true: Crockett appears to have badly misquoted a statistic that originated in a 2023 ADL report, altering the meaning. The statistic was about "domestic extremist-related murders" in the United States in 2022,…

Does Elizabeth Warren have a net worth of $67 million as of March 2025? No, that's not true: The Massachusetts senator is estimated to be worth between $7 and $12 million. There is no evidence that supports her being worth $67 million, even with her salary as a senator, homes, investments and other income. Her most recent publicly available financial…

Did a video clip shared to X authentically show a BBC reporter joking the February 28, 2025 Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump was " ... the second time that a U.S. president f***ed someone in the Oval Office." ? No, that's not true: The audio was generated using artificial intelligence. The original newscast…

Did President Donald Trump post he would impose capital controls because "TERRIBLE things" were happening to "our BEAUTIFUL AND GREAT STOCK MARKET" and that he would put a tariff on "foreign selling"? No, that's not true: A viral screenshot of what looked like a Truth Social post has been digitally manipulated. Trump's actual account did not show such a message…

Does a video authentically show climbers hoisting a Ukrainian flag on the torch of the Statue of Liberty in New York? No, that's not true: The video was created using AI, according to the caption added by the account that originally posted it. The torch held by the statue in the video looks markedly different from the one held by…

Does a viral video show Mexico closing the U.S. border in response to President Trump's announcement about imposing tariffs on March 3, 2025? No, that's not true: The video predated the announcement by several days. The gate closure seen in the video happened during a protest against security-related delays on the Mexican side of the crossing. At the time of…

Did Donald Trump post a tweet on November 6, 2012, that read, "If the Dow drops 1,000 points in two days the President should be impeached immediately!"? No, that's not true: This is a fake tweet that was manufactured in 2018, years after it was purportedly first posted. There is no record of the original tweet on Donald Trump's Twitter…