Society

Does a purported bodycam video authentically show an "Officer Miculitzki" stopping a blind Black man on the street and calling his cane a dangerous weapon? No, that's not true: The video originated on a YouTube channel that says it publishes scripted content. Copies of the video went viral on social media without that disclaimer present. The video (archived here) was…

Did Arlington National Cemetery remove Gen. Colin Powell's profile from the cemetery's website in March 2025? A spokesperson for the cemetery told Lead Stories that the cemetery had removed a category relating to African-American service members, but that Powell's profile had been moved to two different sections of the website. Lead Stories confirmed Powell was still present in the sections…

Is a "Homicide Bureau" searching for "Santos Chylice" over "the death of 8-month-old baby Gonzalez Cassandra" in Holly Hill? No, that's not true: Facebook posts calling on readers to be on the lookout for her used the mugshot of someone listed on the internet as being arrested on drug charges. The posts are part of a common social media scam…

Did Damon Imani appear on the February 24, 2025 episode of "The View" to verbally spar with co-host Sunny Hostin over the term "Woke", as a social media post seems to show? No, that's not true: Imani has never appeared on ABC's morning show. He is a producer, artist and commentator who creates and publishes digitally altered videos placing himself…

Was a man named Jerce Reyes Barrios, described as a soccer player from Venezuela on social media, deported from the U.S. to El Salvador? The story was reported by ABC News, citing the man's attorney. Filings in U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. spell out Barrios' account. Here is what we know so far. The story appeared in a post…

Was a French scientist denied entry to the U.S. in March 2025, due to the supposed discovery, on his phone, of messages critical of U.S. President Donald Trump? The story was first reported by French newspaper Le Monde and news service Agence France-Presse (AFP). But a Department of Homeland Security official said it was over "possession of confidential information on…

Are there news reports about FBI Director Kash Patel ordering an investigation of "13 Congressional Democrats" for inciting violence against President Donald Trump, and did he say they "put him in real danger" and "they did it on purpose?" No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of…

Did ABC News tweet that Harvard tuition for the 2025-2026 school year will be free for "students from Jewish families" with annual incomes of $200,000 or less, as a social media post claims? No, that's not true: The genuine ABC News tweet was altered to produce the counterfeit version used in a post on X. There is no such story…

Did the Central Intelligence Agency in 1978 only request to black out mentions of Israel when journalists and historians sought to read documents about investigations into President John F. Kennedy's assassination? No, that's not true: The CIA wanted other things to be redacted, too, as seen in other files from the JFK collection. According to the agency's website, it generally…

Is a "Homicide Bureau" searching for "Tyler Chapman" and "Shaila Bradshaw" over "the death of eight-month-old Marquel Smith"? No, that's not true: Facebook posts calling on readers to be on the lookout for them in various locations used mugshots of unrelated people. The posts are part of a common social media scam that tricks people into liking or sharing a…

Is there a legitimate warning circulating about a man named "Talavera, Benjamin" on the run and charged with stabbing to death someone's two Caseyville, IL neighbors, two Pensacola, FL neighbors, two Portage, IN neighbors? No, that's not true: Despite what viral social media posts say, the person in the photos is not named Talavera or Benjamin and is not wanted…

Do posts alerting different communities in the U.S. that "Xavier, Alvaro" is on the run after "stabbing both my neighbors to death" describe a real manhunt and real crimes? No, that's not true: The posts mislead, using a mugshot of a man with a different name who had already been jailed on another continent two months before the "alert" started…

Did the story that George Floyd's family listed "$1,900 in assets on a welfare application" despite receiving $50 million four years ago originate on an actual news site? No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing…

Does a viral video of a woman complaining that she is being forced to sell her BMW to prevent her food stamps allotment being cut from "$4K to 888 month" show a real-life situation? No, that's not true: The clip was initially posted by an account with a satire label. Previously, its author already said that "none of that is…

Did posts on social media show an authentic warning from "the Homicide Bureau" searching for suspects named "Megan Brown" and "Jose Alex Ramirez", wanted in connection with the death of a baby named "Yolanda Clinton"? No, that's not true: The identically worded entries were shared in local groups on Facebook across different, unrelated jurisdictions, but no credible media organization reported…

Did lawmakers in the United States pass new legislation in March 2025, allowing women to retire at the age of 52, with monthly payments of $4,850, regardless of their previous occupations? No, that's not true: neither the White House website, nor any federal government website, contained mentions of any such law. A Google News search also yielded no relevant entries.…

Did a man named "Arnold Bushman" light himself on fire to protest "Disney making the little mermaid black"? No, that's not true: A tweet from October 2024 with that claim was screenshotted and went viral again in early 2025. However the image in the post showed a man named Aaron Bushnell who immolated himself in February 2024 to protest the…

Does a viral video prove that someone in the audience at a Kennedy Center concert yelled "Kill that Vice!" at U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance as he entered the concert hall? No, that's not true: The sentence in question is not clearly audible in the viral recording. When played at a reduced speed, it appears to end with "light" or…

Is there a legitimate warning circulating about a girl named "Amy Sharp" allegedly on the run and charged with the murder of a baby named "Courtney Chatfield"? No, that's not true: Despite what viral social media posts say, the girl is not on the run in various locations and she was not charged with murder. The posts are part of…

Did Elon Musk announce that he had acquired MSNBC for $900 million to "put an end to toxic programming?" No, that's not true: A search of Musk's X account did not show this announcement from him on the days leading up to publication of the claim. As of March 14, 2025, no reliable news outlets were reporting what would have…