Society

Did a group of men attack a children's baseball field in Katy, Texas - shooting a coach who was leading a prayer? No, that's not true: A coach was hit by a stray bullet and taken by helicopter to the hospital - but the shooting does not appear to have been intentional or planned. Police said the three men arrested…

Did Nicole Sirotek get a 4 a.m. call from the husband of a pregnant woman dying of liver failure after she took a large dose of Tylenol to disprove President Donald Trump's declaration that acetaminophen causes autism? Here's what we know: Sirotek, who Lead Stories has previously fact-checked for COVID misinformation, posted the anecdote on social media September 24, 2025,…

After Charlie Kirk was killed, Did Elon Musk announce that he would be ending every partnership tied to LGBTQ+ brands? No, that's not true: This made-up story used names and themes trending in September 2025 to drive clicks to a website. There is no evidence supporting this fake narrative about Musk; no legitimate reporting, no quoted statements, and no tweets…

Did Meta, the owner of the Threads social media platform, announce it had begun labeling some accounts with a warning that "This user is suspected of being part of a terrorist organization called Antifa. Please report any suspicious behavior."? No, that's not true: Users add the italicized phrase themselves at the bottom of their own posts. Neither Meta nor Threads…

Did Football Player Saquon Barkley (or any other professional athlete) just launch Freedom Ranch, a $6 million, 150-acre sanctuary for horses? No, that's not true: This is a made-up story. A network of Facebook pages run from Vietnam and other countries are generating new cut-and-paste versions every day. Each variation on the Freedom Ranch theme includes the name of a…

Did Gavin Newsom's official press office X.com account post a message about Donald Trump saying "Fat Satan broke the UN escalator?" No, that's not true: The message was posted by a parody account, not California Governor Newsom's official press account on X.com, which he uses to troll Trump and conservatives. His official account called Trump "Dozy Don" after his escalator…

Did Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, go on social media to announce that she and her husband's organization, Turning Point USA, started a new dating app and that she joined it even before the memorial service for her husband? No, none of that is true: The image used to prove the existence of such a post originated from a subreddit, not…

Does a post on Facebook provide leaked footage of Charlie Kirk in the hospital after he was shot that shows him alive and interacting with people? No, that's not true: The post that made the claim does not deliver any footage. The image purporting to be a screenshot of a news story shows "ROX News" not FOX News and gets…

At the Charlie Kirk memorial, did Elon Musk say the conservative organizer and podcaster "...did not live to be erased by the lost...we will not let that sacrifice go unnoticed"? No, that's not true: Musk was not one of the speakers at the September 21, 2025, memorial service held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. He does not appear…

Does a video showing a flight attendant trying to cover up a bikini-clad woman on a Miami flight depict a real situation? No, that's not true: The clip shows actors. The earliest posts sharing the video mentioned Network Media, LLC, a company that previously said it rents out film sets to various online "content producers". The claim appeared in a…

Did a "MAGA televangelist" disappear with all the money of his congregants after he told them the rapture would happen today? No, that's not true: That story originated as a viral post from a satirical account on X. The bio of the account said "I don't report the facts, I improve them." and it came with a satire disclaimer. The…

Is it true that Cuba has no access to Tylenol and virtually no autism? No, that's not true: This rumor is false on both counts; Tylenol, usually marketed in Cuba as Paracetamol, is available -- although there can be shortages. The rate of diagnosed autism in Cuba is lower than world averages. There are nine schools for autistic children in…

Would Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former diet supplement company advisor and investor, profit from the Trump Administration's plan to recommend folinic acid for those on the autism spectrum? No, that's not true: As a condition of taking the job of Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Oz pledged in writing to close out by July 3, 2025…

Is there any evidence that Charlie Kirk's widow Erika Kirk's "Romanian Angels" or "Everyday Heroes like You" ministries were accused of "snatching children only to send them straight into sex and organ trafficking networks in the United Kingdom and Israel? No, that's not true: A review of Romanian court records and media reports by Lead Stories' Romanian staff found only…

Did the servers for gay dating app Grindr in Phoenix or Glendale have problems handling increased traffic related to Charlie Kirk's memorial service in Arizona on September 21, 2025? No, that's not true: A website named Downdetector did show an increase in outage reports around that time but according to their methodology the graphs on the service are at least…

Is the privately owned aircraft with the tail number N888KG known to be part of the investigation of the assassination of Charlie Kirk? No, that's not true: On September 21, 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media that the investigation ruled out any connection between the shooting and the plane's flights on the day Kirk was shot. The…

Does a viral video show two military pilots arrested for refusing to fly armed planes to Israel? No, that's not true: A video with a false caption has gone viral more than two weeks after it was filmed. The chaotic scene was filmed on Sept. 3, 2025 when a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing was disrupted with shouts from…

Did UK police attempt to seize a child's phone for viewing a social media post? No, that's not true: In the recording shared as "proof" of the claim, police were heard saying the reason for their visit was different. In a statement released in response to social media posts, police said that their visit to the home of a suspect,…

Did Travis Kelce or other celebrities make a public statement that Jimmy Kimmel should leave America? No, that's not true: This is a made-up story which has been repeated using the same formula with many different famous names. At least nine variations of this story have been published on Facebook by pages originating overseas -- none of them are true.…

Did Charlie Kirk say "Equal pay isn't just a women's issue; when women get equal pay, their family incomes rise and the whole family benefits."? No, there's no evidence for that: The quote is widely attributed to former U.S. Representative Michael M. Honda. It was attributed to Charlie Kirk by a parody account on X named "Rep. Jack Kimble" which…