Society

Did tech billionaire and Donald Trump's ally Elon Musk go on X to say that "this country's billionaires are tired of subsidizing everyone else's schools, parks, health care, even food and entertainment"? No, that's not true: Neither his live posts on the supposed publication's date nor archived versions of his account on X showed the purported quote. The picture of…

Did White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt kick "The View" host Whoopi Goldberg off the show after "heated clash on Live TV"? No, that's not true: The story narrated in a viral video was likely written by AI, according to online detection tools. As of February 24, 2025, there is no evidence that Goldberg had been fired from the daily…

Did a viral post stating that the American Federation of Government Employees said that it was "cruel and disrespectful" to have to "justify job duties" accurately summarize the union's statement? No, that's not true: A widely shared post contained only the first part of the quote. In its original post, the union specifically discussed justifying job duties to an "out-of-touch,…

Was German Lufthansa pilot "Christoph W." terminated by his employer for refusing to spray chemtrails, and did he then sue them in Nuremberg? No, that's not true: The story originated on the YouTube channel of "Der Postillon," a well-known German satire website. The site has a FAQ that says, "Everything in the Postillon is satire and therefore a blatant lie"…

Was the TV show "The View" officially cancelled after decades on air, as a viral article claimed? No, that's not true: The story appears to have been written using AI and was published on an anonymously registered website that lists no owners or publishers. There have been no official announcements on ABC's website regarding a cancellation of The View. The…

Does a video authentically show a wooden cross being installed in the Oval Office? No, that's not true: A viral video captioned "Trump becomes 1st sitting U.S. President to install a cross in the Oval Office" showed some traces of being generated using AI according to detection tools. The video also contains artifacts like a worker blending through a wooden…

Is a social media post that speculates that right-wing rhetoric about the California wildfires caused the murder of California Fire Captain Rebecca Marodi accurate? No, that's not true: The police have named Rebecca Marodi's wife as the only suspect in her February 2025 murder. They announced that the suspect was a person known to Rebecca Marodi and believed it was…

Did DOGE "uncover" a previously unknown $2 billion federal grant to Power Forward Communities, a nonprofit organization linked to Democratic activist Stacey Abrams? No, that's not true: The Environmental Protection Agency publicly announced the grant from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund on April 4, 2024. It was not covered up and Abrams' connection to the group is overstated, she was…

Does a viral video authentically show a C-17 Globemaster plane taking off from an aircraft carrier? No, that's not true: The viral clip was copied from a YouTube channel with an explicit disclaimer saying all footage is made "using simulator games." The Globemaster typically needs a runway well over 3,000 feet -- much more than a typical aircraft carrier has…

Was the social media platform Truth Social blocked in Ukraine by the Ukrainian authorities? No, that's not true: Truth Social and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs's spokesperson denied the claim. Both said that the social media platform was never made available in Ukraine. Lead Stories found no credible reports corroborating the viral rumor. The claim appeared in a post…

Does Canada get 95 percent of its imports from the United States? No, that's not true: According to Statistics Canada, the national statistical office, the U.S. was the source of 62.2 percent of Canada's total imports in 2024, not 95 percent. Additionally, about 76 percent of Canada's exports go to the U.S. The claim appeared in a video published on…

Was Delta Flight 4819, which crashed upon landing in Toronto, piloted by a female-only crew? No, that's not true: Delta referred to the flight captain as "he" in a statement on the company website, and the first officer as "she." In an audio recording of Air Traffic Control correspondence during the flight's landing and subsequent crash, the voices of what…

Did Sheriff Joe Arpaio hold a press conference on Barack Obama's birth certificate in February 2025? No, that's not true: The posted footage of the press conference held by the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona is from 2016, not 2025 as is implied by a post on social media. The press conference was documented by local media in 2016.…

Did USAID pay Nintendo of America over $9 million "to promote the inclusion of adults in children's media, to study infantilism and the Peter Pan Syndrome"? No, that's not true: The image circulating on social media is fake. A search of the website usaspending.gov does not show any such payment to Nintendo of America Inc. The fabricated image resembling official…

Does a video authentically show cars frozen in one or two feet of ice on a residential street? Yes, the video is real: It was related to a water pipeline burst that happened on February 17, 2025, in a Detroit neighborhood. Lead Stories geolocated the footage to a nearby street corner and the upload date was consistent with the timeline…

Is British singer Sam Smith "self-partnered," meaning that they are not single but in a relationship with themselves? No, that's not true: The claim originated on a satirical Facebook page with a clear disclaimer. There is no evidence that Smith ever made that declaration about their dating status, as of this writing. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's approval rating plummet to 4 percent, as of February 2025? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no publicly available poll confirming the figure voiced by President Donald Trump on February 18, 2025. The White House did not reply to a Lead Stories request to disclose the basis for Trump's statement. The claim originated from…

Is the MSNBC television program hosted by the former White House press secretary named "Inside Jen Psaki"? No, that's not true: The program is called "Inside With Jen Psaki." An image circulating on social media had been digitally edited to remove the word "with." The edited image appears in a post (archived here) on X on February 18, 2025. It…

Does a video captioned "Free headphones hack" shared on social media authentically show a Black man stealing a train passenger's headphones? No, that's not true: The video was first posted by a social media creator who shares similar ones of him stealing people's items from trains and dancing afterward as part of an ongoing sketch series. It was reshared to…

Does an authentic photo show two Black women who were the pilots of the Delta Flight 4819 that crash-landed and flipped over in Toronto on February 17, 2025? No, that's not true: The inverted image in a social media post is 16 years old. It shows the first all-African-American female crew to operate a commercial jet for Atlantic Southeast Airlines.…