Business

Does a photo show a lithium mine for electric cars, as a meme on Facebook implied? No, that's not true: The photograph depicts an Australian gold mine located near Marvel Loch in Western Australia. The mine is overseen by Minjar Mine, described on its website as an Australian gold producer, developer and explorer that manages the Southern Cross Operation on…

Did Barbara O'Neill guarantee that a hypertension medication will clear your vessels and cure the disease in three weeks or she will transfer $10,000 into your bank account -- and have Samuel Jackson, Jane Seymour and Tom Hanks all endorsed this treatment after it cured their hypertension? No, neither statement is true: This false promotion uses AI-generated voice-overs to put…

Does a social media video show an incident on May 21, 2024, in which a Boeing Singapore Airlines plane hit extremely rough air? No, that's not true: The clip is from nearly five years earlier. Instead of the Singapore Airlines flight, the video shows another case of heavy turbulence from June 2019, involving an ALK Airlines plane over Europe. The…

Did singer Kelly Clarkson and "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon promote weight-loss gummies in a 2024 televised interview, as a Facebook post claims? No, that's not true: Clarkson's publicist denied to Lead Stories that she has any connection with such gummies. A Google search showed there is no evidence that Fallon promoted any weight loss or gummy products. The claim…

Is Breyers ice cream now, legally, no longer ice cream? No, that's not true: The company sells multiple flavors of ice cream and others that are frozen dairy desserts. Some of Breyers' products are labeled "frozen dairy dessert" as they are less than 10 percent dairy fat, according to the company's website. The Food and Drug Administration sets the regulations…

Did President Joe Biden award Rep. Nancy Pelosi a medal for being the "Greatest Trader In Congress"? No, that's not true: This video clip has been edited to display a fake NBC News chyron and to add a fake audio track. This video shows in reality the May 3, 2024, Presidential Medal of Freedom awards. Pelosi was among 19 recipients…

Was an approximately 2-year-old-child, who was never reported missing, found in a town -- and are police keeping the child safe while looking for the child's guardian? No, that's not true: While this situation may have occurred somewhere at some point in time, posts circulating on Facebook in May 2024 are part of a scam and are not true. The…

Does a viral image really show "Barbara O'Neill's cousin" in the courtroom being "sentenced to LIFE IN PRISON"? No, that's not true: It is AI-generated. The claim came from an account with a history of posting inauthentic images under the captions referring to made-up stories. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook by "Divina Vitals" on May…

Was canola oil first developed as an engine lubricant during World War II, as a post on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: Canola oil is made from a species of plant specially bred from rapeseed. Oil from rapeseed was used during World War II as a mechanical lubricant. However, canola oil, as we know it today, was developed in…

Does a post being shared by various community groups about a dog hurt in a hit-and-run accident describe a real incident? No, that's not true: The post was copied and posted in different social media groups in different states and is a part of a bait-and-switch scheme. These types of posts receive engagement from users based on their attention-getting, alarming…

Did the state of New York announce in April 2024 a "historic $2.3 billion tax-funded grant" exclusively for "non-White or women-owned businesses" to "fix up" the John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: As part of a $19 billion public/private redevelopment program to build new terminals and redevelop existing facilities at…

Did the social media platform Truth Social shut down as of May 3, 2024, as claimed in a post on the Threads social media platform? No, that's not true: Truth Social has not experienced any widespread disruptions in service since May 3, 2024. As of May 9, 2024, the platform was functioning as usual. The claim originated in a post…

Does a photograph show "Dr. Sebi's cousin" on trial, purportedly for "revealing... GATEKEPT health secrets," as a post on Facebook suggested? No, that's not true: Multiple AI detection tools found evidence that the image of the man in an orange prison jumpsuit was likely AI-generated. There are no credible news reports of Dr. Sebi's cousin being arrested, put on trial…

Is a video of TV personality Mark Cuban describing a "removed" "Shark Tank" episode that featured a natural cure to high blood sugar real? No, that's not true: Cuban denied the claim to Lead Stories, calling it "an obviously bad deep fake." An AI-detection tool deemed the audio from the claim 99.9 percent AI-generated. Lead Stories found that the visuals…

Did Keanu Reeves reject a $1.7 billion "woke" movie offer after saying "woke mind virus should be destroyed," as a social media post claimed? No, that's not true: The claim was first published on a self-described satire website, and an analysis using a third-party tool determined that it was 99.9 percent likely to be an AI-generated story. The article was…

Did Boeing send a "hit squad" to murder two whistleblowers who raised safety alarms about Boeing aircraft? No, that's not true: As of this writing, no credible sources confirmed foul play in the deaths of these two men. While inquiries into both deaths are still ongoing, available information about the causes of death points to illness and suicide. The claim…

Did "Spetznas" snipers fatally shoot the World Economic Forum's head of the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains, Kiva Allgood, on April 26, 2024? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that this happened. In addition, the website where this claim appeared has a record of publishing fabricated content. The claim appeared in an article published by…

Did Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg and Sylvester Stallone all resign from the Screen Actors Guild to create a new "no-woke" union focused on traditional values? No, that's not true: Washington's representative told Lead Stories the claim is "not true." It appeared on a social media page that clearly identifies itself as an "entertainment website · satire/parody." The claim appeared in…

Was Hamza Bendelladj, an Algerian hacker who gained notoriety in the 2010s, executed? No, that's not true: As of this writing, he was still serving his sentence in a federal prison in the United States. The crimes he was convicted of did not include any that are punishable by the death penalty. The claim reappeared in a post (archived here)…

Is a video showing Dr. Mehmet Oz promoting weight loss pills that help dissolve fat authentic? No, that's not true: The original video of Dr. Oz wearing the same outfit is available on the internet and he never mentions a deal for weight loss pills. The audio of his voice doesn't appear to match his lip movements, and according to…