Elections

Did CNN live stream the July 13, 2024, Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when they have never live-streamed any of Trump's other political rallies? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for CNN told Lead Stories that there was not an internet live stream of that specific rally, but CNN television was covering the rally. The spokesperson also noted that CNN…

Did Donald Trump freeze for 21 seconds during a speech at a rally in Bozeman, Montana? No, that's not true: He was speaking when he saw there was a situation in the crowd, then paused his speech and called for a doctor to assist. Trump did not immediately resume his speech but continued to speak reassuring words to the people…

Is an image from a Kamala Harris political rally in Detroit a "FAKE AI PHOTO" because the reflection on the plane's engine and fuselage doesn't show a crowd? No, that's not true: the reflection on the plane's engine can be explained by a basic law of physics as the plane sits at an angle relative to the crowd so the…

Did Donald Trump or his campaign still owe $12,000 in landing fees to the Bozeman airport and was that the reason he diverted his plane to Billings, Montana on Friday, August 9, 2024? No, that's not true: The Bozeman Airport Authority formally denied Trump or his campaign had any outstanding debts to them and said the diversion had to do…

Was an image of a Kamala Harris political rally in Detroit digitally altered to boost the size of the crowd? No, that's not true: The August 2024 campaign rally was widely covered by TV networks and other media, which showed a crowd of thousands of people, consistent with the image that was questioned. Lead Stories obtained the original digital image…

Did several non-citizens living in a Georgia apartment complex illegally register and vote, as is claimed in a video Elon Musk sent to 193 million X users? No, that's not true: The Georgia Secretary of State's office confirmed there is no public record that they registered or voted. Lead Stories Español staff went to the Norcross, Georgia, apartment building and…

Did Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sign a bill "allowing gender reassignment surgery for children"? No, that's not true: No state law sets a specific minimum age for gender-affirming surgical interventions, a Minnesota lawmaker told Lead Stories. Major health care providers do not operate on people under 18. One bill signed into law protects youth access to those services discussed in…

Was an image of a Kamala Harris campaign rally in Wisconsin digitally altered to boost the crowd? No, that's not true: AI detection tools found no sign of any digital manipulation. The August 2024 political rally was genuine and broadcast live by various TV stations, newspapers and networks, including C-SPAN and PBS. The claim about the rally image appeared in…

Does an authentic screenshot of the FOX Business website show FOX reporting that "Tim Walz's Communist Agenda" includes unsupervised female health decisions and school lunches for unemployed minors? No, that's not true: It's satire but several online commenters interpreted as a real screenshot. The image was posted previously to a subreddit focused on U.S. political humor. The claim appeared in…

Did Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sign into law a new definition of "sexual orientation" to protect adults who are physically and sexually attracted to children? No, that's not true: Pedophilia is not considered a legally protected sexual orientation in Minnesota. Changes to the law removed some language specifically excluding pedophilia from the definition of protected sexual orientations. But, that does…

Did Tim Walz, Minnesota governor and Democratic Party vice presidential pick, overstate his rank in the Army National Guard and abandon his unit before it was about to deploy to Iraq? No, neither is true: The Minnesota National Guard told Lead Stories that Walz held the rank of command sergeant major when he left the Guard in 2005. He retired…

Does Minnesota mark voters' party affiliation on the outside of mail-in ballots? No, that's not true: Political party affiliation is not included in the state's voter registration. A spokesperson for Minnesota's secretary of state office told Lead Stories that an "R" on the envelope just indicates a "registered" absentee voter, not "Republican." The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did The Associated Press fact check a story that said Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz had his stomach pumped because he consumed "a gallon of ... semen" from a horse or a human? No, that's not true: AP's media relations manager denied that the outlet fact checked the claim. Lead Stories could not find any evidence that Walz has…

Is it true that there was "not an American flag in sight" at a Philadelphia rally with Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on August 6, 2024, as a post on X stated? No, that's not true: A Lead Stories journalist covered the rally and saw flags first-hand, and American flags were also seen in a video…

Does Project 2025 say, "The only valid family is a working father married to a stay-at-home mother and their children"? No, that's not true: Nowhere in Project 2025's book "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise" does it say that. Instead, it states, "Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and…

Is there leaked footage showing BlackRock CEO Larry Fink carrying a gun as he walks with Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The still photo that's a thumbnail preview to a YouTube video is a fake AI-generated image. The scene in the photo does not appear in the YouTube video at…

Is Joe Rogan suing MSNBC for $30 million over a deceptive video edit that made him look like he was pro-Kamala Harris? No, that's not true: There is no publicly available evidence as of this writing that Rogan has filed a lawsuit or taken any legal action against MSNBC. The social media posts reporting it happened did not offer any…

Does an authentic photograph show supporters at the Republican National Convention wearing diapers for Donald Trump in July 2024? No, that's not true: A reverse image search revealed that the image originated on satire website The Shovel. Lead Stories ran the image through a detection tool which found "substantial evidence" that the image was generated using AI. The claim appeared…

Does a meme comparing raised-fist images of Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler use a real photo of Hitler to make its point? No, that's not true: While the photo of Trump is authentic, an AI-detection tool shows the image of Hitler has been digitally manipulated to closely match photographs taken of Trump right after a gunman fired at him in…

Did Kamala Harris tweet "My father is black. Trump's father was KKK"? No, that's not true: This fabricated quote is attributed to an account in an image labeled "Parody" that misspells the vice president's name. There is no record of her making such a statement on X or any other platform. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on…