2022

Did performer Kid Rock cancel six tour dates with singer Sheryl Crow in solidarity with country music's Jason Aldean? No, that's not true: This claim originated from a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conservatives. The website that posted the information, The Dunning-Kruger Times, has a disclaimer that describes itself as part of a network of "parody, satire, and tomfoolery."…

Did the United Kingdom send a "'Robot Royal Force' 🇬🇧 Type-C robot" to help Ukraine with the war in July 2023? No, that's not true: There was no information or credible report online to corroborate the claim that the United Kingdom sent or would send a "'Robot Royal Force' Type-C robot" to help Ukraine following Russia's military invasion. Also, animation…

Do photographs of Ghislaine Maxwell with Donald Duck taken in 1985 confirm that the now-convicted sex offender -- associated with financier Jeffrey Epstein who died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges -- worked for Disney? No, that's not true: The stock images only show an event where Maxwell appeared as representative of her father, owner at the time…

Did country music's Hank Williams Jr. resign from the Country Music Television's (CMT) board of directors to support fellow singer Jason Aldean? No, that's not true: The website this claim is from is satirical. Lead Stories could not find any evidence that Williams had left the board or even had been on the board, or evidence of a statement from…

Did U.S. Marine Corps jets sink a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) barge off the coast of California around July 19, 2023? No, that's not true: The Department of Defense press office told Lead Stories that the purported attack never happened. FEMA also said there was no truth to the report. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published…

Did Blake Shelton cancel a $30 million project with CMT, saying that "Jason is my friend," in the aftermath of the network pulling Jason Aldean's music video? No, that's not true: This claim originated from a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conservatives. The website that posted the information, The Dunning-Kruger Times, has a disclaimer that describes itself as part…

Does having an autoimmune disease mean a person also has a parasite? No, that's not true: An infectious disease specialist told Lead Stories that "parasitic infections are not causes or triggers of autoimmune disease." While some evidence suggests that "parasitic infections can serve as a trigger factor of autoimmune reactivity," there is no scientific consensus that parasites cause all autoimmune…

Did country music singer Luke Bryan pull his music videos from CMT and say it was "time for the Bud Light treatment"? No, that's not true: This claim originated from a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conservatives. The website that posted the information, The Dunning-Kruger Times, has a disclaimer that describes itself as part of a network of "parody,…

Did a flagger working for "NPL Pipeline Company in the Chicago suburbs" die after being given a bottle of water "suspected" of being "laced with fentanyl"? No, that's not true: NPL told Lead Stories that the report is "entirely false." The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) published on July 20, 2023, under the title "Stay safe…

Did the World Economic Forum introduce a "mark of the beast" CBDC microchip to "end gun ownership" in the United States? No, that's not true: The United States hasn't announced the implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as of this writing, and the hypothetical abolishment of the Second Amendment that allows gun ownership would involve a different process…