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Did Rep. Ted Lieu say that the full, unreleased Epstein files show President Donald Trump raping children? No, that's not true: Lieu said at a Feb. 3, 2026, news conference that the files include "highly disturbing allegations" of Trump raping and threatening to kill children. He did not reference "unreleased" files, or say that child rapes are seen in them.…

Does a real photo show Donald Trump Jr. at a shooting bench with the scope of his rifle mounted backwards? No, that's not true: This image has been digitally edited. An earlier copy of the image appears in a 2024 article with the scope mounted properly. The altered image appears in a post (archived here) published on Bluesky by @mrsbettybowers…

Did R. Kelly escape from prison in February 2026? No, that's not true: The account that made the claim is clearly labeled a "parody account." Robert Kelly was incarcerated at FCI Butner Medium in North Carolina, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, as of publication date. The claim appeared in a February 10, 2026, post on X account…

Does the Department of Justice library of Epstein investigation documents include Document "DOJ-2024-EF-7721" or any documents discussing "Medical regeneration technology" or "MedBeds" or "PROJECT MEDBIRTH"? No, that's not true: The online library of released files from its investigations of the now-dead sex trafficker doesn't include that document ID number. Searching for those phrases without the file number yields zero matches.…

Did scientists at Harvard University create a 3D model depicting what Mary, Mother of Jesus, might have looked like? No, that's not true: This is an AI-generated image based on the likeness of Madonna, the "Queen of Pop". The joke post follows a formula which has been circulating for years online in which the face of a modern celebrity is…

Does the size difference between two bars in a White House chart of U.S. steel production show the actual rate of growth from 2024 to 2025? No, that's not true: The bar representing 2025 is twice the size of the 2024 bar, which visually suggests a 100% increase. That's the result of what statisticians call a "truncated axis" that tends…

Does a video show a Disney park character in a Minnie Mouse costume smoking and giving the middle finger during a break? No, that's not true: Videos online show this same man in the same suit standing on the Las Vegas Strip, where people are known to dress up as various characters and solicit tips from tourists. There is no…

You might have seen or heard rumors about ICE agents being deployed at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, to help provide security. The Lead Stories Rome office looked into what is actually happening, so you know what is going on if you see social media posts about it. Agents from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI),…

Did Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey tell Vice President J.D. Vance to "go fuck a couch" in an X post? No, that's not true: Vance did quote a real post from Frey on X in a discussion about law enforcement and other people needing to feel safe calling 911, but the reply suggesting intercourse with a piece of furniture came from…

Did Elliot Forhan, a Democrat running to be Ohio's attorney general, post a video on TikTok in which he says "I'm going to kill Donald Trump"? Yes, that's true: Forhan, who served one term in the Ohio legislature, shared a 41-second-long video on his campaign's TikTok account. He said if elected he would put Trump on trial before an Ohio…