2024 U.S. Elections

Did McDonald's stock climb 200 percent after Donald Trump made a campaign appearance at one of its franchises? No, that's not true: This comes from a website that regularly publishes fake stories, and the original article was clearly labeled as "satire." McDonald's shares actually dropped after Trump visited one of its restaurants. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did a viral image of Taylor Swift capture her crying "on live television the moment the race was called for President Trump" in November 2024? No, that's not true: The picture was a screenshot of a Swift interview aired 12 years earlier. In it, Swift was reacting to questions about her personal life, not politics. The claim appeared in a…

Did the Kamala Harris campaign say it could overturn Donald Trump's election victory with a recount? No, that's not true: There is no evidence of any such statement from the Harris campaign, nor evidence of any campaign staff making such a statement. Harris conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump the day after he won a majority of both the…

Did Beyoncé declare she would no longer perform in "red states," meaning states that went for President-elect Donald Trump? No, that's not true: This comes from a website that publishes fake stories about famous people. The site describes itself as satire, and the original article was clearly labeled as satire. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook…

Did Elon Musk's satellite-based high-speed internet system Starlink play any role in counting or uploading votes in the U.S. election that could have allowed for potential vote manipulation or cheating? No, that's not true: Election security experts told Lead Stories that there's no evidence of vote tampering involving Starlink. U.S. voting systems are managed by county and state offices on…

Did NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte publicly say that "if Trump surrenders Ukraine to Putin, he will personally expel the United States from the alliance"? No, that's not true: A NATO spokesperson described the claim as "bogus." The rumor was promoted by a Russian propaganda website and anonymous pro-Kremlin Telegram channels. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X…

Does a viral image portray Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton together "after the election results" in 2024? No, that's not true: The image was online before that. Harris' and Clinton's outfits in the picture match what they wore for the November 3, 2022, event in New York where they both campaigned for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. The claim appeared…

Did the president of Mexico say she won't recognize Donald Trump as president as of November 7, 2024? No, that's not true: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum did acknowledge Trump's victory on her official X account on November 6, 2024. She said, "my most sincere congratulations to Donald Trump, who won the presidential election of the United States of America." The…

Were over 2,000 suicides officially reported in the U.S. the day after the 2024 U.S. presidential election? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no reports confirming that number. The figure widely shared online is more consistent with average global statistics over the years and is roughly 15 times higher than historic numbers for the U.S. -- but as of…

Did President-elect Donald Trump release a statement saying "I look forward to ... enact[ing] Project 2025"? No, that's not true: An image showing such a statement that went viral on social media was fabricated. Lead Stories searched Trump statements released on November 6, 2024, the same day as the date on the purported statement, and could not find this quote…