Does the state of Texas run an abortion "whistleblower" website that asks people to send anonymous tips about potential illegal abortions? No, that's not true: It's run by Texas Right to Life, a private anti-abortion organization. The claim was implied in an Instagram post (archived here) published on September 2, 2021. The post was a copy of a tweet by…

Does a doctor share evidence of vaccine harm to an Ohio school board? No, that's not true: A man who appeared at a school board meeting in Ohio repeated multiple COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories that Lead Stories has previously debunked as false with documented evidence from scientific studies. Social media users picked up on the man introducing himself as a…

Does a global deaths meme accurately reflect the severity and scope of COVID-19? No, that's not true: It considers a three-month period at the very start of the pandemic, before deaths from COVID-19 started to skyrocket. By cherry-picking the time period, the meme misleads as it understates the pandemic's true extent. The meme appeared in an Instagram post (archived here)…

Was Gloria Steinem the author of a comparison between abortions and buying guns? No, that's not true: Although Steinem posted such a comparison on social media, she noted that she was not the author of the message. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on July 26, 2021. It featured a graphic that read: Brilliant from Gloria…

Did the New England Journal of Medicine find that women who received the COVID-19 vaccine -- within 30 days of becoming pregnant and up to 20 weeks pregnant -- had a miscarriage rate of 82%? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Lead Stories that number was "incorrect" and a "misrepresentation of…

Did Chelsea Clinton say "if Jesus were alive today he'd be working at Planned Parenthood"? No, that's not true: There's no evidence she ever said that. The source for the claim is a fake tweet, which cannot be found on Clinton's verified Twitter account. A spokesperson for Clinton confirmed that she did not post the purported tweet. The alleged quote…

Does this video, made up of separate stories told by four women, demonstrate "What they do to babies in satanic rituals"? No, that's not true: This video does not provide any evidence that any of these stories as told by these women actually happened. Not only does the video fail to provide any concrete evidence, the video fails to provide…

Has former President Donald Trump won "two-thirds of the cases that have been adjudicated by the courts" in his crusade to overturn the election result? That's only true if you leave out certain cases and add in others. The "two-thirds" claim ignores important context: Jonathan L. Entin, professor emeritus of law and an adjunct professor of political science at Case…

Did a New Mexico House of Representatives committee recently pass a bill that would "legalize killing babies in abortions up to birth"? No, that's not true: A bill that would repeal a 1969 law banning abortion was passed out of the Health and Human Services Committee of the New Mexico House on January 27, 2021. House Bill 7, the piece…

Did Jeff Foxworthy write, "If plastic water bottles are okay, but plastic bags are banned -- you might live in a nation (state) that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots"? No, that's not true: The popular comedian never wrote or said that. The quote is just one example from a long essay that has been falsely attributed…