China

Does President Donald Trump's executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America help enforce newly drawn borders decided in December 2023 by a "World Court" that gives water over land shelves to the respective countries? No, that's not true: Executive Order 14172 is a direction to the Secretary of the Interior to rename…

Did the Canadian government threaten a "100 percent tariff on Tesla" in February 2025? No, that's not true: While the federal government in Ottawa was considering its options, the Department of Finance Canada said," The claim is false." Instead, proposals to impose a 100 percent tax on Teslas came from individual Canadian politicians, not the government itself. The implied claim…

Did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo impose a 50 percent retaliatory tariff on Tesla cars sold in Mexico, calling Elon Musk "pendejo"? No, that's not true: As of February 4, 2025, Lead Stories found no credible media or government reports confirming that she ever said what social media attributed to her. U.S. President Donald Trump said on February 3, 2025,…

Did Canada plan to stop sending energy to the United States in February 2025 because of President Donald Trump's tariffs? No, that's not true: After a call between the two leaders on February 3, 2025, both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump said separately that tariffs were delayed for 30 days. As of this publication, Canada did not say…

Did a post on Facebook confirm that actor Chuck Norris died in a "fatal car accident" in January 2025? No, that's not true: Norris' attorney told Lead Stories that the post was "not correct" and that he had spoken with Norris the day this article was written. Images seen in the post on Facebook had been digitally altered to appear…

Is it unusual that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was not invited to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration? No, that's missing context: A social media post's assertion that usually the British prime minister "would be the first name on the list" is untrue. Traditionally, foreign leaders were not invited to U.S. presidential inaugurations, a presidential historian told Lead Stories. The claim…

Did China declare a state of emergency over a spike in multiple respiratory infections as of January 3, 2025? No, that's not true: As of January 3, 2025, China's official sources made no such announcement. A spokesperson for the World Health Organization told Lead Stories that China's Center for Disease Control & Prevention reported an increase in respiratory illnesses but…

Did Elon Musk discuss communities "putting up blue tarps all over the roofs" in an effort to defend against lasers setting fires in a podcast interview with Joe Rogan, as suggested by a video on Instagram? No, that's not true: The clip added altered video and audio to a real 2020 interview, including AI-generated imagery, to make it seem Musk…

Does a video on Threads show drones over the United States in 2024? No, that's not true: The video predates the 2024 wave of drone sighting reports. The clip has been online since at least 2022 and was described as showing drones spraying disinfectant in China at the time. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads on…

Did President Joe Biden unilaterally release a Chinese spy convicted of possessing child pornography? No, that's not true: A White House spokesperson told Lead Stories a Chinese doctoral student sentenced to 8 years in federal prison in 2022 was granted clemency and deported on November 22, 2024, as part of a prisoner swap between the United States and China. Three…