George Floyd

Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and many others make confessions in military tribunals? No, that's not true: A video does not show a military tribunal with Pelosi and Schumer on trial. Instead, it's a photograph of Pelosi and Schumer at the U.S. Capitol in 2020 overlaid with audio of people talking about conspiracy theories regarding…

Are 40% of cops "domestic abusers"? Yes, according to one old study, that's true, but other studies found the percentage was much lower. Estimates ranged between 5% and 40%, and challenges around collecting accurate data abound. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on May 30, 2020. It included the message, "*at least 40%" and a screenshot…

Did "The Simpsons" television show predict several future events including George Floyd's death, the Notre Dame cathedral fire, Donald Trump touching an orb and others? No, that's not true. A video containing clips of events that the FOX TV show "predicted" has several fake images purported to be from the show, but they were never part of "The Simpsons." The…

Was Hillary Clinton hanged at Guantanamo Bay on April 26, 2021? No, that's not true: The claim is the latest in a series of false claims about Clinton that have appeared on a website known for publishing fake news. Lead Stories has debunked prior allegations, including the claim that Clinton was arrested, that she faced a military tribunal and that…

Did the Chicago Police Department's Twitter account tweet a statement in support of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who was convicted in the death of George Floyd? No, that's not true: the Chicago police account does not have any such tweet on its page or in archived tweets from its account. The claim, which went viral on Twitter, appeared…

Did Derek Chauvin's attorney say that "space aliens" flew in, inhabited Chauvin's body and caused George Floyd's death? Yes, but the meaning is lost without the full context of the statement. Defense attorney Eric Nelson mentioned space aliens in his closing argument on April 19, 2021, as an example of a scenario prompting reasonable doubt. Chauvin's lawyer did not use…

Was the knife on the ground when police in Columbus, Ohio, arrived at what would become a deadly shooting scene? No, that's not true: It was being wielded by the teen who was subsequently shot and killed, according to police and body camera footage of the fatal incident. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on April…

Did former President Donald Trump pick up the defense legal fees for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin? No, that's not true: The claim that Trump paid for Chauvin's defense in his trial for the murder of George Floyd is satire published by a website known for trolling conservatives. In fact, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association is funding…

Did Foot Locker donate "200 million dollars to BLM"? No, there is no evidence the company made a donation to Black Lives Matter. The athletic gear company made an announcement in 2020 that it was "committing $200 million over the next five years towards enhancing the lives of our team members and our customers in the Black Community through Economic…

Was George Floyd's younger brother arrested and charged in a deadly road-rage attack? No, that's not true: Although they share the same surname, there's no evidence the road-rage suspect, 29-year-old Dejywan Floyd, is the brother of George Floyd, the 46-year-old man who died May 25, 2020 as a Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground, his knee on Floyd's…