Greta Thunberg

Was Greta Thunberg's detainment by police in Germany staged? No, that's not true: The spokesperson of the Aachen police department told Lead Stories that Thunberg's interactions with the police at the scene were real, but no arrests were made -- police escorted activists from the protest to collect their personal information. The claim was in a video on Instagram on…

Did the appearance of a name and number on pizza boxes delivered to former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate in a video he posted lead to his arrest by Romanian authorities on December 29, 2022? No, that's not true: Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for the country's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), said in a phone interview with Lead…

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…

Did leaked IRS tax returns show George Soros wired $1.7 million to Antifa? No, that's not true: The Open Society Foundations, created by Soros, has made several large donations to The Center for Community Change, but that group is not affiliated with Antifa. The tax documents were not leaked since they are widely-available public records. The claim originated in a…

Did George Soros say in a 2014 interview with Bild, Germany's largest and most popular tabloid newspaper, that he was "going to bring down the United States by funding Black Hate groups"? No, that's not true: A spokesman for Bild told Lead Stories that the billionaire and philanthropist was not interviewed by the paper in 2014 and that the quote…

Is COVID-19 a plan by the World Economic Forum to create a worldwide fascist government? And in this world, will people be rationed 1.2 ounces per week of lab-created protein by a one-world government? No, these claims are not true. Together, the assertions are another example of conspiracy hoaxes that have taken hold since the novel coronavirus spread late last…

Did President Trump invoke Article 9 of the U.S. Constitution to begin the prosecution of Democrats for treason? No, that's not true: First, there is no Article 9 to the U.S. Constiution, which has seven articles. And this is a satirical story created by a website that publishes fake content aimed at a conservative audience. The claim originated from an…

Did 183 people get arrested for starting the devastating Australian fires? No, that's not true: This is a misleading claim that took on a life of its own after authorities in the state of New South Wales released figures this week showing it had taken legal action against 183 people related to the fires - 1/4 of whom were cited…

Was Malia Obama busted selling priceless White House trinkets that she stole while she lived there? No, that's not true: The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made-up stories that are clearly marked as satire when you actually click them. Articles from the site are frequently copied by…