Lia Thomas

Did Nancy Pelosi have an affair with John F. Kennedy for "7 long years"? No, that's not true: This meme, which features a real photo of a young Nancy Pelosi with John F. Kennedy, makes a false accusation alleging an affair, a claim that materialized in 2020 without evidence. This version of the claim offers no source. The claim has…

Was an interim military U.S. government installed in the days after a fake staged inauguration of Joe Biden was broadcast, and were 80 to 140 members of Congress arrested by the National Guard in the middle of the night on January 25, 2021, and did U.S. and Taiwanese fighter jets win a war with the Chinese Communist Party in a…

Does a newly discovered video show late-night deliveries of illegal ballots in Detroit, Michigan? No, that's not true: The ballots were legal votes. The 8 p.m. Election Day deadline was for casting ballots not counting them. The Michigan secretary of state's office told Lead Stories that what took place was "standard and appropriate practice." The claim appeared in an article…

By Dana Ford and Alexis Tereszcuk Does Mike Lindell's "Absolute Proof" video, which promises to expose election fraud, contain only factual and proven statements about the 2020 election? No, that's not true: The nearly two-hour video recycles familiar conspiracy theories, touching on claims that have been widely and repeatedly debunked. Among the disproven allegations are that dead people voted, that…

Did the U.S. Supreme Court signal it would reconsider the Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, if refiled "with the correct terms"? No, that's not true: Election law experts consulted by Lead Stories agreed that technical differences in filing would not make any difference in the outcome of the case. They consider it closed. As…

Are Democrats colluding with the CIA to alter votings machines in key swing states to help Joe Biden? No, there is no evidence to support this. The source of the claim is a retired U.S. Air Force general, whose description as a "high-level intelligence official," is misleading. Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney was banned from appearances on FOX News in 2018…

Does a disturbing video show children rescued from being trafficked and is it evidence of a huge market for kidnapped children? No, that's not true. A video showing suspected family members of ISIS fighters trying to escape from a Syrian refugee camp is being falsely used by QAnon promoters to support their claim that children are being kidnapped and trafficked…

Has the U.S. government "finally" admitted that marijuana kills cancer cells? No, that's not true. A paper published by the government's National Institutes of Health concluded that while "cannabis and its derivatives may help to alleviate disease and therapy-related symptoms, there is no clinical evidence of its anti-cancer efficacy." There is no "admission" to the contrary. The claim appears as…

Did almost 20,000 fake IDs seized by Customs and Border Protection officers in Chicago turn out to be for fake names registered to vote Democrat? No, that is not true: While customs investigators seized 19,888 fake ID cards in the first half of 2020, the agency never suggested that these IDs are part of a voter fraud scheme. Voter registration…

Does a "leaked" Jeffrey Esptein flight log show a list of celebrities, including Beyonce, Chrissy Teigen and Barack Obama, having flown on his plane nicknamed "Lolita Express?" No, that's not true. A list of 125 people circulating on social media claims A-list celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Charlie Sheen, Steven Spielberg, Madonna and politicians were on Epstein's flight logs and went…