Qanon

Did the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps arrest Judge Sharon Coleman, a federal judge in Illinois, on March 19, 2024? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois told Lead Stories that "there is absolutely no truth" to this claim. The article that made this claim was published on a website…

Did a source close to the British royal family say that Catherine, Princess of Wales, was "sacrificed" or "murdered," and then "replaced" with a "body double"? No, that's not true: The article that made the claim was published by a website known for spreading false claims and is not corroborated by any evidence. The article didn't include any direct quotes…

Did Mel Gibson release a video of satanic rituals taking place on "Jeffrey Epstein's island"? No, that's not true: "He has nothing to do with this and has no knowledge of it," Gibson's publicist told Lead Stories about a social media post making this claim. There is no evidence given in the post that such a video even exists. The…

Did the U.S. Judge Advocate General's Corps arrest a "third" Colorado Supreme Court justice who voted in favor of removing former President Donald Trump from the ballot in the state for the 2024 presidential election? No, that's not true: This claim appears in an article on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content. Lead Stories previously debunked claims about two…

Did U.S. Marines hang National Institute of Health Deputy Director Alfred Johnson after pranking him "Whitmer-style"? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that the claim is false. The claim is in an article on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by Real Raw News on…

Did U.S. Marines arrest former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that the claim is false. The claim appears in an article on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on January 23, 2024, titled "Marines Arrest…

Did the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps sentence Arati Prabhakar to death at a Guantanamo Bay military tribunal on January 16, 2024, for committing treason? No, that's not true: Prabhakar, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, has made a public appearance following the purported date of conviction, and she did not appear to…

Did comedian Ellen DeGeneres and actor Tom Hanks pledge to move abroad if Donald Trump is elected president in 2024? No, that's not true: No credible news outlets have reported that. The claim was promoted, among others, by an online store selling T-shirts, a meme website and a parody account -- not by the official websites or social media accounts…

Does a viral video show a hidden underground route used for "trafficking"? No, that's not true: The video shows an old, now-defunct salt mine in Romania. It's open to the public and functions as a museum. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on TikTok on March 16, 2023. The text overlay read: go do y'all's research on these…

Does a social media post accurately summarize the events portrayed in an episode of "The Simpsons" -- that a solar superstorm struck Springfield, causing an electromagnetic pulse that led to a complete shutdown of the town and internet access? No, that's not true: The 2013 Simpsons episode mentioned in the social media post -- Episode Nine of Season 24 --…