Qanon

Are the tweets between Michelle Obama and Donald Trump about "destroying the country" and inviting "Mike" to play basketball real? No, that's not true: No such tweets from the former first lady's official account nor the former president's were published on August 30, 2019. The messages currently do not show up on the accounts, nor do they show up on…

Did YouTube ban video clips from the newly released movie, "Sound of Freedom" due to "discriminating against pedophiles" and "discrimination against MAPs"? No, that's not true: There is no policy listed under the community guidelines of YouTube regarding "discriminating against pedophiles" and "MAPs" (minor attracted persons). This article making the claim comes from an online platform known for publishing fabricated…

Did the actor Mark Wahlberg declare war on "Hollywood pedophiles" in July 2023, announcing that they have "nowhere left to hide"? No, that's not true: The purported quote came from a source with a rich history of spreading false statements, and the actor's representative refuted the claim. Lead Stories found no evidence that the purported event ever took place. The…

Did Mel Gibson start working on a new documentary "exposing the 34 billion dollar global child sex trafficking trade"? No, that's not true: No credible sources confirmed he made such an announcement, and his publicist explicitly denied Gibson's involvement in the alleged project in an email to Lead Stories. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Truth Social…

Do COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and treatments for the virus come from snake venom and do the vaccines then cause humans to produce venom in their bodies? In addition, is nicotine the "perfect antidote" for COVID, making the vaccines unnecessary? No, none of those things are true: These assertions have no basis in science, infectious disease experts told Lead Stories. The…

Did the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the 2020 general election and award the presidency to Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The Supreme Court does not have the authority to overturn a general election or unilaterally award the presidency to a candidate. The election outcome is typically determined by the Electoral College, following elections at the state level, and is…

Was adrenochrome stored in barrels from Dutch beer maker Heineken and then transported globally by Dutch oil company Shell? No, that's not true: The image circulating on social media, which shows a beer keg with the word "adrenochrome" stamped on the side, is actually part of an art display from 2018. The project appears to be a satirization of a…

Did John F. Kennedy Jr. write a letter to Donald Trump following the 38-year-old magazine publisher's death on July 16, 1999? No, that's not true: former President Trump wrote in his book "The America We Deserve," published in 2000, that the letter was penned by JFK Jr. the day before Kennedy's death. Kennedy's official day of death is July 16,…

Was Jacob Chansley, the Capitol rioter better known as the "QAnon Shaman," released early from prison to a halfway house "following video evidence showing that January 6 [2021] was a hoax" and an "inside job"? No, that's not true: The Bureau of Prisons told Lead Stories that Chansley was transferred from a federal correctional institution to community confinement on March…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin intercept an adrenochrome shipment that was in transit to the United States? No, that's not true: The claim contains a hodgepodge of conspiracy theories and it originated in an outlet known for publishing fictitious "news" stories. The claim originated in an article titled "Putin Intercepts Adrenochrome Shipment Headed to United States," published on February 8,…