Us Tax System

Can simply answering three or four questions and paying a nominal handling fee qualify people to redeem tickets, receive expensive products, $500 or even $1,000 gift cards, store credit or compensation from well-known brands? No, that's not true: In the first quarter of 2023, Lead Stories tracked a large-scale phishing operation on Facebook that manipulatively tricks people into divulging personal…

Did Elon Musk offer to pay 100 homeowners to test the "newest technology of solar panels"? No, that's not true: This offer that's too good to be true is a ruse to collect personal information and is not associated with Musk or Tesla in any way. Schemes such as this, involving false solar panel installation promotions in order to generate…

Are lawmakers, judges and other public officials in Arizona taking bribes from the Sinaloa cartel and fixing elections? No, there's no reliable evidence that's true: Jacqueline Breger, an insurance agent who made the allegations during a joint meeting of the Arizona House and Senate elections committees on February 23, 2023, did not provide credible proof to back up her explosive…

Did U.S. politician Sarah Palin endorse a "dental giveback" program for seniors? No, that's not true: The video of the former governor of Alaska is an edited version of a Cameo video she had previously recorded for a different purpose. The website promoted in the post with the edited video appears to be a health care scam, as there is…

Did "T-esla" release new cryptocurrency software designed to "cure poverty all over the world"? No, that's not true: This deceptive ad is not associated with Tesla or Elon Musk, the co-founder of the automotive and clean energy company. The scam also is falsely using the name Quantum Ai, a separate company that operates a cryptocurrency trading system not affiliated with…

Does a birth certificate or a Social Security number turn a person into the property or a ward of the state? No, that's not true: The claim misrepresents the nature of a highly publicized case in New Zealand in which the judge ruled that a baby should receive a needed blood transfusion so doctors could perform heart surgery despite his…

The celebrity death hoax has long been a clickbait staple, but recently one network has taken it to extremes, using scores of websites to host its content and an automated army of bots to push the links into Facebook groups. Many Facebook users and group administrators have noticed a sharp increase in spam postings of false death hoaxes. Examples of…

Is there no law requiring American citizens to file an annual 1040 income tax return or to pay income tax on their labor? No, that's not true: The U.S. Constitution's 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, authorizes Congress to collect income tax. By law, the Internal Revenue Service can exact penalties for failing to file a 1040 form. The claim appeared…

Does data showing that vaccinated people now make up a majority of COVID deaths in the United States mean the vaccines are ineffective? No, that's not true: As of November 29, 2022, more than three-quarters of Americans had received at least one vaccine dose -- that means the pool of vaccinated people who could potentially die is more than triple…

Did Apple CEO Tim Cook tell Elon Musk that his "feedback is appreciated" and demand that he "pay 30%" after the Twitter CEO claimed that Apple seeks to suppress free speech? No, that's not true: The wisecrack had appeared on other Twitter users' accounts before it was ascribed to Cook, whose verified Twitter account had not been active for several…