Did the police chief for Uvalde, Texas, Consolidated Independent School District, make political contributions to President Joe Biden and Beto O'Rourke, candidate for governor of Texas in 2022 and a former U.S. representative for the state? Not that Lead Stories could find: Although individuals with the name "Pedro Arredondo" and the name "Peter Arredondo" donated to Democratic causes, none of…

Did actor Matthew McConaughey tweet that Instagram needs to shut down an account for harassing him because he "wanted to take action against guns"? No, that's not true: The tweet is fake and the account shown for @McConaughey is suspended on Twitter. His real verified Twitter account did not post the message. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on…

Was the school resource officer assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, "literally stealing hundreds of dollars from the backpacks of students" just before the 2018 shooting? No, that's not true: The Instagram post refers to a deposition without offering details of when or where or why that deposition was taken. The deposition was taken for a…

Did the House of Representatives vote to criminalize disassembling, cleaning and reassembling your gun? No, that's not true: A House gun control bill, passed June 8, 2022, would regulate ghost guns, untraceable firearms that can be assembled at home. The legislation, which is not expected to pass the Senate, has no effect on an individual's ability to disassemble, clean and…

Did two different television networks report on the same Uvalde school shooting victim with two different fathers? No, that's not true: Both the biological father and stepfather of Amerie Jo Garza, 10, gave interviews to different networks but were both initially identified as her father. News reports clarified their relationship with her but a social media post said "same victim,…

Did Jacob Albarado, an off-duty Border Patrol agent, kill Salvador Ramos, the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school? There's no such evidence: Albarado, whose wife worked at the school and child attended the school, went to the scene and helped evacuate children during the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In…

Was the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, "100% a planned attack" that cops were "in on"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the shooting was planned or orchestrated by anyone other than the shooter, Salvador Ramos. The claim appeared in a Facebook post on May 28, 2022. The post features a video taken outside Robb Elementary…

Does a viral post about Salvador Ramos, the Texas school shooter, contain only verified and proven facts? No, that's not true: Although the post contains some true statements, it also includes some false and unsubstantiated claims. For example, there is no proof that Ramos dressed in women's clothing, just as there is no evidence that he had any help in…

Did a representative of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott follow a family home after they identified the body of a child killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting and offer to pay them to stand with him to oppose stronger gun laws -- as reported in a May 26, 2022, Twitter thread by an account called @MyCancerJourne3? No, that's not true:…

Does a photograph of a person wearing a checkered skirt and a dark top show Salvador Ramos, the Texas school shooter? No, there's no evidence that's true: A post making the claim does not identify the source of the photo, which appeared on 4chan, an online message board, the day of the shooting. The user who posted the photo on…