Athletes

Did activist and former swimmer Riley Gaines "make it to the Olympics"? No, that's not true: Her name was not on the 2024 U.S. national team roster. It doesn't appear on the official website of the Olympic Games, either. The claim appeared in an interview aired on Fox News and uploaded to YouTube on April 16, 2025. At the 1:25…

Did basketball star Caitlin Clark reject a "$15 Million Offer" from Elon Musk? No, that's not true: Musk did not make the public statement the story said he did. It also contained several phrases from almost identical false stories about Dawn Staley and Patrick Mahomes that went viral earlier this month. Viral claims on social media were often accompanied by…

Is a picture of a goat statue covered in fake money with President Donald Trump's face on it being displayed at Mar-a-Lago real? Yes it appears so: Video of the statue appeared on the Instagram account of Project G.O.A.T., which calls itself an "art-based awareness and support campaign in the fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children." Details…

American Airlines reported a Bombardier CRJ700 plane flying under their regional airline brand American Eagle was involved in an accident over the Potomac river while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time. Accoring to the FAA the plane collided with an Army UH-60 helicopter with three crewmembers on board. The statement from American Airlines read: American Eagle…

Did the World Boxing Organization say Algerian female boxer Imane Khelif was actually a man, banning her from boxing for life and forcing her to return all her medals and prize money? No, that's not true: An attorney for the organization told Lead Stories that it has not taken any position on Khelif's gender and that she has never even…

Were University of Texas students who knelt during the national anthem "removed from scholarships" as a social media post with a link to an article in the comments said? No, that's not true: The photo appearing with the story depicts cheerleaders at Kennesaw State University, in Georgia. As of August 27, 2024 there was no public statement by the University…

Was American football player Travis Kelce fined $10 million for taking a knee during the national anthem, as a post on Facebook said? No, that's not true: This story began as an article by SpaceXMania, a self-described fake news website known for publishing content it says is satire. There is no publicly available or credible evidence to support the story.…

Did Nike announce the end of a contract with women's basketball star Brittney Griner after "a strong backlash from the online community" over Griner as too "woke"? No, that's not true: Representatives for Griner told Lead Stories that the claim is false. Nike has made no such public announcement. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook published…

Did Andy Reid, head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, publicly say that "If you kneel for the national anthem, you should lose your Olympic medal"? No, that's not true: An AI detection tool says it is highly likely that the article containing the statement was generated using artificial intelligence. Lead Stories didn't find any record of a press conference…

Did American basketball player Brittney Griner make a public statement announcing she is leaving the United States? No, that's not true: Griner's long-time agent refuted the claim in an email to Lead Stories and there are no stories about any such announcement on any news websites. The rumor first appeared in an AI-generated article published by what appeared to be…