Barack Obama

Did the militant group ISIS not exist before Barack Obama became president of the United States in 2009? No, that's not true: Since 2006 ISIS has existed, according to a former member of the National Security Council and according to The Wilson Center, a nonpartisan policy forum in Washington, D.C. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on…

Was David Axelrod, a political consultant and former White House official for former President Barack Obama, arrested by the military? No, that's not true: There is no evidence for this. Axelrod tweeted from his verified Twitter account one day after his supposed arrest. The only source for this claim is Real Raw News, a self-described satirical site, according to a…

Did Special Counsel John Durham's court filings say the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016 paid to have servers in Trump Tower and in the White House infiltrated in hopes of establishing a link between Russian operatives and Donald J. Trump? No, that's not true: neither the new filing nor the indictment Durham filed in 2021 about events in 2016 say…

Do these photos document masonic handshakes -- called "grips" -- being made by Freemasons? No, that's not true: Scholars and the grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of New York say these are not masonic grips and neither former President George W. Bush nor former President Barack Obama are Freemasons. The post implies the people in the photographs are Masons…

Is this an authentic photo of Steve Bannon? No, that's not true: This photo has been altered. The original photo was taken by photographer Mark Wilson for Getty Images on April 20, 2017. The photo has been edited to change the overall contrast and color saturation to add blemishes, bloody mouth and stained shirt. The image search engine TinEye shows…

Was Sasha Obama, daughter of former President Barack Obama, arrested in connection with a million-dollar shoplifting ring? No, that's not true: the website where the claim originated is a part of a satirical network of websites that publishes fictitious stories about liberal or Democratic public figures. For good measure, the satire site hot-linked the word "source" to a Russian phrase…

Did President Joe Biden resign and was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi detained? No, that's not true: The claims in this video and headline are not based in reality. This content is a mashup of material from various sources with a shocking headline intended to trick people into viewing the video. Lead Stories has previously noted this pattern of production in…

Did John Gruden make statements about poor kids, people with Indian accents and the "first mainstream African-American"? No, that's not true: Four statements attributed to ex-NFL football coach John Gruden were not made by him but by Joe Biden over the years, all of which were reported by national news outlets. The claim appeared as a Facebook post (archived here)…

Does this photo show what Michelle Obama looked like in April 2017? No, that's not true: This photo has a fake five o'clock shadow added. Michelle Obama has been targeted by baseless claims that she is not a woman before, and this altered image is part of that trope. The original photo of Michelle Obama went viral on April 2,…

Was Jill Biden arrested at Tyler Perry's house in Atlanta on charges of elder abuse? No, that's not true: A video does not show President Joe Biden's wife being arrested. Claims that Jill Biden was arrested are completely made up. The first lady has been seen in public multiple times since the date when it was claimed she was arrested.…