Barack Obama

Did the U.S. Justice Department just release the 1998-2004 flight logs for Jeffrey Epstein's Boeing 727? No, that's not true: We've had then since early 2015 and have embedded copies of the flight logs in several Lead Stories fact checks. This reporter investigated allegations of Epstein's abuse of young females as a national correspondent for American Media Inc. in January…

Did DOGE halt a $2.6 million annual payment to former President Obama for "Obamacare" royalties? No, that's not true: The story originated in a meme from a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The meme appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on February 25, 2025.…

Did Sheriff Joe Arpaio hold a press conference on Barack Obama's birth certificate in February 2025? No, that's not true: The posted footage of the press conference held by the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona is from 2016, not 2025 as is implied by a post on social media. The press conference was documented by local media in 2016.…

Does a collection of still images demonstrate that other politicians have made the same gesture as Elon Musk did at the closing of his speech at President Donald Trump's inauguration rally in 2025? No, that's not true: These photos do show real moments in time, and they are authentic -- but they do not capture the full context in which…

Would a proposed constitutional amendment by a Republican congressman meant to help President Donald Trump serve a third term also allow Barack Obama to be elected president again? No, that's not true: The proposal specifies that only presidents who have not served two consecutive presidential terms would be eligible to be elected for a third term. Obama was president for…

Is a photo that shows Melania Trump holding the President Jimmy Carter funeral program upside down authentic? No, that's not true: The image of President-elect Donald Trump's wife at the January 2025 funeral for Carter holding a program upside down is altered. Footage from the funeral by NBC, publicly available on the internet, shows that Melania Trump is holding the…

Does a video show Barack Obama "committing abhorrent acts while high" as a social media post imples? No, that's not true: The post does not offer any evidence that the former president was caught on camera getting high or "committing abhorrent acts." The video linked in the post does not show Obama doing drugs of any kind or doing anything…

Was former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper recorded in a 2021 videotaped deposition saying that Vice President Mike Pence and several others conspired in an attempt to remove President Donald Trump from office? No, that's not true: The recording is actually of a different person, Ryan Dark White, a failed U.S. Senate candidate who also used the name Jon…

Were there 15 million, 18 million or even 20 million fewer votes in 2024 versus the election numbers from 2020, disproving reports of record turnout or implying cheating in vote totals? No, that's not true: As of November 7, 2024, final vote numbers had not been reported in any state. An election expert told Lead Stories that count would take…

Does a photo on social media show people crowding the street outside Madison Square Garden in New York in 2024 for a Trump rally? No, that's not true: Images from the street scene first appeared in 2011, showing people in Dublin lined up for an event attended by then-President Barack Obama. Actual photos from Trump's Madison Square Garden rally in…