Criminal Justice

Are social media posts about 16-year-old "Paul Ferrara" genuine calls for help in a missing person case? No, that's not true: These posts were flipped to "rent-to-own" scam posts shortly after publication. The supposedly missing teenager was described as "the son of a local police officer" in multiple U.S. locations. Lead Stories found no public confirmation as of August 30,…

Did the United Kingdom and France issue a "Secret International Arrest Warrant" for Elon Musk? No, that's not true: No news organizations reported anything about the supposedly existing "secret" arrest warrant for Musk approved within jurisdictions of the U.K. or France. The International Criminal Court that issues international arrest warrants denied there is one for the owner of the X…

Did a man with a darker skin tone and Arabic-sounding name get away with the rape of a 12-year-old girl in the U.K. with a sentence of only community service while two men convicted of anti-immigrant or racist activities got jail time? No, that's not true: The man pictured in the rape case was a 15-year-old member of a gang…

Does a video in a social media post accurately convey Vice President Kamala Harris' full position by using a clip of her saying "more schools, less jails"? No, that's not true: A transcript of her 2013 speech shows the post snipped away the part where Harris said she agrees in concept that schools are a priority, but that there needs…

Was British activist Tommy Robinson arrested in Canada for expressing anti-Islam views? No, that's not true: In a video of his arrest, the plainclothes Canada Border Services Agency officers who handcuffed Robinson said he was arrested on an "outstanding immigration warrant." They also suggested the activist lied about his criminal history on his visa application to enter Canada. The claim…

Does a photo of five Black female judges show all the judges who could hear former President Donald Trump's expected appeal of his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York? No, that's not true: The photo, distributed on social media, shows five of the 21 judges on the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First…

Was "Fulton County election worker, Wanda Shaye Moss" arrested on election fraud charges in June 2024? No, that's not true: The woman shown in a social media post is Wanda Geter-Pataky, who was arrested and criminally charged in connection with the misuse of absentee ballots in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She is not Wandrea ArShaye ("Shaye") Moss, the woman falsely accused of…

Did Illinois legislators pass a bill to redefine all convicted criminals as "justice-impacted individuals"? No, that's missing context: An amendment to a bill renaming offenders "justice-impacted individuals" only applies to participants in the state's Adult Redeploy Illinois program, Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, one of the bill's sponsors, told Lead Stories. The name change does not apply to all people…

Did the use-of-force language in the FBI plan for the raid at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 give agents special authority to assassinate Donald Trump? No, that's not true: There is no evidence or indication in any official documents or statements that suggests the FBI agents were given authority to assassinate anyone, including the former president. The purpose of the raid…

Does a photo of a toddler walking past the debris of burned village homes portray the damage caused by foreign mercenaries in Ukraine? No, that's not true: The image is a screenshot of a 2015 staged music video. In 2024, the picture was reused by the resources formerly controlled by now-deceased Russian mercenary boss Evgeny Prigozhin. The claim appeared in…