Disney

Did Michael Jordan turn down a $120 million deal with Disney on April 3, 2023? No, that's not true: This story originated from the website The Dunning-Kruger Times, which has a disclaimer stating, "Everything on this website is fictional." This website is in connection with the satirical network, "America's Last Line of Defense." America's Last Line of Defense has a…

Can simply answering three or four questions and paying a nominal handling fee qualify people to redeem tickets, receive expensive products, $500 or even $1,000 gift cards, store credit or compensation from well-known brands? No, that's not true: In the first quarter of 2023, Lead Stories tracked a large-scale phishing operation on Facebook that manipulatively tricks people into divulging personal…

Is Mickey Mouse "clearly massaging his massive erection" in a video described on social media as an "old @Disney reel"? No, that's not true: A former Disney animator called the short clip a "forgery." The NSFW video takes isolated character elements from the 1928 Disney cartoon "Steamboat Willie" and combines them with new animation to create something that looks like…

Did Disney decide to remove Mickey Mouse as the official mascot in 2024 because the famous mouse's copyright is going to expire -- and will the purple dragon Figment take Mickey's place? No, that's not true: The claim, along with a digitally edited photo, originated on a satire website called mousetrapnews.com that specializes in fake stories about Disney parks. Clear…

Is Disney giving away $1 tickets for "women born before 1980"? No, that's not true: The company's website contains no mentions of this alleged promo campaign. The claim appears to be a bait likely aimed at making users share their personal information. The claim originated in a post on Facebook on January 30, 2023. It contained a shared link showing…

Will the face of Walt Disney replace Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill in 2023? No, that's not true: Neither the Walt Disney Company nor the U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced such a change as of January 23, 2023. The article that announced the purported change to the $100 U.S. note was made on a satirical website whose…

Did Elon Musk buy the ABC Network and cancel its daytime talk show "The View"? No, that's not true: This is a fabricated story that originated on a satire website run by Christopher Blair, who plainly discloses that "everything on this website is fiction." The story has been copied and reposted to another site without that disclaimer. The article from…

Did the television show "The Simpsons" predict Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022? No, that's not true: An image showing the queen in a coffin with the dates 1926-2022 is not a real still from "The Simpsons." The queen's death does not appear in any episodes of this series. Lead Stories previously debunked a claim that used a similar image…

Does a "leaked video" show Hillary Clinton leading a space cult in an "annual Earth ritual"? No, that's not true: This video shows a space-themed birthday party that took place over Labor Day weekend 2022. The video and an article published by nextnewsnetwork.com play on conspiratorial beliefs about Satan-worshiping elites but eventually reveal that the "annual ritual" was just a…

Did singer Justin Bieber say that the COVID-19 vaccine ruined his life? No, that's not true: A Daily Mail article that describes Bieber's bout with facial paralysis due to Ramsay Hunt syndrome doesn't mention any of Bieber's thoughts on COVID vaccines. A claim on a satirical blog falsely cites the Daily Mail article as the source of Bieber's purported anti-vaccine…