Dollar Bills

Did former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama appear in a video promotion for a federal program giving out monthly $5,600 health spending cards to spend on bills, gas, groceries or "anything else you can think of"? No, that's not true: A video of Michelle Obama taken from a BBC interview has been altered with a fake voiceover that sounds like…

Did actor Anthony Hopkins endorse a Medicare program that allows senior citizens to use a flex card to pay their expenses? No, that's not true: A voice resembling Hopkins was used in a video about a Medicare program that doesn't exist. Lead Stories could not find any evidence that Hopkins has endorsed this on his social media accounts or on…

Did the U.S. Army arrest U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen for committing treason? No, that's not true: The website where this claim was made has a disclaimer that states it publishes satirical content. The U.S. military is currently not authorized by Congress to arrest civilians. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on September…

If a bank "switches currency," will that void a mortgage contract? No, that's not true: A mortgage document is a legally binding contract and within it there is a promissory note that requires the borrowed amount be paid and the loan agency to accept that amount, a mortgage expert told Lead Stories. The claim appeared in a video published on…

Can all senior citizens get a free $3,500 grocery card from Medicare in 2023? No, that's not true: Neither the government nor Medicare are offering a free grocery card valued at $3,500 to all senior citizens in the United States. The closest is a program that provides "special supplemental benefits for certain people who are chronically ill," a Centers for…

Will U.S. dollars printed before 2021 no longer be accepted as legal tender as of January 2023? No, that's not true: A senior spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department told Lead Stories that the claim is false. Under current U.S. monetary policy, he said, all bills in circulation since 1914 remain legal tender. The claim appeared in a November 5,…

Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi call on the Federal Reserve to "ban the new Trump $2 bill"? No, that's not true: This bill does not exist, and Nancy Pelosi did not tweet anything about it. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) on October 6, 2022. It was published by the account of donaldtrump_2024, which describes itself as…

Is an instantly disabling drug being soaked into napkins and placed on car doors to incapacitate targets of rape, abduction and car theft? Experts that Lead Stories spoke with said that there is no scientific evidence or official reports to support such claims, and the experts refuted related rumors. Since summer 2022 some social media users have posted warnings and…

Are Federal Reserve notes -- commonly known as paper money -- just "obligations" and therefore exempt from taxes? And does the U.S. Constitution say gold and silver are the only form of "lawful money" to be used in paying debts? No, neither of those claims are true. The Constitution does not specify any particular form of currency, and under federal…

Are a new round of stimulus checks being issued in the U.S. on July 30, 2021? No, that's not true: This is a prank post intended to lure people in and play a crude joke. There were, as of July 15, 2021, no bills working their way through the U.S. government aimed at issuing further stimulus checks to all Americans.…