Election

Does a "certificate of birth" supposedly from Jamaica prove that Kamala Harris was not born in the United States, therefore making her ineligible to be president? No, that's not true: She was born in Oakland, California, in Alameda County in 1964, as verified copies of her birth certificate show. A purported Jamaican document in a social media post is not…

Was Kamala Harris a card-carrying, dues-paying member of the Communist Party of Russia in 1984? No, that's not true: The "membership card" in a social media post is fake. A Russian prank-generating website offers this Communist Party card in a template: All a user needs to do is upload a photo and add a name and year of birth and…

Has the Democratic Party made the phrase "Strength Through Joy," which is associated with the Nazi Party, its slogan in 2024, as a video on Instagram said? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the Democratic Party has used the phrase as its slogan. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election, has mentioned…

Did Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison tell conservatives who "do not like our values" that they "should take their money to Home Depot"? No, that's not true: The company said the quote is false. Ellison's words from an interview with CNBC were digitally replaced in a post on X. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known…

Did Tim Walz mislead people about his dog being a black Labrador when a photo shows him with a completely different dog? No, that's not true: The image of Walz with a dog that is not a black Lab is one he posted on his own social media account, saying it was a nice day at the dog park. He…

Did the messaging service Telegram announce that Apple might be deleting the Telegram app from devices in August 2024? No, that's not true: No such announcement has ever been made by Telegram. A false social media hoax from 2021 resurfaced after Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France on August 24, 2024. It was debunked in 2021, and it's…

Did Kamala Harris's mother lie in her immigration application by saying she only had one child when she really had two at the time she applied for her visa? No, that's not true: Harris's mother had only one child -- Kamala -- at the time she filed the petition. The full document shows that Harris's mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, filed…

Did someone finally notice that Trump's raised fist has six fingers in the famous image from the aftermath of the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt -- indicating the image is a fake generated by AI? No, that's not true: This image is altered from the original news photo. The post pretending to expose an AI deception was made 40 days after…

Did Mexico's President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum hold up a menorah while making a speech? No, that's not true: The photo of Sheinbaum on X that shows her doing this has been edited. In the original photo, which dates back to 2017, her fist is raised high in the air, but she does not hold a menorah and is not wearing large…

Did Tim Walz respond to conservative commentator Ann Coulter on X after she described his son's behavior at the Democratic National Convention as "weird"? No, that's not true: A screenshot of this supposed response shows signs of digital manipulation. Lead Stories found no evidence confirming that Walz ever responded to Coulter on X. The claim appeared in a post (archived…