Election

Did a study published in January 2025 definitively establish a link between Ozempic and blindness, as was implied in a post on X? No, that's not true: The study was a small observational analysis of just nine patients that did not establish that the weight-loss drug caused blindness but instead found an association between the two. In other words, it…

Did an executive order signed by President Donald Trump reverse "the plastic straw ban"? No, that's not true: No such national "ban" was enacted by Congress. Trump's order counters policies of former President Joe Biden aimed at gradually phasing out single-use plastic items in the future, which affected only the operations of federal agencies. While some localities do have restrictions…

Did the Federal Emergency Management Agency fraudulently send $59 million to luxury hotels in New York City to "house illegal migrants"? It's complicated: A New York City Hall spokesperson told Lead Stories that New York "never paid luxury-hotel rates" and that about a third of the $59 million -- around $19 million -- covered "direct hotel costs." A Department of…

Is Walmart decreasing its food prices "back to pre-inflation rates" within one month of President Donald Trump's January 20, 2025, inauguration? No, that's not true: Walmart told Lead Stories that this assertion is false. In an email, the company wrote that "this announcement is not accurate." The claim appeared in a post on Facebook on February 3, 2025, (archived here)…

Did Denmark announce a "500% tariff on exports of Ozempic to the USA" in January 2025? No, that's not true: The claim derived from a parody post on LinkedIn that was not labeled as such. There was no such announcement on Danish government websites and no media outlets indexed by Google News reported on any such story. The claim originated…

Did CNN report the January 29, 2025, plane crash in the Washington, D.C., area hours before it occurred? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the news outlet refuted the claim. A Google spokesperson said sometimes the timestamps in search results may be wrong. CNN published and aired the news for the first time roughly 40 minutes after the crash…

Was the helicopter involved in the midair collision near Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025, a police helicopter? No, that's not true: Local police refuted the claim shortly after the crash. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the helicopter that collided with a civilian plane was operated by the U.S. military. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Is a video of a man failing to buy a sandwich with an EBT card at a Subway restaurant from January 2025 and related to the federal funding freeze announced by the Trump administration that month? No, that's not true: The footage was online at least half a year before the second Trump presidency. As of January 29, 2025, the…

Did Whoopi Goldberg, Megan Rapinoe and Taylor Swift announce they were leaving the United States, presumably after Donald Trump's return as president? No, that's not true: The article cited in the comments of a social media post making this claim did not offer any quotes or sources to confirm this. A review of the social media accounts of Goldberg, Rapinoe…

Did Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist, publicly say in January 2025 that he "will leave the USA if the Epstein Client List is released"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no credible reports to support Gates' supposed announced departure. Court materials detailing Jeffrey Epstein's contacts were made public in January 2024. Neither Gates nor any reputable news organization…