Elon Musk

Did Elon Musk say that the U.S. Agency for International Development is "one of the biggest globalist terror organizations in history"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that he publicly said that. However, Musk did call the organization "criminal." The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on February 4, 2025. It read: Elon Musk has…

Did Elon Musk say Italians should stay in Italy and the Japanese should stay in Japan? No, that's not true: While speaking at a right-wing political event in December 2023, the tech billionaire argued that countries shouldn't rely on immigration to maintain their populations. Instead, he suggested that governments should promote higher birth rates and offer incentives for families to…

Did E! News report USAID paid celebrities like Ben Stiller, Angelina Jolie, Sean Penn, Orlando Bloom or Jean-Claude Van Damme millions of dollars to visit President Zelenskyy in Ukraine? No, that's not true: E! News told Lead Stories the video is "not authentic" and did not originate with them. Stiller denied he received any USAID money, posting on X that…

Is the U.S. government spending money on the "National Pillow Fluffing Initiative," the "Bureau of Elevator Music Standards," the "National Velcro Noise Study," the "Program of Ice Cube Uniformity," the "American Cloud Watching Fund," the "Federal Kazoo Orchestra Grant" and the "Federal Bureau of Traffic Cone Counting"? No, that's not true: All these supposed expenses originated in a comedy skit…

Did President Donald Trump sign an executive order on February 3, 2025, announcing the purchase of 2 billion doses of COVID shots from Moderna and Pfizer? No, that's not true: The order established a sovereign wealth fund, a government-owned fund that directs funding from various resources. In a video of the signing, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick recalled purchasing pandemic-era…

Did Bill Gates say that "defunding USAID will bring about another mystery illness across the world. Millions will die" during a TV appearance in February 2025? No, that's not true: Gates did not say that in the clip posted on X with that assertion. Lead Stories watched the full segment of Gates' appearance and did not hear Gates say it.…

Did Elon Musk tweet "Anyone protesting the Trump Administration will be suspended from X"? No, that's not true: There is no record that Musk, the owner of the X platform, ever posted this message on his official X account @ElonMusk, according to a search of the site. Had he made such a statement, it would be easily found and news…

Did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo impose a 50 percent retaliatory tariff on Tesla cars sold in Mexico, calling Elon Musk "pendejo"? No, that's not true: As of February 4, 2025, Lead Stories found no credible media or government reports confirming that she ever said what social media attributed to her. U.S. President Donald Trump said on February 3, 2025,…

Did Elon Musk post he found out at DOGE that the Pentagon spent $600 million per year on sushi, the Air Force $1,280 per paper coffee cup and the IRS $230k per month on "Starbucks Cinammon Roast K Cups"? No, that's not true: Those claims originated on a parody account that pretended to be Elon Musk. The account was literally…

Did Elon Musk say two Boeing Starliner astronauts died in space, as a social media post implies? No, that's not true: Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were shown conducting a spacewalk nearly a month after the post -- and there's no record of Musk ever having made the statements attributed to him in the social media post. On February…