Elon Musk

Did The Atlantic publish an article with the title "How A Squirrel Became A Rallying Cry Of The Far Right"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no such story on the magazine's website. The X account that posted a fake screenshot of the article later described it as a "meme." The story appeared in a post (archived here) on…

Did Joe Rogan say "he will not be voting for Trump after having him on the podcast"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories reviewed Rogan's podcasts and public statements in the days after Donald Trump's appearance. Neither subsequent episodes of Rogan's podcast, his social media accounts nor credible news reports included any statements by Rogan that he had decided not…

Does a video show "illegal Haitians" saying they're voting for Kamala Harris in Georgia in Fulton and Gwinnett counties with driver's licenses they got after becoming citizens with just six months in the United States? No, that's not true: Names on the licenses flashed in the video were not found in the Georgia database of registered voters. The Georgia Secretary…

Are Progress 2028 ads on Facebook authentic ads supporting Kamala Harris' presidential campaign? No, that's not true: These ads are not affiliated with the campaign or its supporters; instead, a conservative group paid for them to misrepresent her stance on controversial issues like gun buy-back programs and fracking. A Harris campaign aide told Lead Stories that Progress 2028's ads lie…

Do multiple entries of the same "Voter ID" casting ballots from different addresses on the same date in Michigan's Qualified Voter File indicate potential fraud? No, that's not true: Michigan's Department of State told Lead Stories that the Qualified Voter File only allows one ballot per voter per election. A spokesperson explained that "formatting errors" in displaying the database incorrectly…

Is Elon Musk developing robots that can carry a fertilized fetus to term for nine months, as posts on social media claim? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such a robot is in development as of this writing. Musk did not talk about this at his October 2024 event, "We, Robot." A version of the claim appeared…

Does a real photo show Elon Musk, Donald Trump and the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, Mark Robinson, together? No, that's not true: This image was made by combining three individual photos taken at different locations on different days. Not only were the subjects from three images collaged together, but some elements in the source photos were digitally altered, notably…

Does a viral post on social media prove that the total size of undocumented populations in seven states has increased by triple-digit percentages between 2021 and 2024? No, that's not true: The chart shared online didn't reflect the correct updated totals and one column referred to court filings in immigration courts, not total populations. Court filing numbers do not represent…

Did billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk offer women's basketball star Caitlin Clark a $10 million endorsement deal? No, that's not true: This comes from a website that publishes fake stories about famous people. The site describes itself as satire, and the original article was clearly labeled as satire. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on June 18,…

Is it illegal for foreign nationals to volunteer for political campaigns in the United States? No, that's not true: The Federal Election Commission says foreign nationals can take part in campaign activities as unpaid volunteers. However, federal law prohibits them from giving money, making donations, spending funds or being involved in decisions about election-related activities at any level -- federal,…