False Promotion

Did Elon Musk promote a brand of sea moss as a remedy to help a variety of health issues? No, that's not true: This video footage that appears to show Musk volunteering an endorsement during an interview is fake. The clip was taken from an appearance at the TED2022 conference, where Musk discussed purchasing Twitter and other topics but did…

Is Six Flags amusement park corporation sponsoring a promotion on Facebook that offers up to eight complimentary Six Flags tickets? No, that's not true: In 2016 Six Flags posted a "Fraud Alert" on its website warning of social media posts promising tickets for taking a survey or forwarding a post. Six Flags warns that legitimate promotions are posted on the…

Has a professional athlete never lived to be 100 years old, thus evidencing that exercise "doesn't increase lifespan" and "in fact, exercise can shorten lifespan"? No, that's not true: Globally, there are a number of professional athletes who have lived to be 100 years old and beyond, including several of whom are alive as of this publication. Furthermore, scientific evidence…

Did Bud Light introduce a new "lol CRYBABIES" billboard campaign as a response to recent backlash over the brand's association with transgender social media personality Dylan Mulvaney? No, that's not true: This is not a real ad campaign from Bud Light. The "lol CRYBABIES" image is a digital manipulation by TikTok video creator @.jamisonlightfoot, who has posted other videos with…

Can simply answering three or four questions and paying a nominal handling fee qualify people to redeem tickets, receive expensive products, $500 or even $1,000 gift cards, store credit or compensation from well-known brands? No, that's not true: In the first quarter of 2023, Lead Stories tracked a large-scale phishing operation on Facebook that manipulatively tricks people into divulging personal…

Is the fast-fashion clothing brand SHEIN offering $1,000 in store credit to Facebook users for simply answering four questions? No, that's not true: SHEIN is a real clothing brand but this is not their promotion. The empty promise of store credit is a ruse to get people to enter personal information on a malicious website under the guise of taking…

Is Feeding America running promotions on Facebook to give away $500 Walmart gift cards or food stamp vouchers to people who will answer four short questions? No, that's not true: Feeding America is a real charity but these promotions are not real. Spoofed pages are using the Feeding America name and logo. Real photos have been altered to bolster the…

Did Elon Musk invent a ground-breaking plug-in device that helps lower electric bills by lowering consumption instantly? No, that's not true: Electrical devices with identical plastic housings have been marketed online for years without mention of Elon Musk ,and there is no evidence this is his invention. Many reports have warned that these purported power-saving devices not only don't do…

Did Elon Musk endorse a remedy called shilajit? No, that's not true: This video clip of Musk speaking at the Ted2022 Conference has been dubbed with a sound-alike clone copy of Musk's voice to make it appear he was touting shilajit, when in fact he was speaking about purchasing Twitter and other topics at the conference. He did not discuss…

Did Elon Musk offer to pay 100 homeowners to test the "newest technology of solar panels"? No, that's not true: This offer that's too good to be true is a ruse to collect personal information and is not associated with Musk or Tesla in any way. Schemes such as this, involving false solar panel installation promotions in order to generate…