Georgia

Does a video show "armed military escorting" former President Donald Trump during a June 10, 2023, visit to a Waffle House in Columbus, Georgia, and does this escort prove that Trump is still the president of the United States? No, that's not true: By law, the U.S. Secret Service, not the military, protects former presidents. A spokesperson for Fort Moore,…

Did President Joe Biden withhold 1,850 boxes of classified documents from his time as vice president between 2009 and 2017? No, that's not true: Though the University of Delaware Library has stated that it holds over 1,850 boxes of Biden's "archival records," these documents are from the president's decadeslong career as a Delaware senator. Senatorial papers, in general, are not…

Did security footage capture the moment when an "angry" warehouse robot attacked a human worker? No, that's not true: This is a short science fiction film made by a film company in Georgia with CGI. The company, Sozo Bear Films, emailed Lead Stories, confirming that this footage is not real and was created with visual effects. The claim appeared on…

Did a public high school in Georgia implement a "business model" assignment in which students had to devise ways of "raising and eating human babies to solve the world hunger problem?" No, that's not true: At two points in a video interview shared to social media, it was stated that the supposed business model was meant as a high school…

Does a clip shared on social media show Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell of California breaking into tears as a result of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments? No, that's not true: The video's title is misleading, and the recording does not contain such an episode. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook on April 21, 2023. It said: Watch…

Did several videos in countries around the world accurately show that tiny sharp nails or pins were in medicine capsules sealed in tamper-evident blister packs? No, that's not true: In February 2021 several videos circulated on the internet showing adulterated medicine capsules. The medicines pictured, from different manufacturers, have limited distribution in several different countries. Aside from the suspicious videos…

Nicholas Muller is a fact checker in Russian and Spanish for Lead Stories. He has been covering China's global Belt and Road initiatives, climate, and migration stories in Asia, and also has several years reporting from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Central Asia. He has a double MA degree in Chinese foreign policy and European Affairs from Sciences Po-Paris and Fudan…

Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suppress the results of a study that purportedly showed an increased risk of neurodevelopmental delays in newborns who were given a Hepatitis B vaccine during the first month of life? No, that's not true: The results of the study have been available for decades. The early findings of the two-phase study…

Does a string of edited-together U.S. news clips with the words "33 COVID cases" in one form or another in each prove that COVID-19 and the pandemic were fabricated or orchestrated? No, that's not true: The cherry-picked soundbites -- all appearing to be from early days of the pandemic -- reveal no particular conspiracy or that the virus doesn't exist.…

Does a viral video show "proof" of "ascension" in Turkey during the deadly earthquake on February 6, 2023? No, that's not true: The clip itself bears a label that indicates it has been digitally altered. The claim appeared in a video on Facebook on February 5, 2023. The caption said: ASCENSION HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN TURKEY 🇹🇷 AFTER THOUSANDS DEAD…