Georgia

Do 222 contributions with "zero donor information" to the campaign of Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis prove there was fraud? No, that's not true: An Emory University political science professor emeritus told Lead Stories, "Looks like they're all very small donations for which donor info is not required under Georgia law." Other political scientists said the same. The…

Is former President Donald Trump facing the possibility of the death penalty in the four indictments against him? No, that's not true: Lead Stories spoke to three legal experts who told us that none of the charges against Trump carries the death penalty if convicted. While one charge, "Conspiracy against rights," can be eligible for the death penalty, that's only…

Did 14 American cities join a "World Economic Forum treaty" imposing a total ban on meat, dairy and private cars by 2030? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, there is no such WEF treaty. The source of the claim cited an unrelated report that explored several emission reduction models and was not meant to become a law…

Does a photo show a real mug shot for former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: No mug shot had yet been taken of Trump for any of his court cases as of August 16, 2023. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Twitter on August 15, 2023. It opened: #Indicted. Over 80 times. And now indictments…

Does the state of Georgia have 2.2 million "phantom voters" on its voter rolls, a situation that could lead to widespread voter fraud? No, there's no evidence that's true: A woman making this claim in a video on social media provided just four examples of people she says were recorded incorrectly as having voted. A spokesman for the Georgia Secretary…

Is Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis challenging former President Donald Trump to prove his accusation that she had a relationship with a gang member or face additional charges? No, that's not true: There is no publicly available evidence as of August 10, 2023, to substantiate a social media post making that claim. Willis directly addressed the accusations and…

Did the United Nations "chief" say if Christians "do not fully embrace the legalization of pedophilia, they will be excluded from participating in society"? No, that's not true: The man whose photo appears in an article under the headline "UN Chief" is actually an independent expert working with the U.N. on sexual orientation and gender issues. And there is no…

Does the U.S. public education system no longer teach the Declaration of Independence? No, that's not true: American public schools still teach the Declaration of Independence as a foundational document in American history and government. It is typically included in curriculum materials and is often studied in history, civics and government classes. The Declaration of Independence holds significant importance in…

Did a flagger working for "NPL Pipeline Company in the Chicago suburbs" die after being given a bottle of water "suspected" of being "laced with fentanyl"? No, that's not true: NPL told Lead Stories that the report is "entirely false." The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) published on July 20, 2023, under the title "Stay safe…

Are Masonic Lodges injecting children with "'free child identification chips' to 'help combat abduction,'" also collecting those children's DNA? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence or reliable information to support such a claim. Multiple Masons organizations across the United States said their child-identification programs don't put tracking chips in children and any DNA information is retained by…