Hurricane

Does a video circulating on social media show an elephant seal on a Florida street in the wake of Hurricane Ian? No, that's not true: The video is from a seaport community in southern Chile, where the large, flipper-footed mammal wandered into a residential area back in 2020. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on September 20, 2022, under…

Did Special Forces soldiers unleash "a hailstorm of gunfire" against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) agents who were attacking and robbing Hurricane Ian victims in Florida? No, that's not true: A Pentagon spokesperson told Lead Stories that this story is false. The claim appeared in a Real Raw News article published on September 29, 2022, and titled "Special Forces Fight…

Did President Joe Biden tell Americans to get COVID vaccinations as Hurricane Ian was bearing down on Florida in late September 2022? No, that's not true: A post suggesting he did uses a video recorded in August 2021, not on the eve of Ian's landfall. Biden made no mention of vaccines when he spoke about Hurricane Ian at the White…

Does a photo of a man in a military flight suit appearing to wear a #TEAMCHEMTRAIL patch as he stands in front of a large silver tank provide evidence that the military is spraying "chemtrails"? No, that's not true: This image has been altered. The photo originally showed the master sergeant's Air Force Reserve Command patch. A #TEAMCHEMTRAIL patch has…

Does a video of Sen. Ted Cruz questioning current FBI Director Christopher Wray or former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe expose either man in a lie about the circumstances surrounding the August 8, 2022, search of Mar-a-Lago, the Florida home of former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The video of Cruz is spliced together from separate congressional hearings…

Were New Yorkers advised to pack "go bags" because there is an immediate threat from "Project Blue Beam"? No, that's not true: While city emergency managers have recommended residents create this type of emergency kit, it's not associated with any imminent or specific concern or threat. The claim appears in an August 15, 2022, Instagram video on the "unanswered_universe" account…

Is Bill Gates behind the 2022 monkeypox outbreak? No, that's not true: The claim wildly misconstrues a November 2021 comment Gates made about pandemic preparedness. He was discussing the possibility of simulating a smallpox attack in order to build global readiness. Gates did not mention monkeypox and there is no evidence to support the allegation that he is, in any…

Are upwards of 30 states on alert with their National Guard activated or commanders told to move to a prepared footing? No, this is missing context: "The National Guard is currently supporting COVID missions in 46 states and territories," a National Guard spokesman told Lead Stories. The National Guard is activated in those states but is not "on alert" for…

Did the White House set up a fake scene to deceive the public about President Joe Biden's COVID-19 booster shot? No, that's not true: The White House was clear about where the scene was shot, namely the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is on the grounds of the White House complex but in a different…

Are cargo ships being prevented by U.S. states from unloading goods, causing a backlog? No, that's not true: Although there are dozens of waiting ships at U.S. ports that is resulting in a delivery backlog, the backlog is the result of supply chain problems, changes in consumer demand and port worker availability, not by states preventing ships from unloading their…