Joe Biden

Was American Derek Huffman killed in a drone strike while fighting for the Russian military in Ukraine in July 2025? A YouTube account used by his wife claimed in a comment that Huffman is alive and well. Another American acquaintance of Huffman also told Lead Stories that Huffman is alive, but definitive proof was not immediately available. Here's what we…

Did Democratic nominee and then-sitting Vice President Kamala Harris get 68 million votes in 2024? No, that's not true: In reality, she got more than 75 million, according to data on the Federal Election Commission website. That's fewer than Joe Biden's 2020 total of 81 million, but 7 million more than is claimed by a viral meme. The claim appeared…

Did the Biden administration approve the permit in June 2024 for a "grand parade" for the Army's 250th birthday? No, that's not true: The parade permit application was submitted in March 2025, more than a month after President Biden left the White House and President Trump's administration began, according to a National Park Service spokesman. The permit application for a…

Did President Trump reshare a Truth Social post that claims Joe Biden was executed in 2020 and replaced with "clones doubles & robotic engineered souless mindless entities"? Yes, he did: Trump's Truth Social timeline showed the post was shared by the president at 7:06 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, 2025. The post was still active at the time of writing…

Did President Donald Trump address a 2025 Memorial Day message to "scum" and "USA hating judges"? Yes, that's true: Trump posted the lengthy message on Truth Social on the morning of May 26, 2025. Both critics and supporters of Trump re-posted it. The message was presented as real in a May 26, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here). The caption…

Did FBI investigators find 14 pardons and 11 executive orders signed by autopen that Joe Biden was unaware of? No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The meme appeared in a Facebook post…

Did Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accept a $2.1 million bribe from George Soros, in the form of a vacation home in Italy? No, that's not true: That rumor originated on the Dunning-Kruger Times, a website that describes its own content as satirical. The article included fabricated quotes from "Joe Barron", a fake persona that features regularly as an…

Did a viral video really show Pope Leo XIV publicly criticizing JD Vance for his reaction to former President Joe Biden's cancer announcement? No, that's not true: The clip used AI-generated sound to make it appear the Pope scolded Vance for attacking Biden with "cold, calculated words" and lacking "human compassion". No actual news websites reported that the Pope publicly…

Did a relative of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar named "Yosef Barron Omar" receive $18 million in government grants between 2021 and 2024? No, that's not true: That rumor started on a website that describes its output as satirical in nature. The name "Yosef Barron Omar" is a play on "Joe Barron", an in-joke from the self-described satire of the story's…

Did "DOGE Auditor Joe Barron" uncover that billionaires Mark Cuban, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett each received $250 million in quarterly payments each, for a total of $4 billion? No, that's not true: The story, which also had them donating $1 billion of the money to Joe Biden's campaign, originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner…