Joe Biden

Did Billie Eilish turn down an Oscar nomination and announce she plans to leave the U.S. after Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election? No, that's not true: The rumor originated in an obscure blog that didn't cite a single source and didn't disclose its ownership. No credible journalistic organization reported such an event. The claim appeared in a…

Is President-elect Donald Trump planning to abolish a tax credit for parents of "trans-species" children, or kids who identify as animals? No, that's not true: This originated on a social media account that clearly labels itself as "satire." No such tax credit is listed on the Internal Revenue Service's website. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok…

Does a photo show President Joe Biden sporting a red "Make America Great Again" baseball cap during his meeting with incoming President Donald Trump at the White House? No, that's not true: Media coverage of the meeting shows that the two men were wearing different clothing than what's seen in the photo. Online image-analysis tools found substantial evidence that the…

Did President-elect Donald Trump release a statement saying "I look forward to ... enact[ing] Project 2025"? No, that's not true: An image showing such a statement that went viral on social media was fabricated. Lead Stories searched Trump statements released on November 6, 2024, the same day as the date on the purported statement, and could not find this quote…

Did Vice President Kamala Harris fail to outperform President Joe Biden's 2020 election results in any U.S. county in 2024? No, that's not true: A video on social media has been edited to make it look as if that's what CNN reported. The full version of CNN's coverage reveals that anchor Jake Tapper actually asked whether Harris had underperformed Biden…

Did CNN air a screenshot of election numbers that showed Kamala Harris winning Texas with 51.8 percent and 1,113,499 votes against Trump with 45.7 percent and 982,091 votes? No, that's not true: CNN said the image was "completely fabricated and manipulated" and that it "never aired on any CNN platform." Lead Stories found no credible proof that the post image…

Did Joe Rogan say "he will not be voting for Trump after having him on the podcast"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories reviewed Rogan's podcasts and public statements in the days after Donald Trump's appearance. Neither subsequent episodes of Rogan's podcast, his social media accounts nor credible news reports included any statements by Rogan that he had decided not…

Does a widely shared video feature a man who drove "Trump's garbage truck"? No, that's not true: The video came from an account that labels its content as satire. The man seen in the footage is a stand-up comedian. The claim originated from a video (archived here) on TikTok on October 31, 2024, under the caption: He drove Trump's Garbage…

Did inflation "since Biden and Kamala took over" cause a New York City barbershop owner to experience unusually high electric bills, as a post on social media says? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Con Edison, the utility company that provides power to New York City residents, told Lead Stories the barber's recent bill was in error and that…

Is the Federal Emergency Management Agency confiscating supplies and donations for Hurricane Helene victims? No, that's not true: An agency spokesperson told Lead Stories that such accusations are "false." State and local officials in multiple Southern states that were hit by Hurricane Helene have unequivocally stated that the federal agency has not confiscated any supplies or donations. The agency does…