Qanon

Did U.S. Special Forces arrest former Hillary Clinton campaign aides John Podesta and Huma Abedin? No, that's not true: There's no credible corroboration for an article that makes the claim, which rests on a purported single unnamed source. A spokesperson for the Department of Defense said the arrests did not happen. The website that published the story is known for…

Did President Donald Trump indict Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on his last day in office? No, that's not true. The claim was made without proof and the U.S. Constitution reserves indictment power to grand juries, not presidents. Barrett was, in fact, Trump's pick for the Supreme Court after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. Barrett took the oath of…

Was an aircraft carrier with 38 military jets deployed to the Suez Canal to the scene of the grounded container ship that conspiracy theorists claim was carrying trafficked children and nuclear weapons? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found the post's photo -- which was taken 30 years ago -- of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the National Archives.…

Does a new "X22 Report" video contain only factual and proven statements? No, that's not true: The video recycles familiar conspiracy theories, including disproven claims about a mass shooting and voter fraud in the 2020 election. It repeats allegations about Hunter Biden, Project Veritas and the ship stuck in the Suez Canal that are either not supported by publicly available…

Is a ship that blocked traffic in the Suez Canal on March 23, 2021, used for human and sex trafficking? Is there a connection between the ship and Hillary Clinton? No, that's not true: There's no publicly available evidence the container ship is involved in illegal trafficking activities, nor is there anything -- such as the ship's maritime call sign…

Is Richard Grenell the president of the United States and could you "prove" it by looking it up on Google? No and yes. No, Grenell is not and never has been the president. Yes, for a short time Google did prominently list Grenell as the president of the United States in a "knowledge panel" graphic appearing in search results. On…

Do "medbeds" exist? Will they be available soon? No, that's not true: There's no publicly available evidence such devices are real. The claim is situated within the broader QAnon conspiracy theory that believes the world is controlled by a satanic "deep state." It alleges that "medbeds" can make people decades younger, rebuild limbs and cure disease. There's nothing in the…

Did Tom Hanks die of coronavirus in March of 2020? Or, were reports of his 'death' last year just a code to let certain people know that he had been indicted? Was Hanks then executed in May of 2020? Has the public been tricked with computer-generated imagery (CGI) to believe that Tom Hanks has been alive all along? No, these…

Was Oprah Winfrey wearing an ankle monitor during her interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry? No, that's not true. Video shows the billionaire TV mogul was wearing a pair of boots on which creases and folds naturally moved as she changed position during her March 7, 2021, interview with the royal couple that aired on CBS. Nicole Nichols, spokesperson…

Is Donald Trump the "real" president, does Joe Biden not fly on Air Force One, does hydroxychloroquine "fix" COVID-19 and do masks not stop the spread of coronavirus? No, that's not true: Biden won the election and became President of the United States at 12:01 on January 20, 2021, per the U.S. Constitution. Trump is no longer the president and…