Qanon

Were the protesters who committed violence in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, really antifa activists dressing up as Trump supporters? No, that's not true: There is no publicly available evidence that the people who stormed the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. were antifa activists. National media outlets identified protesters as QAnon and Trump supporters after claims surfaced…

Did an antifa member post a video confessing that he was paid to protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021? No, that's not true: The man in the video making the claim posted another video admitting that it was a joke and that his "Antifa" means "anti-fart," because they are "smelly." The claim originated in a video posted…

Is this man photographed storming the U.S. Capitol in fur and horns an antifa activist working to make supporters of President Donald Trump look bad? No, that's not true: The man in the photo is a well-known QAnon supporter who has been identified as Jake Angeli, nicknamed "QAnon Shaman" for his face paint, bare chest and tattoos. Angeli has given…

Did some California counties allow voters to use ImageCast Remote software to mark their mail-in ballots? Yes, that's true, but election officials insist the system is secure from fraud. The ImageCast Remote system allows voters to download a ballot on their personal computing devices, mark that ballot with their choices and then print or save that ballot and send it…

Does the walking boot President-elect Joe Biden started wearing the week after Thanksgiving 2020 mean that he is wearing an ankle monitor? No, that's not true: According to a statement from Biden's doctor, he started to wear the boot due to hairline fractures in his foot, and could be in it for several weeks. This type of ankle-monitor claim has…

Does a theft at a Philadelphia warehouse mean the 2020 election should be considered "illegitimate"? No, that's not true: The theft of a laptop and USB drives had "no impact whatsoever on the election," according to a spokesman for the Philadelphia City Commissioners. A spokeswoman for Election Systems & Software, maker of the city's election machines, further explained that the…

Did The Department Of Homeland Security craft an election fraud sting by printing watermarked ballots? No, that's not true: The design, printing and auditing of ballots are processes managed by state and local election officials. One of many versions of this rumor appeared when it was uploaded to Facebook in a post (archived here) published on November 5, 2020, with…

Did Michigan add 138,000 votes and none of them were for Trump and was there a 4 a.m. ballot dump in Wisconsin? No, that's not true. Lead Stories and other news outlets have debunked similar claims by showing records of a Michigan clerical error that got exaggerated. Wisconsin officials said vote-counting records do not show a "ballot dump," only updates…

Was the COVID-19 pandemic pre-planned with help from billionaire Bill Gates and have the illnesses associated with it been spread by 5G technology? No, that's not true: The claims made in the "Covid-19 Genocide of 2020" video are a rehash of conspiracy myths previously debunked by Lead Stories and other fact checkers. The claims originated in a video of an…

Did Facebook ban this "President Trump campaign ad"? No, that's not true. It goes without saying that videos playing on a platform proclaiming they are banned by that platform have not been banned. Those behind such posts use them as a way to profit from online traffic. This example is not A Trump 2020 campaign ad. It does not carry…