Real Raw News

Was a little boy, approximately 2 or 3 years old, found unattended in several locations, and is he now being cared for at a police station? No, that's not true: The posts circulating on social media are not based on a real, ongoing incident. The deceptive posts use the same photos and captions, but change the name of the town…

Did Navy SEALs raid a warehouse belonging to rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs and seize a stockpile of adrenochrome that he used as a drug at his orgies? No, that's not true: The story is from a website that regularly publishes fabricated content, and there's no proof that any such military operation ever took place. Adrenochrome has long been the subject…

Do archived radar images show that 5G or NEXRAD towers emit pulses of weaponized microwave energy targeting the U.S. population while they sleep? No, that's not true: An expert in radar ornithology says the radar has picked up "bird echoes" with the blooms appearing around each radar station about an hour after sunset when birds take off in large numbers…

Did "leaked reports" say George Soros paid ABC moderators $1 million each to fact check Donald Trump during the September 10, 2024, presidential debate? No, that's not true: The story came from a website whose satire disclaimer reads: "These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up." No credible evidence of "leaked reports" or such payments…

Is a social media post saying that a girl "approximately 3 years old" was found by "Deputy Amy Braidley" authentic? No, that's not true: This is a bait-and-switch post that sends readers to a real estate ad. Lead Stories has previously debunked similar posts with a 3-year-old being found in different locations across the country, each time by a deputy…

Does footage of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's first flight actually show the desert landscape of Algeria and not Mars in the background? No, that's not true: Footage of the takeoff and landing of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, posted on YouTube by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, does not show the same scenery as pictured in an Instagram post. The real footage…

Is a 2024 article on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines by Dr. Young Mi Lee, an obstetrician and gynecologist in South Korea, and Daniel Broudy, an applied linguistics professor at Okinawa Christian University in Japan a valid, well-done scientific study? No, that's not true: The article -- titled "Real-Time Self-Assembly of Stereomicroscopically Visible Artificial Constructions in Incubated Specimens of mRNA Products Mainly…

Are Donald Trump and JD Vance supporters now carrying around specimen cups of Vance's semen marked "JD Vance Full Family Kit" to "mock democrats who can't start families" as shown in a series of photos being spread online? No, that's not true: Several aspects point to this being an election year prank or stunt. The photos were taken at an…

Were NFL referees given authority to disqualify football players who kneeled during the U.S. national anthem? No, that's not true: The claim is from a satirical website whose articles Lead Stories has debunked before. Lead Stories found no actual news articles mentioning such change to the authority of NFL referees. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here)…

Is a picture of Air Force Two without a tail number proof that the photo was digitally manipulated? No, that's not true: A spokesperson from the Air Force's 89th Airlift Wing, which maintains and flies aircraft for government leaders, told Lead Stories that planes normally used for Air Force One and Two are being cleared of tail numbers for security…