Real Raw News

Does a video on YouTube confirm that three Japanese car manufacturers publicly announced the decision to exit the U.S. market, facing tariffs planned to be imposed by the Trump Administration? No, that's not true: The clip did not offer any specific details of the purported statement. Lead Stories found no press releases or credible media reports confirming the rumor. Talking…

The conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor is set to start on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. It is a centuries-old ceremony entrenched in secrecy and powerful rituals, which strikes the world's imagination. This year, 135 cardinals from 71 countries across the five continents (of which Pope Francis has appointed 108, and 12 come from countries that never had a cardinal…

Did Casey Anthony, a Florida woman cleared of murdering her daughter in 2008, open a daycare center in Branson, Missouri in April 2025? No, that's not true: A widely-shared Facebook post was created by an account that labels its output as satire. In March 2025, Anthony described herself as a legal advocate and researcher. The claim that Anthony opened a…

Did Fox News report singer Arnel Pineda had been sentenced to life imprisonment? No, that's not true: The viral video with a misspelled title claiming the lead vocalist of Journey was sentenced to "life inprisonment" was never broadcast by Fox News. No other media have reported on the alleged news either. A viral video (archived here) published on March 25,…

Did Karoline Leavitt, Barron Trump, Patrick Mahomes, Dawn Staley, Connor McDavid and many others all surprise a high school janitor with an SUV for his long years of service? No, that's not true: Several clickbait sites use pictures of unrelated janitors and names of famous people to trick people into liking and sharing a story with fake details. Many of…

Are emails sent via the public.govdelivery.com email domain and claiming to be about an "unclaimed balance" at Bittrex legitimate? No, that's not true: They appear to be part of an email scam aimed at former users of the now defunct company Bittrex Global. The company itself warned users on its website only to trust emails coming from a limited set…

Did the Central Intelligence Agency in 1978 only request to black out mentions of Israel when journalists and historians sought to read documents about investigations into President John F. Kennedy's assassination? No, that's not true: The CIA wanted other things to be redacted, too, as seen in other files from the JFK collection. According to the agency's website, it generally…

Does President Donald Trump's executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America help enforce newly drawn borders decided in December 2023 by a "World Court" that gives water over land shelves to the respective countries? No, that's not true: Executive Order 14172 is a direction to the Secretary of the Interior to rename…

Did the Trump administration ban Julianne Moore's book "Freckleface Strawberry" from Department of Defense schools? No, that's not true: A Department of Defense spokesperson said, "We are conducting a review -- no materials have been permanently removed from our school libraries pending completion of the review." The review process began due to executive orders from President Donald Trump and guidance…

Did an executive order signed by President Donald Trump reverse "the plastic straw ban"? No, that's not true: No such national "ban" was enacted by Congress. Trump's order counters policies of former President Joe Biden aimed at gradually phasing out single-use plastic items in the future, which affected only the operations of federal agencies. While some localities do have restrictions…