Satire

Did an authentic news outlet report that the May 2025 expense report of the California Democratic Party showed it bought 200 pallets of bricks ahead of ICE protests in Los Angeles? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook account that identifies the owner as a comedian working for Donald Trump. The bricks story did not include links…

Did Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "Admit" under oath that Republicans voted to allow Jan. 6 rioters to serve in ICE roles, as numerous viral posts claimed? No, that's not true: The claim appeared in a meme spread by an account labelled "Satire/Parody". There's no record of such a statement by Noem on the Department of Homeland Security website, on…

Did Elon Musk reply to Stephen Miller's "We will take back America" post on X with "Just like I took your wife"? No, that's not true: Musk addressed the claim, saying he never posted that comment and there's no record of it on Musk's account or Miller's. Such a post would have been very newsworthy and yet there are no…

Lead Stories is sad to learn of the announcement of the passing of Pablo Reyes Santiago (also via his Facebook account) and we offer our deepest condolences to his friends and family. Although he may not have realized it, Pablo was instrumental to the history of Lead Stories as a fact checking website. He was so famous for his pranks…

Did actor Robert De Niro call White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt "KKKatherine" and did she respond that her family "fought to end slavery" while his "snuck into the country illegally in the 1920s"? No, that's not true: A meme describing that supposed exchange originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known…

Did the Rockport County Sheriff say he would ask a grand jury to indict former FBI director James Comey on state terroristic threats charges? No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. Also, there…

Did a federal judge order Michelle Obama to hand over "her financials from her time as First Lady" to DOGE? No, that's not true: That story originated on a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The image appeared in a post (archived here) with a meme published…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump issue an Oval Office address wishing Americans a "not so happy Pride Month"? No, that's not true: The viral clip was digitally altered. In the original video, Trump talked about Easter. The altered video includes a black screen at the end that declares it a deep fake. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did President Trump reshare a Truth Social post that claims Joe Biden was executed in 2020 and replaced with "clones doubles & robotic engineered souless mindless entities"? Yes, he did: Trump's Truth Social timeline showed the post was shared by the president at 7:06 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, 2025. The post was still active at the time of writing…

Did a "Military Court in Betheda, Maryland" dismiss a discrimination case brought by Admiral Rachel Levine, as a viral meme claimed? No, that's not true: The meme, which also referred to Levine as "Biden's DEI Admiral", originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up…