Space Mission

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…

Did the ABC television network fire the hosts of the September 10, 2024, U.S. presidential debate, calling them "a disgrace"? No, that's not true: A self-described satire and parody website published the story about the pair's supposed firing. Lead Stories found nothing authoritative to substantiate the claim that ABC fired the two. The claim originated from an article (archived here)…

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…

Was American football player Travis Kelce fined $10 million for taking a knee during the national anthem, as a post on Facebook said? No, that's not true: This story began as an article by SpaceXMania, a self-described fake news website known for publishing content it says is satire. There is no publicly available or credible evidence to support the story.…

Is the monkeypox virus known to spread through airborne transmission, as suggested by a post on Instagram Threads? No, that's not true: Global health agencies agree that the primary way the virus is spread is through close or direct contact between an uninfected and infected person's body fluids, lesions or saliva, plus contaminated clothing or bedding. The U.S. Department of…

Did conservative commentator Candace Owens sign a $25 million deal with ABC for her own morning show that is "going to replace The View"? No, that's not true: A satirical website first made this claim in July 2024. A post on Facebook in August 2024 appears to be AI-generated and resembles the satirical website's article. Neither ABC nor Owens has…

Did the Academy of Country Music place a lifetime ban on entertainer Jack Black after his bandmate made comments about the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The false report was posted on a self-proclaimed "fake news" website. There also is no evidence that the Academy of Country Music proclaimed that Black was banned. The…

Does footage showing what appears to be a shadowy profile of a man moving behind what looks to be a small model space shuttle prove that this footage and the entire 1983 Challenger mission was faked? No, that's not true: The astronaut was filming from inside Challenger's flight deck looking out over the payload bay through a window. His reflection…

Did NASA secretly drop a manned space capsule out of a plane in order to stage a hoax return of astronauts from outer space? No, that's not true: The footage that shows a space capsule sliding out of the back of a C-130 cargo plane was not part of a staged hoax. This was one of several drop tests conducted…

Did astronaut Neil Armstrong once say he saw UFOs and aliens on the moon? No, that's not true: The claim is completely fabricated. There is zero evidence that Armstrong ever told anyone that he saw UFOs and aliens on the moon, and no evidence or documentation is given in a post making the claim. Buzz Aldrin said in 2014 that…