Transgender

Was Salvador Ramos, the Texas school shooter, transgender? No, there's no evidence that's true: A post saying he was offers nothing to substantiate the claim. It's likely related to other claims that falsely identify Ramos in photographs of a person wearing a skirt and holding a transgender pride flag. Lead Stories has previously debunked claims about the photographs. The transgender…

Do some photographs in some social media posts show Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos wearing skirts? No, that's not true: Images depicting a person dressed in a skirt and holding a transgender pride flag do not show Ramos. They show a Reddit user, identified as Apprehensive_Ad_995, who has posted since the shooting, writing, clearly: "it's not me." An example of…

Did the Kellogg Company announce that Pop, one of the cartoon mascots for the company's Rice Krispies cereal, was rebranded as a transgender character? No, that's not true: A Kellogg spokesperson confirmed with Lead Stories that the claim is false. Also, a supposed screenshot of a CNN article that reported on the change does not show a real CNN article.…

Is Snickers removing the "beloved 'dick vein'" from their candy bars? No, that's not true: Snickers said on Twitter, "THE VEINS REMAIN!" The edited image is a spoof of Fox News Channel TV host Tucker Carlson and cancel culture. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on April 24, 2022, under the title "He's just mad cause he…

Is this post a real account of a transgender reassignment for a teenager? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to suggest the content in this post is real. This closely resembles another fabricated story from a Reddit troll farm that posts stories intended to make those on both sides of the political spectrum angry. A text search reveals…

Did this Reddit post, which migrated to other platforms, chronicle a transgender parent forcibly giving their child the female hormone estradiol so that their son could transition into their daughter? No, that's not true: The content was made by internet trolls who wanted to make strangers angry with a fabricated story. The site rdrama.net -- one of the first sites…

Did California ban travel to Florida? No, that's not entirely true: While California did ban state-sponsored travel to Florida due to the latter state's policies against LGBTQ individuals, that ban does not extend to private travel. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on August 3, 2021. It featured a graphic that read: California bans travel to…

Does the U.S. Constitution only grant men and women the right to vote? No, that's not true: The 19th Amendment to the Constitution says, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." That protects the voting rights of citizens of…

Did New Zealand female weightlifter Laurel Hubbard suffer from a testicular injury just weeks before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? No, that's not true: the claim is lifted from from The Babylon Bee, a satirical website that writes about "Christian stuff, political stuff, and everyday life." The story, titled "Female Weightlifter Suffers Tragic Testicle Injury Just Weeks Before Tokyo Olympics," got…

Did South Africa approve a new marriage act that allows women to marry multiple men, and did such a marriage already occur? No, that's not true: The South African government is considering such an option in its Green Paper on Marriages in South Africa. This green paper discusses the possibility, among other potential changes to the country's marriage laws, of…