Venezuela

Does a video on TikTok show "Bikers on the way to California to back ICE agents" in June of 2025? No, that's not true: The video was first posted to TikTok in November 2022 -- almost three years before protesters in Los Angeles took to the streets to block aggressive ICE immigration raids. The video's original poster was documenting bikers…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump propose a bill that bans all lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders, from re-entering the U.S., if they leave? No, that's not true: As of June 11, 2025, Lead Stories found no such bill on the website of Congress. An earlier June 2025 White House proclamation about new travel restrictions did not…

Did the Venezuelan government donate $22.9 million for an apartment to be built on top of Barack Obama's Presidential Library? 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. The meme appeared in a post…

Does a social media post include an authentic photo of former New Mexico Magistrate Judge Joel Cano standing pantsless in flip-flops with Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, the Venezuelan man he is accused of hiding from U.S. immigration officials? No, that's not true: The original image, in which Cano is fully clothed, was included with documents filed March 28, 2025, in federal court…

Was a man named Jerce Reyes Barrios, described as a soccer player from Venezuela on social media, deported from the U.S. to El Salvador? The story was reported by ABC News, citing the man's attorney. Filings in U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. spell out Barrios' account. Here is what we know so far. The story appeared in a post…

Does a viral post prove that the Minnesota governor and former running mate of Kamala Harris performed a Nazi salute in public? No, that's not true: The post took a single frame from a video out of context. As the recording proves, it was part of a longer movement, not a separate gesture. Walz put his hand in the air…

Did a video show "over 1,000" migrants entering the United States through the southern border shortly after President Donald Trump's second inauguration? No, that's not true: This video was posted on X in March 2023, a reverse image search showed. An online news search did not yield any evidence that the events in this video took place in January 2025.…

Does a video capture Venezuelan immigrants surging through a supermarket in Aurora, Colorado? No, that's not true: The earliest version of the video on TikTok was geotagged to a city in Brazil, not in Colorado or the United States at all. Nothing in the footage proved that it was filmed in Aurora. Instead, all indicators, including the crowd's use of…

Did police in Aurora, Colorado, issue a shelter-in-place order for the city on September 4, 2024, in response to Venezuelan gang violence? No, that's not true: Police told Lead Stories that the shelter-in-place order was due to a SWAT operation to arrest a man wanted on a felony menacing warrant. Residents were asked to stay inside for their safety while…

Did 32 armed Venezuelans with motorcycles trespass and take over a Chicago apartment complex on September 2, 2024? No, that's not true: The only evidence cited online for the claim is a recording of a Chicago police dispatcher relaying what was told to her by a caller, the kind of report that can be made without corroboration or evidence by…