Are "murder hornets" the same insects as cicada killers and native to the United States? No, that's not true: murder hornets are Asian giant hornets and are new to North America. These newcomers apparently have not traveled beyond Washington state and Canada. A post (archived here) published on Facebook on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, correctly pointed out that there is…

Is it true that "thousands of doctors" say hydroxychloroquine "cures" COVID-19 patients," but the cure won't be valid until a major study is done? And is it true that once a vaccination against the novel coronavirus is manufactured, it will be quickly dispersed to health professionals for "immediate human injection" while studies about its safety and risks will come later.…

Is the U.S. government using the cover of the coronavirus pandemic to remove end-to-end encryption so officials would be able to listen to everyone's calls and see everyone's private messages? No, that does not appear to be the case: A controversial bill -- one that has been made public and is the subject of much attention and debate -- has…

Was President Trump correct in stating on Twitter that 17,000 people died during the swine flu, or H1N1, pandemic during 2009-2010? And does a second claim in the post -- that the Obamacare website cost $5 billion -- hold up to scrutiny? No, both allegations are misleading. Official government figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the…

Important Update: On April 13, 2020 Sanders formally endorsed Joe Biden. The below fact check was about a tweet sent on April 8, 2020 when no endorsement had been made yet. Has Bernie Sanders, who suspended his presidential campaign, already endorsed Joe Biden? No, as of early afternoon ET on April 8, 2020, this was not the case. Sanders, the…

(Editor's Note: This story has taken off the label "Fact Check" because there continues to be disagreement in the medical, scientific and political fields about the safety and wisdom of lifting lockdowns and restrictions.) Would allowing everyone, except the most vulnerable, to go on with their lives and forget about the lockdown put an end to the COVID-19 outbreak? No,…

Did film director John Singleton die after suffering a major stroke? No, that's not true: It is another celebrity death hoax taking advantage of a serious health crisis to generate web traffic. John Singleton, 51, is in a coma after suffering a stroke, but not dead, a source close to his family told Lead Stories Thursday night. (A family representative…

UPDATE: Joe Jackson passed away on June 27, 2018, four days after a hoax article prematurely announced his death. Joe Jackson Dead at 89 Joe Jackson -- the patriarch of the Jackson family -- has died ... TMZ has learned. Family sources tell TMZ, Joe passed away at 3:30 AM Wednesday in L.A. We broke the story ... Joe was…

Correction: A ballot measure "D" was actually passed with 75.94% in Oakland but it had nothing to do with hate crimes or undocumented persons. It read: Shall the measure, to protect and improve library services throughout Oakland, including: providing safe places for youth after school; preventing library closures; providing youth reading and senior programs, evening/weekend hours for students/families and adult…

Update: George H.W. Bush eventually did die at the age of 94 on December 1, 2018. Is former President George H.W. Bush dead again at 93? Nope, that's just a repeat from an older hoax run by a Ghana-based fake news network that was recently shut down after an investigation by Lead Stories. The new version of the hoax comes…

UPDATE: Barbara Bush did now pass away on April 17, 2018 as reported by the NY Times: Barbara Bush, Wife of 41st President and Mother of 43rd, Dies at 92 As the wife of the 41st president and the mother of the 43rd, George W. Bush, Mrs. Bush was only the second woman in American history to see a son…

Was the board game "Settlers of Catan" renamed just to "Catan" because the word "settlers" offended certain people? Several reports in Dutch and Belgian newspapers claimed this was the main reason on April 4, 2018 quoting a spokesperson for 999 Games, the company distributing the game. Correction: In an earlier version of the headline above this article we said this…

Rumors that Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is dead are not true. (UPDATE: They are now true, Tsvangirai passed away on February 14th 2018) The origin of the rumor is the website "All Africa" or allafricanews.co.za which posted an article (archived here) titled "BREAKING: Zim's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai dies" somewhere in January 2018 that opened: JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwe's main…

Note: David Cassidy passed away on November 22nd 2017, see the update below this article. Fake news website city-herald.com published an article on November 19th 2017 (archived here) titled "BREAKING: David Cassidy dies of organ failure after brief hospitalization aged 67". The story opened: Pop star David Cassidy has died in Florida after suffering from organ failure, according to his…

Note: The news is no longer fake, Manson has now actually died on November 20th 2017. Two websites named florida-times.com and texas-express.com published identical stories last week titled "BREAKING: Convicted mass murderer Charles Manson dies aged 83" (archived here and here). Both stories opened: Infamous serial killer Charles Manson has died after a brief hospitalization, authorities say. He died Thursday…

An untrustworthy site by the name of ActionNews3 posted a hoax titled: "REMEMBERING AN ICON: HUGH HEFNER DEAD AT AGE 91" somewhere on July 11th 2017. It opens: Hugh Hefner, Founder and chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, was found dead of natural causes Sunday morning at his home, the Playboy Mansion, in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles,…