Current Events

Does a viral video authentically portray U.S. Vice President JD Vance talking about "parodies" and "accusations" after visiting the Vatican hours before the death of Pope Francis? No, that's not true: The original sound was digitally replaced in the clip. The recording was first published nine months before the pontiff's death. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump show a Fox News host a Trump 2028 hat placed on the wall in the Oval Office? No, that's not true: The viral video was digitally altered. The original Fox News segment showed Trump unveiling the Declaration of Independence. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on April 25, 2025. It…

Did the New York Times fail to mention Nascimento Blair's kidnapping conviction and prison sentence in an April 2025 article about his deportation from the United States to Jamaica? No, that's not true: the authors mentioned the conviction and 15-year sentence in detail, and in several different parts of the article. Blair was convicted of first-degree kidnapping in 2006, released…

Did The Sun publish a video claiming Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle sold Princess Diana's iconic revenge dress to Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska for $2.9 million in April 2025? No, that's not true: There is no such story or video on The Sun's website or social media. The quote from "Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams" in the video was cut…

Did President Donald Trump hide an acrostic message - spelling out "JD KILL POPE" - in an April 18, 2025 post to his Truth Social account three days before the death of Pope Francis? No, that's not true: The paragraph, marked in red to show a supposed acrostic message, was never posted by Trump's Truth Social account. The counterfeit screenshot…

Did U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi threaten that anyone saying "Fuck Trump" may get "15 years in El Salvador" for doing that? No, that's not true: The viral image with the supposed quote was not an authentic screenshot of Bondi's interview. In the picture circulating on social media, the contents of the lower banner were digitally replaced with a made-up…

Did the Trump Organization begin selling "Trump 2028" baseball hats in April 2025? Yes, that's true: social media posts and photographs accurately depicted a real listing on the website trumpstore.com, which is the the official retail website of the Trump Organization. The hats were listed at a price of $50. The claim that official "Trump 2028" hats had gone on…

Does an inverted cross in a viral video from St. Peter's Basilica offer evidence of satanism in the Vatican? No, that's not true: The upside-down cross, also known as the Petrine cross, has a distinctive theological meaning in the religious context. It is associated with St. Peter whose wish was, as the Vatican website describes it, to be crucified head-down…

Did American talk show host, actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell go public to complain about life in Ireland and discuss a contemplated return to the United States? No, that's not true: The viral rumor was not grounded in facts. On the day of its inception, O'Donnell said the opposite -- that she enjoyed her life in Ireland and was in…

Did the account of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. on X post a cartoon depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as having a tariff-related tantrum? No, that's not true: As of this writing, the account's entries did not include that image. Answering Lead Stories' questions, an embassy spokesperson denied that either its official account on X or any other account…

Did JD Vance's sister take to social media to ask internet trolls to stop saying the Vice President killed Pope Francis? No, that's not true: The video is one of a series by comedian Blair Erskine in which she has played roles such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's baby sitter and a Trump voter waiting in the cold for a…

Did now-retired soccer player Megan Rapinoe lose her job at ESPN after one day in April 2025? No, that's not true: The story originated from a network known for publishing made-up stories with satire labels. As of April 23, 2025, no credible sources had reported Rapinoe was fired. The claim originated from an article (archived here) on the Dunning-Kruger Times…

Does a viral clip of a procession consisting of people wearing black pointy hats show Pope Francis' funeral? No, that's not true: The claim first appeared on the internet four days before the scheduled burial of the pontiff. The footage captured members of a religious group in Spain, most likely celebrating the days leading up to Easter, known as Holy…

Did Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene post that "evil is being defeated", shortly after the death of Pope Francis was announced on April 21, 2025? Yes, that's true: Screenshots of the X post were shared widely online, especially among those critical of what they interpreted as a celebratory reference to the death of the pontiff. The Georgia Congresswoman also wrote that…

Is there a real article written by "Barry Mdikkin" titled "Teen Tycoon: Young Black Entrepreneur Karmelo Anthony Nears Millionaire Status Before Graduation" on CNN's website? No, that's not true: A Google search for the article title limited to CNN's website revealed no such article. There is also no trace of an author by that name on the site. A screenshot…

Was U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's sister charged in the city of Yonkers in New York in April 2025 in connection with a supposed attack on a Tesla dealership? No, that's not true: She has no sister. The claim originated from a source known for spreading made-up stories. It was first published by an account with a satire label. The claim…

Did authentic security camera footage show U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer kissing Waheed Alli, a television entrepreneur and prominent supporter of the governing Labour Party? No, that's not true: The video, which was shared widely in April 2025, was clearly fake, and likely a product of generative AI. The clip contained several tell-tale glitches typical of AI-generated videos. The video…

By Raffaella Menichini, Lead Stories Deputy International Teams Manager (Rome) and Lead Stories staff A nine-day mourning period has begun with the death of Pope Francis, who died on Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, according to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office. The cause of death, declared by the Vatican's Directorate of Health…

Did President Donald Trump post a "Happy Easter" message to social media in which he attacked "Radical Left Lunatics," "WEAK and INEFFECTIVE judges", and former president Joe Biden? Yes, that's true: Widely shared screenshots of the post were authentic, and taken from Trump's April 20, 2025 post on Truth Social. Trump mentioned MS-13 gang members, and described Biden as a…

Did Whoopi Goldberg flee the country after an $800 million lawsuit from Karoline Leavitt had a "speed up"? No, that's not true: A viral video making that claim was largely AI generated. No actual news outlet has reported on such a lawsuit, which would have been huge news if it really existed. The story appeared in a viral video (archived…