Elections

Are completed California Proposition 50 redistricting ballots visible through Sacramento County's mail-in envelopes? Yes, but that is missing context. A mark on a Prop 50 ballot can be seen through a hole in the vote-by-mail envelope from Sacramento County, Ca. if the ballot is folded with text on the outside and placed facing one of the holes on the envelope.…

Did Donald Trump once say he had talked to the "President of Puerto Rico", as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no public record of Trump ever saying that. He did, in 2017, say he had talked to the "President of the Virgin Islands," a gaffe which his staff at that time cleared up in…

Is Alisa Kasmer, the woman who posted a long message on Facebook attacking Stephen Miller, really Miller's cousin? Yes, that's true: Kasmer's post claimed that she babysat Miller and he is her first cousin. Lead Stories researched the White House Deputy Chief of Staff's family tree and confirmed that Kasmer, 43, is the daughter of Miller's paternal aunt. Photographs included…

Did People magazine publish a satirical image of Donald Trump dressed like Marie Antoinette to illustrate an article about the White House Ballroom construction project? No, that's not true: People magazine illustrated the article with a standard portrait photo of Trump wearing a blue suit with red tie. A fake screenshot used the real article's headline and People logo --…

Does a video authentically capture Donald Trump saying planned Super Bowl 2026 half-time performer Bad Bunny is from "the Mexican City of Puerto Rico" ? No, that's not true: The audio was lifted from a Trump impressionist's YouTube video and plays while the person in the TikTok video reacts to what is said. There is no publicly available report that…

Was a Trump 2020 graphic digitally added to a family photo of Michigan LDS church shooting suspect Thomas J. Sanford? No, that's not true: The picture with the Trump 2020 graphic is the original, posted publicly on Facebook in 2019 and unchanged. Social media commenters later posted an edited version that removed the Trump logo. The original photo is still…

Did Meta, the owner of the Threads social media platform, announce it had begun labeling some accounts with a warning that "This user is suspected of being part of a terrorist organization called Antifa. Please report any suspicious behavior."? No, that's not true: Users add the italicized phrase themselves at the bottom of their own posts. Neither Meta nor Threads…

At the Charlie Kirk memorial, did Elon Musk say the conservative organizer and podcaster "...did not live to be erased by the lost...we will not let that sacrifice go unnoticed"? No, that's not true: Musk was not one of the speakers at the September 21, 2025, memorial service held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. He does not appear…

Did Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, officially designate California Sen. Adam Schiff and former CIA Director John Brennan "domestic enemies"? No, that's not true: An authentic video posted by Gabbard in Jan. 2021 resurfaced on social media in Sept. 2025 with a misleading description that makes it seem like a 2025 video. Gabbard became the Director of…

Would Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former diet supplement company advisor and investor, profit from the Trump Administration's plan to recommend folinic acid for those on the autism spectrum? No, that's not true: As a condition of taking the job of Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Oz pledged in writing to close out by July 3, 2025…

Is that a real photo of Sydney Sweeney in a Turning Point USA shirt? No, that's not true: The t-shirt photo that appeared on social media in September of 2025 is a manipulated copy of a paparazzo's photo taken three months earlier. Enough elements of the photo match to prove it's a fake: from the paparazzi in the background to…

Did the late Charlie Kirk say "Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously" as social media posts claim? No, that's not a precise quote: Attacking affirmative action, Kirk slammed by name four prominent liberal Black women . On his podcast, he specifically criticized Rep. Shirley Jackson Lee, D-Texas, TV host Joy Reid, Supreme Court…

Did Tyler Robinson, the man arrested for shooting Charlie Kirk in Utah, donate money to the Trump campaign in 2020? No, that's not true: Lead Stories spoke with the Tyler Robinson who owned the property that was listed as the address on the federal records for the donation to the Trump campaign. That Tyler Robinson confirmed he is 35 years…

Is Tyler Robinson, the suspect in custody for the shooting of Charlie Kirk, a Republican? No, that's not true: Voter registration records in Utah show he chose to vote neither as a Democrat nor as a Republican. He registered as "Unaffiliated." The claim appeared in a September 12, 2025 Facebook post (archived here) on the whitesarahh account under the title:…

Did President Trump sign into law an income tax exemption for families making less than $120,000? No, that's not true: No such exemption has passed the U.S. House and Senate. There is no such exemption on the official list of laws signed by Trump. The claim appeared in a September 4, 2025 TikTok video (archived here) published by the AppalachianQueen5…

Was Democratic politician Stacey Abrams indicted in Georgia for voter fraud? No, that's not true: The false claim was made on a self-described satire page whose logo was removed from the variations of the claim later spread by other accounts. No credible news organization reported on the existence of the purported lawsuit. The claim originated from a post (archived here)…

Is an image of British Union Jack flags crowding the Mall in London during a popular uprising of patriots in late August, 2025, authentic? No, that's not true: The image shared widely across social platforms is an odd digital representation of the Mall, which runs a half mile from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. This image shows the Arc de…

Did MSNBC host Rachel Maddow "takedown" White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on air in a live interview? No, that's not true: Miller has never appeared on Maddow's show. The social media post and article saying it happened offered no proof of a date or time or evidence that the interview ever took place. There are no credible…

Did country music legend George Strait reject a $500 million deal from Elon Musk to endorse Tesla? No, that's not true: This is a fake story designed to get people to click on a link to a website. This identical fake story, with the same fake quote, keeps getting recycled with different celebrity names attached. The fake story appeared in…

Does a real soldier appear in uniform in the "Troops Against Trump" video, asking "I swore an oath to defend the constitution...What happened to us?" No that's not true: The video is the production of a social media account that labels itself a satire producer. In addition to the account's disclosure that it uses AI to produce videos, there are…