Entertainment

Did Arnold Schwarzenegger wear a T-shirt that said, "I didn't vote for the McFelon"? No, that's not true: The photo appearing to show that scene has been altered. The original photo showed Schwarzenegger wearing a plain black T-shirt without any slogan on it. The photo was taken in March 2024, at the 2024 Arnold Sports Festival UK, which was held…

Did Elon Musk sue TV show "The View" and co-host Whoopi Goldberg for $70 million because "They Lie About Me"? No, that's not true: This originated from SpaceX Fanclub, a Facebook page with a clear disclaimer that states, "We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real." That has not prevented other pages from picking up the story and republishing…

Do various videos posted online show the funeral of former One Direction singer Liam Payne? No, that's not true: Payne's funeral hadn't happened when these videos were published in early and mid-November 2024. The footage presented as being taken at his funeral was recorded at other events. The claim appeared in a video post (archived here) on Facebook on November…

Did ABC issue an "official statement" that it would not renew the contracts of "The View" hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg because they are "too toxic"? No, that's not true: ABC told Lead Stories that this is false. There have been no credible reports that Behar or Goldberg's contracts would not be renewed as of November 15, 2024. The…

Does a video show actor Cillian Murphy waving a Palestinian flag on the street? No, that's not true: The person waving the flag in the video is Derek Brennan, who runs tours of locations of Murphy's Netflix show "Peaky Blinders" in Birmingham, England. The X account that posted the video later stated that the person in the video is Brennan,…

Did Prince Harry's son Archie die? No, that's not true: There has been no such announcement by the family or in the news media. The social media post implying this leads readers to an article that has nothing to do with Archie. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) on November 12, 2024, with two photographs of…

Did Elon Musk permanently ban author Stephen King from X after King called Musk "the First Lady"? No, that's not true: King posted on his own X account that neither the "first lady" reference nor the ban happened. King added "Yet here I am." A Google News search did not find any news articles about Musk banning King's account. The…

Did a viral image of Taylor Swift capture her crying "on live television the moment the race was called for President Trump" in November 2024? No, that's not true: The picture was a screenshot of a Swift interview aired 12 years earlier. In it, Swift was reacting to questions about her personal life, not politics. The claim appeared in a…

Did Beyoncé declare she would no longer perform in "red states," meaning states that went for President-elect Donald Trump? No, that's not true: This comes from a website that publishes fake stories about famous people. The site describes itself as satire, and the original article was clearly labeled as satire. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook…

Did Taylor Swift cancel "red state shows" after President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 general election? No, that's not true: This first appeared on social media in a post on Facebook with "satire" in the caption. Plus, the Facebook account that posted the information says in its bio that it shares satire and parody content. The article the post was…

Did President-elect Donald Trump post on Truth Social that he had "started his day by listening to 'Not Like Us' by Kendrick Lamar"? No, that's not true: Such a post could not be found on Trump's Truth Social profile. The image of the fake post originated from parody creator Daily Noud. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on…

Did Elon Musk buy CNN in November 2024? No, that's not true: A CNN spokesperson told Lead Stories "there is no truth in rumors of a sale or change in ownership of CNN whatsoever." The assertion was made by Argentinian President Javier Milei and was picked up by Argentinian news outlets, but he offered no proof of such a sale.…

Did Fox News' "Hannity" guests react to Donald Trump's stumbling entry into a garbage truck with calls for cognitive testing and medical records? No, that's not true: "The Daily Show," which satirizes the news, created the footage. It took authentic clips from Fox News' "Hannity" show on February 4, 2017, where guests Dr. Ben Carson, Dr. Marc Siegel and Dr.…

Did Joe Rogan say "he will not be voting for Trump after having him on the podcast"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories reviewed Rogan's podcasts and public statements in the days after Donald Trump's appearance. Neither subsequent episodes of Rogan's podcast, his social media accounts nor credible news reports included any statements by Rogan that he had decided not…

Does a widely shared video feature a man who drove "Trump's garbage truck"? No, that's not true: The video came from an account that labels its content as satire. The man seen in the footage is a stand-up comedian. The claim originated from a video (archived here) on TikTok on October 31, 2024, under the caption: He drove Trump's Garbage…

Does a video on social media show podcaster Joe Rogan discussing the topic of rat meat supposedly in Chinese food, and how a person might find out about "how to heal the body from the toxins they feed us" in a podcast? No, that's not true: The deepfake detection platform TrueMedia.org determined with 100 percent confidence that the audio in…

Did Kamala Harris' presidential campaign pay superstar Beyoncé $10 million to attend a Harris rally in Houston? No, that's not true: No public evidence exists to support this claim. The Federal Elections Commission's most recent records do not show that the Harris campaign paid Beyoncé for appearing at the rally. A campaign finance expert told Lead Stories he did not…

Did Jeffrey Epstein only move into billionaire Les Wexner's Upper East Side brownstone in 1996, thus proving that Stacey Williams' story about Donald Trump groping her after they had left Epstein's "brownstone on the Upper East Side" in 1993 was false? No, that's not true: Epstein rented an Upper East Side home from 1992 to 1996, according to news reports.…

Was Taylor Swift the female celebrity witness or the accuser named in a lawsuit that said Sean "Diddy" Combs had raped a 13-year-old girl? No, that's not true: Taylor Swift is not named in the lawsuit, filed on October 20, 2024. A male and a female identified in the lawsuit only as Celebrity A and Celebrity B were said to…

Was the death of TikTok content creator Kyle Marisa Roth connected to her social media content that "covered Diddy parties in detail"? No, that's not true: The Maryland chief medical examiner told Lead Stories that Roth died of "natural" causes due to heart issues. She died on April 14, 2024, in Maryland. Lead Stories could not find any evidence that…