Did Danica Patrick donate $7 million to the Turning Point USA Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: There is no proof that the former NASCAR driver has donated $7 million to the show that Turning Point USA announced they would host as an alternative to the official 2026 Super Bowl halftime show starring Bad Bunny. Patrick is a…
Did Ozzy Osbourne's widow Sharon publicly announce a "$20 million pledge to the Charlie Kirk Memorial Fund"? No, that's not true: No news media reported it. Sharon Osbourne's account on Instagram didn't discuss it, either. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published on October 13, 2025, by thebeatles.vietut.com. It opened: BREAKING NEWS: Sharon Osbourne Stuns America with a…
Does a video show several Portland, Oregon City Council members refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? No, that's not true: This video clip was not filmed in Oregon. It shows the city council chambers of Portland, Maine. The video clip was linked in a post on X (archived here) published by @SonyasCrafts on Oct. 13, 2025. It is…
Did Barron Trump drop out of New York University in the fall of 2025, as a viral social media post claimed? No, that's not true: The claim was made with no documentary, eyewitness or other evidence. The day before the post declared Barron had dropped out, Kai Trump, Barron's niece, posted a video in which President Trump said Barron was…
Did Turning Point USA's Super Bowl halftime show sell out the Atlanta Braves stadium in three hours after it was announced that Kid Rock would be performing? No, that's not true: The story originated on a satirical Facebook page that clearly labels its content as fake. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing…
Did Elon Musk threaten to end his Super Bowl sponsorship if Bad Bunny performs at the halftime show? No, that's not true: Elon Musk does not sponsor the Super Bowl. The claim that he does and has threatened to end his sponsorship was published and promoted by a network of clickbait websites and Facebook page operated from Vietnam. The same…
Did the NFL announce the Super Bowl half time show will have a Charlie Kirk tribute including a performance by Brandon Lake? No, that's not true: A viral story making that claim was published by a foreign-run spam network with elements in Pakistan and Vietnam. The NFL did not make any such announcement. The news about the "announcement" appeared in…
Did ICE post an AI-generated image on its X account to make a point that it was not only protesters but also supporters who showed up in Portland, Oregon, in early October 2025? Here's what we know so far: Lead Stories asked, but ICE had not at the time of publication released to us the original image file. When ICE…
Is a viral post about the retirement of a Denver kindergarten teacher named Clara Holt illustrated with a photo of someone named Clara Holt? No, that's not true: The photo is copied from a BBC report about the reunion of students of Shirley Arnold, a primary school teacher in Kent, England. No Clara Holt appears on Colorado's list of certified…
Did a federal judge in Virginia drop charges against former FBI Director James Comey because the prosecutor misspelled Comey's last name as "Homey"? No, that's not true: The rumor on social media originated from a satire website. As of October 10, 2025, the trial date was set for January 5, 2026; however, the former FBI Director's legal team stated that…
Did the chair of the Nobel committee that chose the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize say that Donald Trump was not chosen because they only "give the award to people of courage and integrity?" No, that's not true: A reporter asked Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes how the campaign by President Trump and his supporters to get the award for…
Does a video show Delta Airlines removing an elderly man from a flight because he was wearing a MAGA hat? No, that's not true: The man was wearing a red hat that read "Build Back Better My Ass," not "Make America Great Again." The pilot, who said he himself was "ultra MAGA", told him he was escorted off the plane…
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.…
Does a viral video of a protester chanting "No queso! No cheese!" before being sprayed with orange-colored gas by law enforcement show a real-life scene? No, that's not true: A prominent watermark identified the video as having been generated by a specific AI tool. Visual artifacts indicate it was AI-generated, including faceless people in military fatigues and several examples of…
Does authentic video show U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detaining cats and dogs, as of October 9, 2025? No, that's not true: Viral clips showing cats and dogs being seized were products of generative AI. Their early versions displayed a removable watermark pointing to a specific app. They originated as online satire. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…
Does a video of Argentina's President Javier Milei authentically capture him singing on stage? Yes, that's true: Milei performed at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires on October 6, 2025. Many media outlets covered the event. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on October 8, 2025. It opened: 🇦🇷 Argentinian President Javier Milei held a…
Is a video showing a Portland police officer threaten to arrest an ICE agent if he doesn't stop "driving into people," and the agent replying "won't be messy" authentic? No, that's not true: A longer video giving a wider view reveals the officer is warning a woman in a civilian vehicle, who has no apparent connection to ICE, that she…
Did California Governor Gavin Newsom win the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 and has President Donald Trump "exploded with rage" over the news? No, that's not true: The story originated on a well known satire publication named The Borowitz Report. There were no actual news reports about Newsom being awarded the prize. The viral article (archived here) was published…
Did California Governor Gavin Newsom win the Nobel Peace Prize on October 7, 2025? No, that's not true: The story originated in a post by satirist Andy Borowitz. The 2025 prize was scheduled to be announced on October 10. The story appeared in an October 7, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here), which stated: OSLO--Donald J. Trump reportedly "exploded with…
Did Detroit singer Kid Rock call rapper Bad Bunny "a man in a dress" and criticize the NFL's selection of the Puerto Rican rapper for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: There's no public record of such a remark by Kid Rock. There is no mention of the 2026 halftime show on Rock's social media accounts…
Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
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