Is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the son of the late former Cuban President Fidel Castro? No, that's not true: That's an oft-repeated conspiracy theory that is not supported by any official evidence. A recent claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by NewsPunch on August 10, 2022, with a headline that read "Bombshell Evidence PROVES Justin Trudeau Is…

Does a video show Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana "exposing Biden's dirty secret" in Congress? No, that's not true: The video in a post making this claim shows unrelated clips of Kennedy questioning Labor Secretary Marty Walsh during an appropriations meeting, and speaking about inflation during a floor speech in 2021. The post has a clickbait headline, apparently to draw…

Does use of birth control pills, classified by international cancer researchers as a Class 1 carcinogen, mean that a woman will develop cancer? No, that's not true: Decades of research show that oral contraceptives do not significantly increase the likelihood that women will develop certain cancers. The pills can, in fact, reduce the likelihood of other cancers. The claim about…

Was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed from office by Democrats in the House on or before October 4, 2022? No, that's not true: Such a claim appears to be clickbait and there is no evidence to support it. The claim appeared in a Facebook post on October 4, 2022. It included a video with a title and caption that reads:…

Are complications from COVID-19 vaccinations causing U.S. military pilots to crash, resulting in the U.S. Navy and U.S Marine Corps grounding all aircraft after crashes in California killed six people in September 2022? No, that's not true: According to a U.S. Navy Spokesperson, the entire claim is "untrue." There are also no such reports in reputable news sources of any…

Is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, the American wife of Britain's Prince Harry, "a clone or robot"? No, that's not true: The videos repeating this claim borrowed footage from the 2018 Madam Tussaud's live figures events, when actors put on latex masks to impersonate the real couple. The claim about the former Meghan Markle resurfaced in a TikTok video (archived here)…

Did U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon lose her license for being corrupt, as the title of a video claims? No, that's not true: The content of the video doesn't support the title, and no articles in major news publications reported on this. The claim appeared in a Facebook post on September 30, 2022, with the title "Trump's Corrupt Judge loses…

Did Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly, mock Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by portraying him on its cover as "an obedient dog" eating out of a "European" dog dish? No, that's not true. The publication has stated that this cover image and two similar ones circulating online are fake. The weekly now charges that "Russian propagandists" on Telegram "are creating…

Are iodine pills sold in a Canadian Home Hardware store? Yes, that's true: The operations manager for the store featured in a viral video told Lead Stories the pills are for sale at their location due to rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the threat of a possible nuclear war. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on…

Did Special Forces soldiers unleash "a hailstorm of gunfire" against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) agents who were attacking and robbing Hurricane Ian victims in Florida? No, that's not true: A Pentagon spokesperson told Lead Stories that this story is false. The claim appeared in a Real Raw News article published on September 29, 2022, and titled "Special Forces Fight…

Did Reuters publish a tweet claiming that Germany has invoked NATO's collective defense provision since the United States attacked the Nord Stream pipeline? No, that's not true: This tweet was not published by Reuters news agency, but by a satirical parody account. Although the account is clearly marked "(Satire)," it uses the real Reuters logo. Some users don't notice the…

Did locals block a NATO column in Moldova on September 18, 2022? No, that's not true: The video that allegedly demonstrates the "evidence" was shot in 2016. The claim appeared in an English-language tweet (archived here) on September 18, 2022. It said: Column of #NATO military equipment blocked by residents of #Moldova. They blocked a convoy of NATO equipment, chanted…

Did President Joe Biden order the replacement of the U.S. dollar with a trackable spyware version of digital money that will give the government control over the bank accounts of all Americans? No, that's not true: None of that language appears anywhere in the order, a spokesman for the U.S. Treasury told Lead Stories. Biden did sign a March 2022…

Does this video show Italians take down the European Union (EU) flag and replacing it with an Italian flag after the right-wing Brothers of Italy group won an election in 2022? No, that's not true: This video is from December 13, 2013. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) where it was published on September 26, 2022. The…

Did Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner pocket $640 million in jobs as advisers to former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Both Trump and Kushner worked at the White House on a pro bono (unpaid) basis, although they earned millions from business interests outside government. The claim appeared in a Facebook post on August 12, 2022. It…

Do social media videos show a man protesting at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022? No, that's not true: The video is from a 2007 service at Westminster Abbey marking the 200th anniversary of the act to abolish the slave trade in Britain. Human rights campaigner Toyin Agbetu interrupted the commemorative service. One of the claims…

Did former President Barack Obama "expose" himself by referring to his wife Michelle as "Michael"? No, that's not true: While he did say the words, he was not talking about himself -- he was citing another person's experience. The claim appeared in a Facebook post on September 24, 2022. It contained a video with a TikTok logo. The caption is:…

Did Fox News revisit a "theory" about a "huge Trump and military white hat sting operation" in 12 states about the 2020 U.S. presidential election? Did this include a statement that the Biden family, elected officials, bureaucrats, social media managers and media members "are being arrested & detained for ballot fraud" and will face "military tribunals" off the coast of…

Did Vladimir Solovyov, dubbed "the most energetic" Russian state TV propagandist by the U.S. State Department, say he got drafted? No, that's not true: Deliberately mistranslated subtitles in a viral video that allegedly shows this scene distorted Solovyov's words beyond recognition. However, he did criticize the so-called "partial" mobilization previously ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, drawing international attention for…

Did President Joe Biden tell Americans to get COVID vaccinations as Hurricane Ian was bearing down on Florida in late September 2022? No, that's not true: A post suggesting he did uses a video recorded in August 2021, not on the eve of Ian's landfall. Biden made no mention of vaccines when he spoke about Hurricane Ian at the White…