Is there a picture of Rudy Giuliani's neighbors watching his residence being raided by the FBI? No, that's not true: Although the apartment of the former New York City mayor and personal attorney for Donald Trump was searched by the FBI, no pictures have been released of his neighbors watching the raid take place. The claim appeared in a Facebook…

Did Pope Francis die in mid-April 2021 and did a leading American conspiracy theorist break the "news"? No, that's not true: The pope made several public appearances that offer proof of life and Lin Wood's off-the-cuff comment was a question, not a declaration. The claim that Wood had revealed the pope's death circulated on numerous QAnon-linked websites and social media…

Did a child get shot, "no questions asked"? And are all the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, still alive? No, that's not true: A post compares the death of a Black teenager, who was shot by police in Columbus, Ohio, to the treatment of "mostly armed white nationalists" by Capitol Police. It's correct that both…

Would a proposed Florida bill make a transgender student athlete "drop her pants" to prove she's a girl before playing on a Florida school sports team? No, that's not true. Both versions of the bill in Florida (a state House bill and a state Senate version) provide for either genetic testing or testing of a child's endogenously produced testosterone levels…

Was Daunte Wright pulled over by police because he had an air freshener hanging from his mirror? No, that's not true: Police have said that they stopped Wright because of expired tags, and that it was when officers approached the vehicle that they saw something hanging from his rearview mirror, which is a violation of Minnesota safe driving laws. The…

Did all the rioters at the U.S. Capitol survive their encounters with Capitol Police during the January 6, 2021 assault? No, that's not true: Ashli Babbitt, one of the rioters, was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer while breaking into the lobby of the House of Representatives' chamber. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) by Occupy…

Did Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene scrub her Twitter account of support of Rep. Matt Gaetz? No, that's not true: Greene's Twitter is still full of tweets supporting Gaetz. The claim originated in a Facebook post (deleted as of April 13, 2021) where it was published by The National Strategic Stockpile of Memes and Satire on April 5 2021. It read:…

Did President Joe Biden beg for the forgiveness of George Floyd's son by kneeling in front of him? No, that's not true: Biden, while campaigning in Michigan, knelt in front of a boy who is not Floyd's son. The claim, which has previously appeared as a tweet suggesting that the child in the picture was Floyd's daughter, reappeared as a…

Did a woman named Titania McGrath post a tweet demanding that dog owners stop using gendered terms like "good boy" and "good girl"? No, that's not true: The @TitaniaMcGrath account is a satirical jab at "wokeness." McGrath is a fictional character made up by comedian and columnist Andrew Doyle. All kinds of people have been fooled by the account: They…

Is Brie cheese made with unpasteurized milk illegal in the U.S., while a machine gun with six rotating barrels is legal? No, that's an exaggeration that leaves out important context and relies on semantics. Both Brie and machine guns are regulated. Since 1986 federal law has forbidden importation of French Brie, a soft unaged cheese made with unpasteurized milk. But,…

Did Ted Cruz say "the Alien Invasion Is orchestrated" in a quote about "illegals" who arrive at the southern border of the United States? No, Cruz did not make the comments. A viral message about the appearances of the people trying to cross into the U.S. at the southern border was not made by Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas.…

Did Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife charter buses for January 6, 2021, protesters in Washington, D.C.? No, there is no proof of that. Justice Thomas's wife, Ginni Thomas, did promote the rally that evolved into protesters storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, but there have been no documents or witnesses to support a claim that…

Does Georgia's new voting law make it a "jail-time crime to drop off grandma's absentee ballot"? No, that's not true: Although it is a felony to take an absentee ballot from a voter and deliver or return it, the law carves out various exceptions. Those exceptions include family members, such as parents, siblings and grandchildren. The claim appeared in a…

Did former President Donald Trump start a new social media platform called "DJTUP Uncensored Platform Uniting People"? No, there is no publicly available evidence it is Trump's. Former President Donald Trump did announce the launch of his website called 45office.com on Monday March 29, 2021, and a spokesman talked about Trump's plans to start his own social media platform in…

Did President Donald Trump indict Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on his last day in office? No, that's not true. The claim was made without proof and the U.S. Constitution reserves indictment power to grand juries, not presidents. Barrett was, in fact, Trump's pick for the Supreme Court after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. Barrett took the oath of…

Does Georgia's new voting law allow people to hand out drinks to voters waiting in line, so long as the drink isn't water? No, that's not true: The text of the law says "food and drink," which would include beverages like iced tea, chocolate milk and Georgia-born Coca Cola. The new law makes it a misdemeanor to hand out drinks…

Did the Atlanta spa shootings happen hours after a Donald Trump interview on Fox News? No, that's not true: Although they took place on the same day, March 16, 2021, Trump's interview, in which he referred to COVID-19 as "the China virus", aired after the Atlanta-area shootings that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent. The claim…

Did the CEO of Coca-Cola say boycotters are "a few right winged nuts"? No, that's not true: There's no publicly available evidence James Quincey ever said that. A spokesman for the company told Lead Stories the quote is fabricated. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on March 7, 2021. It included a brief introductory message, "Roger…

Is there something mysterious about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's net worth multiplying eight-fold from $2,962,015 in 2005 to $23,965,520 in 2015 on a salary of $193,400 a year? No, that's not true: The Republican from Kentucky did see a dramatic increase in his net worth, but context is missing from a post questioning the increase. Both Senate disclosure documents…

Does this photo show people praying over, or even "worshipping" a golden, life-sized graven image of former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: It is an altered photo. The actual photo, taken January 3, 2020, shows a group of Trump supporters, eyes closed with outstretched hands, praying over the actual president at an "Evangelicals for Trump" coalition event in…