Did a man with a T-shirt cannon fire a prize directly at an elderly woman seated in the stands, knocking her over? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. It was created for a satirical Facebook page, Weaber Valley Speedway, which publishes fake updates and event footage as if they are a real small town racetrack. The fake video…
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…
Note: on October 9, 2025 Turning Point USA did make following announcement (archived here) on their X account: 🚨 HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 It's true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All American Halftime Show. Performers and event details coming soon. On October 7, 2025 when this fact check was written they hadn't yet made such an announcement: Did…
Did a variety of celebrities, from Fifty Cent to the White House press secretary, respond with public comments after Bad Bunny joked on Saturday Night Live that Americans had four months to learn Spanish before his Super Bowl halftime appearance? No, that's not true: This is a fake controversy drummed up by a network of clickbait publishers overseas. A flood…
Did Buffalo Bills Coach Sean McDermott tell the press that he will pull his team from the 2026 Super Bowl because of the National Football League's choice to make Bad Bunny the 2026 halftime performer? No, that's not true: The Facebook page that said McDermott made such remarks wrote it happened before journalists but there were no actual news report…
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…
Were the entire officiating crews from the Georgia-Alabama, Mississippi State-Tennessee, Washington-Ohio State, Buffalo-New Orleans, Tampa Bay-Toronto, or Green Bay-Cleveland games suspended for bad calls? No, that's not true: No such suspension announcements have been made as of September 28, 2025. Facebook pages making those claims and websites those posts link to are managed from Vietnam as part of a click-bait…
Did Football Player Saquon Barkley (or any other professional athlete) just launch Freedom Ranch, a $6 million, 150-acre sanctuary for horses? No, that's not true: This is a made-up story. A network of Facebook pages run from Vietnam and other countries are generating new cut-and-paste versions every day. Each variation on the Freedom Ranch theme includes the name of a…
Did Travis Kelce or other celebrities make a public statement that Jimmy Kimmel should leave America? No, that's not true: This is a made-up story which has been repeated using the same formula with many different famous names. At least nine variations of this story have been published on Facebook by pages originating overseas -- none of them are true.…
Did Simone Biles write a "lengthy, emotionally charged" blog post about Charlie Kirk, days after his assassination in September 2025? No, that's not true: As of September 19, the gymnast's website and social media profiles contain no trace of a post of any kind about Kirk. Accounts of an explosive criticism of Kirk were completely fabricated. The claim appeared in…
Did Metallica vocalist James Hetfield commit to pay for the education of Kirk's children, as multiple social media posts said? No, that's not true: There were no news reports or public statements backing up any of that. Hetfield has made no such announcement, nor have other celebrities whom social media engagement campaigns falsely claim are making the same "commitment." The…
Did Mookie Betts or other athletes say "If you want people to speak kindly about you after you're gone, then you should speak kindly while you're alive." in relation to the shooting of Charlie Kirk? No, that's not true: The fake quote, also attributed online to Bryce Harper, Mike Norvell, Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy, Julian Sayin, Aaron Judge, Dwayne "The…
Do posts about the missing hiker "Sara Jenkins" on social media tell the true story of the discovery of that person's remains? No, that's not true: No credible media organizations reported that. Lead Stories found no court records confirming any part of the story circulating on social media platforms. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on…
Did a variety of musicians, athletes, and coaches issue a lifetime ban against a man who was filmed "celebrating" in the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk's shooting? No, that's not true on two counts: First, the articles about the lifetime bans are not true. They are copy/paste clickbait slop -- a formula to intermingle names of celebrities with Charlie Kirk's…
Did a viral story about Dale Earnhardt Jr. making a fierce statement against the Charlie Kirk shooter come from an actual news source? No, that's not true: The story appeared on a foreign-run clickbait site and Facebook page and showed signs of having been generated using AI. The supposedly viral hashtag #AbsolutelyReady mentioned in the story was not used on…
Did Jalen Hurts, Travis Kelce, Nick Bosa, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Malik Nabers, Jordan Love, and other NFL stars each donate $300,000 to Charlie Kirk's family? No, that's not true: Facebook posts claiming that these American football players reacted to the killing of Kirk on September 10, 2025, with big donations and statements of support are generated by AI tools.…
Has "Phillies Karen" been banned from various stadiums, concerts, and public events? No, that's not true: Stories making the false claims that the woman who became infamous as "Phillies Karen" after she took a ball from a boy at a Philadelphia baseball game are mass produced using artificial intelligence tools. The fake content, published on websites that mimic real news…
Did a viral video of a kiss between two South Florida Bulls football players show a real-life scene? No, that's not true: The video was digitally manipulated to alter the original footage that only showed celebratory hugs. ESPN confirmed to Lead Stories that it did not air the kissing scene. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X.com,…
Did the woman nicknamed "Phillies Karen" who yelled at a dad about a ball at a baseball game issue an apology where she flippantly said, "Yes, I got the ball. Yes, I kept it. That's how it works at the park." No, that's not true: The woman seen on video fighting for a ball at a Phillies baseball game has…
Did the woman, now known as "Phillies Karen", lose her job as an administrator at the Hammonton New Jersey Public School District after a viral video showed a confrontation over a home-run ball? No, that's not true: Posts falsely identified the woman in the video as an administrator in Hammonton School District. The school published a statement on Facebook stating…
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.
Spotted something? Let us know!.
