Sports

Did now-retired soccer player Megan Rapinoe lose her job at ESPN after one day in April 2025? No, that's not true: The story originated from a network known for publishing made-up stories with satire labels. As of April 23, 2025, no credible sources had reported Rapinoe was fired. The claim originated from an article (archived here) on the Dunning-Kruger Times…

Did activist and former swimmer Riley Gaines "make it to the Olympics"? No, that's not true: Her name was not on the 2024 U.S. national team roster. It doesn't appear on the official website of the Olympic Games, either. The claim appeared in an interview aired on Fox News and uploaded to YouTube on April 16, 2025. At the 1:25…

Did wrestler Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, threaten to "punch" Elon Musk on X in March 2025, if the tech billionaire "doesn't leave America alone"? No, that's not true: A review of Johnson's posts doesn't confirm he ever published what was attributed to him. The claim originated from an obscure clickbait website whose disclaimer said that it "assumes…

Did basketball star Caitlin Clark reject a "$15 Million Offer" from Elon Musk? No, that's not true: Musk did not make the public statement the story said he did. It also contained several phrases from almost identical false stories about Dawn Staley and Patrick Mahomes that went viral earlier this month. Viral claims on social media were often accompanied by…

Did Laila Ali lose her life while giving birth in a Canadian hospital in March 2025? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the 47-year-old former world boxing champ and daughter of boxing great Muhammad Ali was pregnant in March 2025 or that she died while birthing a child. Ali posted a video on March 30, 2025, to…

Did Karoline Leavitt, Barron Trump, Patrick Mahomes, Dawn Staley, Connor McDavid and many others all surprise a high school janitor with an SUV for his long years of service? No, that's not true: Several clickbait sites use pictures of unrelated janitors and names of famous people to trick people into liking and sharing a story with fake details. Many of…

Was Elon Musk reported in March 2025 to be in talks to buy the Cincinnati Bengals for $15 billion and had reports "surfaced" that Bengals President Mike Brown was considering the offer? No, that's not true: The content of the article making such claims was found to be made up by ai and provided no links, citations or witnesses corroborating…

Did football player Patrick Mahomes reject a "$10 Million Offer" from Elon Musk? No, that's not true: Musk did not make the public statement the story said he did. An AI detector concluded that the text of the story, including bogus quotes, was highly likely to have been generated using AI. It also contained several phrases from an almost identical…

Did basketball coach Dawn Staley reject a $10 million donation from Elon Musk in March 2025? No, that's not true: Neither Musk nor Staley made any public statement about any donation. An AI detector concluded that the text of the story, including bogus quotes, was high likely to have been generated using AI. The story originated in a March 23,…

Was a man named Jerce Reyes Barrios, described as a soccer player from Venezuela on social media, deported from the U.S. to El Salvador? The story was reported by ABC News, citing the man's attorney. Filings in U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. spell out Barrios' account. Here is what we know so far. The story appeared in a post…

Do the Super Bowl champion Philadephia Eagles intend to take part in a customary White House visit in 2025? The Trump administration indicated to Lead Stories that no invite had been sent to the team so far, but as of this writing, the franchise had not yet made any on-the-record statement. Here's what we know so far about rumors surrounding…

Is a video in which pop star Taylor Swift announces a breakup with athlete Travis Kelce and where she says she's looking to date a basketball player real? No, that's not true: The video in which Swift appears to say, "I don't date losers, I only date winners" originated on a YouTube channel specializing in AI deepfakes. An online detection…

Does a viral photo really show gymnast Simone Biles pregnant with a clearly visible baby bump posing next to her husband Jonathan Owens who is wearing a suit and bow tie? No, that's not true: A detection tool indicated the image of the Olympic gold medalist was generated using AI. Biles posted pictures to her Instagram account only days ago…

Did the NFL admit to canceling Elon's DOGE Super Bowl ads as several viral social media posts say? No, that's not true: This claim originated on a satirical Facebook page with a clear disclaimer. The page owner is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on February…

Did Elon Musk pay for an ad that aired during the Super Bowl that claimed the U.S. Agency for International Development spent $2 million on German llama racing and other nonsensical spending? No, that's not true: No ads aired during the Super Bowl from Elon Musk about outlandish things the agency was supposedly spending millions of dollars on, including llama…

Did Elon Musk spend $40 million on Super Bowl ads that listed all the corruption the Department of Government Efficiency has found so far? No, that's not true: There was no credible evidence supporting the assertion that Musk bought five 30-second ads for the February 9, 2025, Super Bowl about the "corruptions DOGE has found so far." No ads aired…

Does a video show President Donald Trump and Melania Trump walking out onto the field of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on February 9, 2025? No, that's not true: Melania Trump was not at the 2025 Super Bowl. The video showing the two walking onto the field dates back to the 2020 College Football National Championship, which was held…

Does a photo on social media show a man flipping off President Donald Trump during the 2025 Super Bowl game? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found evidence of the photo being posted online since 2023. Social media posts of the photo indicated it was taken at a college football game in Iowa on September 9, 2023. Media outlets widely…

Did President Donald Trump react to the Super Bowl in a post on Truth Social saying that the Chiefs were "too focused on DEI nonsense" and the Eagles got "USAID money flowing in like water"? No, that's not true: Images of such a post circulating on social media appear to have been falsified. The post was not present on Trump's…

Did a video captioned "BOO THE BASTARD" authentically show President Donald Trump being booed at the Super Bowl in 2025? No, that's not true: The video was uploaded to TikTok days before the 2025 Super Bowl with a caption encouraging viewers to "do it." The original footage was taken at a 2020 football game that did not feature the booing…