Sports

Was Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes indefinitely suspended by the NFL? No, that's not true: The claim in a social media post has a "Learn more" link that goes to a fake ESPN page promoting an "off-market supplement." The fake ESPN logo seen in the upper left-hand corner leads users to a website selling the supplement. No other legitimate…

Was the backflip banned after it was performed by the prominent Black figure skater Surya Bonaly in 1998? No, that's not true: Decades ago, the International Skating Union banned somersault jumps, which includes backflips with a one-foot landing, in figure-skating competitions. The video in the post that claims Bonaly's backflip caused the ban is actually from 1994, not 1998. Bonaly,…

Did Grammy award-winning singer Rihanna wear a pentagram-shaped symbol on her belt during the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: The shape seen in the post, on her aerial safety belt, is hexagonal, but in clearer photos is neither a hexagon nor a pentagon . A pentagram, associated with satanism, has five points. The claim appeared as…

Is it true that Romania outlaws excessive weight and, therefore, there are "literally zero" people with a body mass above normal? No, that's not true. The website of the Chamber of Deputies, which typically initiates legislation and in some cases approves bills proposed by the upper house of the national parliament, shows no signs of such law. The chamber's spokesperson…

Did football player Damar Hamlin die on the field in early January 2023 and is the NFL covering it up? No, that's not true: Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, did collapse in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals but was revived by medical personnel before being taken to the hospital. Hamlin posted to his Instagram account while hospitalized…

Did CNN publish a news article that linked Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin's on-field collapse to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the news network confirmed to Lead Stories by email that the media outlet never published such a story. A widely shared social media post featured an altered photograph of an original CNN headline. The…

Does a photo showing hospitalized Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin without a clearly visible heart monitor prove that he did not undergo cardiac arrest during a January 2, 2023, football game? No, that's not true: A visible heart monitor in a photo would potentially violate the hospital's legal obligation to safeguard the confidentiality of patients' medical information, the director…

Does a picture of hospitalized Damar Hamlin with a disconnected IV line raise valid questions about his condition or medical treatment after a reported cardiac arrest on January 2, 2022? No, that's not true: The tube in Hamlin's arm shown disconnected from IV lines does not contradict his widely reported diagnosis. As the director of a nurse practitioner program told…

Was former kickboxing champion and internet influencer Andrew Tate arrested by authorities in Romania because of a speech he gave about the "matrix" -- a rigged society system he claims is designed to benefit only the rich? No, that's not true: Tate was arrested on December 29, 2022, on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and participating in an organized crime…

Were there questionable things about the ambulance that carried Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin from the field that "just doesn't add up"? No, that's not true: A series of vague questions intended to inspire uncertainty are based on false premises. The ambulance and first responders performed their role -- delivering first aid and transporting Hamlin to the University of Cincinnati…

Were there two military stars marking the ambulance that carried Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin off the field on January 2, 2023, when he collapsed after a tackle during a televised game against the Cincinnati Bengals? No, that's not true: The two gold marks on the driver's side of the ambulance are not stars, but a covered external outlet,…

Will FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football Association) keep Pele's feet in its museum? No, that's not true: A FIFA spokesperson who replied to a Lead Stories query by email on January 5, 2023, said, "We completely refute this claim." The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on January 3, 2023. The tweet's text, under adjacent photos of…

Does an article listing 1,616 "athlete collapses and deaths" between January 2021 and December 2022 prove a connection between these mishaps and the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: While the article documents scores of "athletes" who have died or collapsed for various reasons (some of them clearly non-cardiac in nature, like cancer, suicide, drug overdose or accidents), their vaccine…

Did a "deep state" conspiracy lead to Romania's arrest of former kickboxing champion and online celebrity Andrew Tate on December 29, 2022? No, that's not true: Romanian authorities have told Lead Stories that Tate was arrested following an investigation that began in April 2022. No credible evidence exists to support the claim of a "deep state" conspiracy, which was published…

Did Romanian authorities free social-media influencer Andrew Tate from jail two days after arresting him in connection with human-trafficking charges? No, that's not true: A spokeswoman for Romanian law enforcement told Lead Stories that, as of January 3, 2023, Tate remained behind bars. Tate's attorney confirmed that status. The claim appeared in a Facebook video post on December 31, 2022.…

Did Cristiano Ronaldo, an award-winning soccer player and the captain of the Portugal national team, sell some of his trophies -- European Golden Shoes -- and donate the money "to the children of Palestine" in 2011? No, that's not true: Such rumors about Ronaldo donating to Palestine have been circulating for the past 11 years, but no official announcements confirming…

Will the likeness of Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina's national soccer team, be featured on an Argentine 1,000 pesos banknote after the team's win at the 2022 World Cup? No, that's not true: There is no evidence at the time of this writing that Messi's face will be featured on Argentina's 1,000 pesos banknote. The claim appeared in a tweet…

Did Leonel Messi, an Argentinian football star who led his national team to the 2022 World Cup, swear at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Instagram, demanding that the Ukrainian leader "take [his] people and get out of Europe" and displaying a sign with profanity directed at Zelenskyy? No, that's not true. The image was digitally altered, and Messi did not…

Did Brazilian soccer fans throw projectiles at the Brazilian soccer team coming home from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? No, that's not true: The video on which this claim is based dates from 2018, and shows protesters throwing projectiles at a bus that they believed was part of the 2018 presidential campaign of former Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula…

Does this video show a woman exposing her breasts at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, for which she was arrested? No, that is not true: the video began circulating on social media more than a year before the World Cup and appears to have been recorded in July of 2021. The statement appeared on numerous websites, including this November…