Does the name of Mira Nair, the mother of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, appear in the Epstein files? Yes, that is true: Lead Stories located an email that mentions her appearance at an afterparty for one of her films. The event occurred in 2009. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on February 1, 2026. It…
Is there an email conversation between Jeffrey Epstein and Satoshi Nakamoto in the released "Epstein Files" that has Nakamoto telling Epstein to "Go fuck yourself"? No, that's not true: A search of the "Epstein library" for the phrase "Dear Jeffey" from a viral image showing the supposed email only returns a single result with a different document. Other details in…
Is there an email from Jeffrey Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell in the released "Epstein Files" that talks about project "Bitcoin" and "our little digital gold mine"? No, that's not true: A search of the released files does not bring up anything with the phrase from a viral image in it. However there are several real documents that do mention Satoshi…
Did police find encrypted messages on Alex Pretti's phone that showed the ICU nurse was a "key player" in coordinating a plan to create the chaos that led to him being shot to death by federal agents in Minneapolis? No, that's not true: Although an article claims that revelation is "sending shockwaves through the public," there is no credible reporting…
Does a document in the Epstein Files show he had a bank account named "Baal", a demonic figure? No, that's not true: One document that looks like a scanned in fax or document with bank transfer details has the words "Baal. name" in it on a line where one would typically expect to see "Bank Name", and it is followed…
Has a video interview of Alex Pretti talking about how he kicked out the taillight of an SUV used by federal agents emerged and sent "shockwaves through the public"? No, that's not true: No such video has been found. The quotes are all made up. The website and Facebook pages spreading the claim are part of a spam network based…
Was there an email thread with Elon Musk and Jeffrey Epstein discussing an "epic island vacation" included in the latest release from the "Epstein Files" as implied by a viral image? No, that's not true: No email with the phrase "epic island vacation" appears in the released documents. The phrase "deal withthis . thanyou" visible in the image doesn't appear…
Does a photo of an ICE agent show evidence he is wearing a gold bracelet he stole from a man in Minnesota? No, that's not true: While this photo of an ICE agent appears to be real. It does not provide any evidence that the agent is wearing stolen jewelry. The post includes no specific dates, places or references to…
Does a video show a Disney park character in a Minnie Mouse costume smoking and giving the middle finger during a break? No, that's not true: Videos online show this same man in the same suit standing on the Las Vegas Strip, where people are known to dress up as various characters and solicit tips from tourists. There is no…
Is a video that shows a man who is unhappy when his french fries are spilled in a McDonald's during an earthquake in Toronto real? No, that's not true: The short clip was created by an artificial intelligence tool, according to an AI-generated content detector. Implausible details in the scene like garbled text and a shape-shifting hamburger also indicate it…
Did U.S. President Donald Trump write on Truth Social that the documentary about his wife, Melania, will become mandatory in history classes, while calling her "Melanie"? No, that's not true: No such post could be found on his account. Lead Stories searched an archive of Trump's posts, which did not produce any evidence that the viral image showed a real…
Is a video showing ICE agents chase a man, who is sitting in an office chair covered by a large hand "giving the middle finger," down a Minneapolis street real? No, that's not true: The short video originated on social media accounts that acknowledge all of its content is AI-generated. There is no reporting, including on Fox 9, the Minneapolis…
You might have seen or heard rumors about ICE agents being deployed at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, to help provide security. The Lead Stories Rome office looked into what is actually happening, so you know what is going on if you see social media posts about it. Agents from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI),…
Did Stevie Nicks, Tom Brady, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Elon Musk, or dozens of other entertainers, sports stars, or media figures defend Donald Trump from accusations he's authoritarian and trying to cancel elections? No, that's not true: The identical story is told about at least 55 celebrities who purportedly said "This disorder is being used to scare Americans. To convince…
Did Millie Bobby Brown say that being deported is not the end of the world, and that "there's a literal genocide in Gaza"? No, that's not true: The fake quote attributed to Brown originated from an account that frequently posts fake quotes attributed to celebrities. The account does not have any satire or parody disclaimer, but their content output provides…
Did NBA star Anthony Edwards donate a $514,000 game check to ICE? No, that's not true: The account that posted the message is run by a writer for 'The Simpsons' using the name "Gene Parmesan," a character from 'Arrested Development.' Edwards made a comment about ICE in Minnesota that was criticized for not being more forceful against the raids, but…
Did Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey tell Vice President J.D. Vance to "go fuck a couch" in an X post? No, that's not true: Vance did quote a real post from Frey on X in a discussion about law enforcement and other people needing to feel safe calling 911, but the reply suggesting intercourse with a piece of furniture came from…
Was Alex Pretti fired over complaints of inappropriate conduct with patients three months before federal agents fatally shot him on a Minneapolis street? No, that's not true: The claim was started by a spam factory based in Vietnam that uses artificial tools to publish fake articles promoted by Facebook pages also managed from Vietnam. The article named the wrong hospital…
Did Elliot Forhan, a Democrat running to be Ohio's attorney general, post a video on TikTok in which he says "I'm going to kill Donald Trump"? Yes, that's true: Forhan, who served one term in the Ohio legislature, shared a 41-second-long video on his campaign's TikTok account. He said if elected he would put Trump on trial before an Ohio…
Did "CBS Investigative News" report that the man arrested after spraying a liquid on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at a Minneapolis town hall meeting was on the payroll of a winery co-owned by her husband? No, that's not true: There's no record of such a story on CBS' website or in a global index of stories from thousands of news sites.…
