Did ABC News host David Muir advertise on air a diabetes cure discovered by TV personality and physician Dr. Mehmet Oz? No, that's not true: A clip containing images of both Muir and Oz used manipulated sound to mislead audiences. The video didn't even name the "cure" described as "a revolution in diabetes treatment." The claim appeared in a video…
Will T-Mobile start fining individual customers in 2024 for sending texts or posting content the company doesn't agree with? No, that's not true: The claim on social media misrepresented the nature of the change that will only affect the third-party vendors sending out automated messages. T-Mobile told Lead Stories that the company doesn't "censor" personal texts. The story appeared in…
Was Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs hanged at Guantanamo Bay on December 22, 2023? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is false. The website where this claim was made has a disclaimer that states it publishes "humor, parody, and satire" content. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by Real Raw…
Was the mechanism of the background check conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to screen potential gun owners changed in a way that now allows people lacking citizenship status to buy and possess guns in the United States? No, that's not true: On December 27, 2023, the bureau, abbreviated as the ATF, categorically denied such a…
Did U.S. Marines arrest World Health Organization official Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is "false." This claim appears in an article on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content often mistaken for real news. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) where it was published by Real…
Did Pope Francis authorize the World Economic Forum to rewrite a fact checked version of the Holy Bible, and post about it on social media? No, that's not true: The social media post allegedly made by Pope Francis is fake, and there is no evidence of such an authorization reported on the Vatican website, the WEF website, or from credible…
Does a viral video show a child trafficker caught while driving a sedan with 25 children in Uzbekistan? No, that's not true: According to local law enforcement and local news reports, the reason for the traffic stop was unsafe driving, not a suspicion of kidnapping, child enslavement or involvement in some black market medical deals. An academician with knowledge of…
Did U.S. Marines arrest Assistant Defense Secretary for Acquisition Tanya Skeen? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is "false." This claim appeared in an article on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content often mistaken for real news. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by Real Raw News on…
Was an unidentified young woman robbed, stabbed, and left for dead by the side of the road, and will sharing a post on social media help to identify her? No, that's not true: This post is a fabrication designed to trick people to share the post within their local community. The photo, which appeared in several news articles, actually shows…
Did Greta Thunberg wear a Hamas headband and hold an Islamic State flag in an image that appeared on social media? No, that's not true: The picture showing the Swedish climate activist has been changed from the original using photo editing. While Thunberg does support a ceasefire in Gaza and "Justice for Palestine," based on posts on her social media…
Did Fulton County, Georgia, count 20,713 votes that did not exist in the 2020 election and that there are "no records" for, such as poll tapes? No, that's not true: An election-watchdog expert said that claiming votes are missing because of missing poll tapes is "like telling me my house doesn't exist unless I can find all the bank documents."…
Is a photograph that purports to show a U.S. certificate of naturalization for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy real? No, that's not true: The certificate is counterfeit. It's missing key components, such as his signature and the signature of the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The image appeared atop an article (archived here) published by DCWeekly on November 29,…
Did Marines arrest on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, a Colorado Supreme Court justice, Monica Marquez, who voted in favor of removing Donald Trump from the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot? No, that's not true: This is a fake news article from a website that carries a disclaimer that they publish humor, parody, and satire. The article riffs on the real…
Did actor Kevin Spacey or writer Stephen King say that they would leave the United States if the "Epstein Client List" is made public? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that King or Spacey made such comments. The claim came from a fake Donald Trump account on X. Contrary to the post, a federal judge in a…
Did Dr. Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon and former Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, endorse blood vessel-cleaning gummies? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Carson said that the claim is "completely fake." Additionally, a digital forensics and deepfakes website that analyzes audio and other media concluded that a recording purporting to show him saying that was not authentic.…
Did actor John Travolta promote a hair growth product called RenewHair-X in a video on social media? No, that's not true: An audio track of a voice sounding like Travolta's is dubbed over a clip of the actor from a late-night talk show appearance. The audio purportedly spoken by Travolta repeats word-for-word audio purporting to be actor Kevin Costner in…
Did U.S. Marines "kick ... out" the Federal Emergency Management Agency from Tennessee following a disaster recent as of December 21, 2023? No, that's not true: A FEMA representative told Lead Stories, "FEMA teams are on the ground in Tennessee working with state and local officials in assisting those in need after the tornado of December 9th." The claim appeared…
Did "Mr. Luke Jones," purportedly a man with dementia, drive away from his home and fail to return, triggering the activation of a silver alert? No, that's not true: No elderly man named Luke Jones is missing at the time of writing. This story is a part of a scam formula that begins with a ruse to entice people to…
Can tapping and squeezing the thumbnail and the area surrounding the thumbnail cause a "brain reboot"? No, that's not true: There is no credible information stating that this technique, attributed to reflexology, causes any significant change to the brain. A search of medical and scientific literature turned up no evidence that the action produces a "brain reboot." The claim appeared…
Is a woman with Down syndrome currently missing, as a viral Facebook post says? No, that's not true: The woman in the photograph was reported missing on December 15, 2023, and found the same day, according to the police department in Bellingham, Washington. Her image is being used as part of a bait-and-switch scam on social media that uses purposefully…
