Did Ryan Routh, the suspect in the apparent attempted assassination of Donald Trump in September 2024, make an appearance in a BlackRock advertisement? No, that's not true: A company spokesperson told Lead Stories that Routh had not "appeared in any BlackRock ads." The post making the claim uses a clip that does briefly show a man who appears to be…
Was a 2024 recall of instant ramen noodles linked to deaths of five children in the U.S., as a post on TikTok suggested? No, that's not true: At the time of this publication, one voluntary recall was listed on the Food and Drug Administration website for Sun Noodles products because they may contain undeclared egg white powder. Sun Noodles confirmed…
Does a blog post prove the late Thomas Matthew Crooks, shot dead while trying to assassinate Donald Trump, made payments to Ryan Wesley Routh, charged in a separate apparent assassination attempt on Trump? No, that's not true: The blog was edited to add the name Ryan Wesley Routh on September 17, 2024 -- one day after Routh was arrested. Also,…
Did Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis refuse to turn over alleged Trump gunman Ryan Wesley Routh to the FBI? No, that's not true: Jail records on September 17, 2024, showed that a Ryan Wesley Routh of the same age as the suspected gunman was housed at the Miami Federal Detention Center. Prosecutors filed two federal charges against Routh on September 16,…
Does a viral video capture "Bosnian neighbors" roasting a dog in their backyard in the U.S.? No, that's not true: A Cornell University professor of veterinary medicine told Lead Stories that what is seen in the footage does not reflect dog anatomy. The video recycled an old anti-immigrant trope targeting Bosnian refugees in the U.S. An international group specializing in…
Does an audio recording of a call to authorities in Springfield, Ohio, confirm that Haitians were hunting geese in Ohio illegally? No, that's not true: An investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources didn't find any evidence of wildlife illegally removed from a park. "No supporting evidence to verify the claim was found," the Ohio Department said in a…
Did Hillary Clinton suggest jailing Americans for posting "misinformation" and saying "there needs to be deterrence"? No, that's missing context: She said that, aside from indictments against Russians for "direct election interference," civil or criminal charges against Americans parroting Russian state propaganda for money would be a "better deterrence" against Moscow's propaganda efforts. The former U.S. secretary of state was…
Did Howard University professors confirm that Vice President Kamala Harris was "the worst student ever"? No, that's not true: This first appeared in a post on Facebook that had "Satire" in the caption. The Facebook account that initially posted the information says in its bio that it posts satire and nothing on its page is real. The claim appeared in…
Does an authentic photo show Kamala Harris posing arm-in-arm with Sean "Diddy" Combs? No, that's not true: Combs' face has been pasted onto the body of the man who was standing next to Harris when the photo was taken in 2001. The man in the original photo is TV host Montel Williams, who dated Harris more than 20 years before…
Has police Deputy Tyler Cooper in a town called Surprise found a 2-year-old boy wandering alone, and can't the police find his mother named Ella? No, that's not true: The "deputy" in the post is not listed by name on either the Surprise, Arizona, police department or county sheriff's department websites. The person who posted the story blotted out the…
Does taking a shower prevent the skin from absorbing vitamin D from sunlight? No, that's not true: Medical experts confirmed to Lead Stories that vitamin D is made in living cells in the skin and thus cannot be washed off. The person giving this advice is Barbara O'Neill, a controversial naturopath who was banned from practice in Australia. The claim…
Did "leaked reports" say George Soros paid ABC moderators $1 million each to fact check Donald Trump during the September 10, 2024, presidential debate? No, that's not true: The story came from a website whose satire disclaimer reads: "These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up." No credible evidence of "leaked reports" or such payments…
Did social-media posts share the true story of a 32-year-old man named Kyle Thomas, for whom "a silver alert" was issued after he reportedly "went missing" in Omaha, Nebraska? No, that's not true: As of this writing, Nebraska had not issued a missing-persons alert for a person named Kyle Thomas. The posts about "Kyle Thomas" are part of a scam…
Did Donald Trump post "0-2" on Truth Social after a second attempt on his life was made on September 15, 2024? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this post appeared on the former U.S. president's account and the font in the alleged post was not the same as the one used on other Truth Social posts from…
Did Whoopi Goldberg vow to go with basketball star Brittney Griner if she leaves the United States? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that Goldberg or Griner ever publicly said in 2024 that they would leave the country. The website that published this says in its disclaimer it takes no responsibility for any errors. The claim appeared…
Is the National Football League "reportedly considering banning" Taylor Swift from the Super Bowl, saying, "We're Tired of Her"? No, that's not true: This claim comes from an article on a website with a satire disclaimer. No publicly available evidence confirms the article's information. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) by Esspots on January 30, 2024. The article…
Did Travis Kelce threaten Elon Musk on X over his remarks about Taylor Swift? No, that's not true: The account that posted the "threat" told Lead Stories it was fake. There is no record that Kelce, Swift's boyfriend who is tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs football team, ever replied to Musk's comments about the superstar singer. The claim…
Did the owner of an eatery prevent a woman from entering the business because her "Trump 2024" shirt was "a little issue for our facility"? No, that's not true: The owner of the TikTok account that first posted the video that depicted this supposed encounter told Lead Stories that "it was a fake video!" and "a silly TikTok." The account…
Did Taylor Swift lose "brand deals worth $125 million" after endorsing Kamala Harris? No, that's not true: The online rumor came from a website that labels itself as satire. The article didn't even mention the name of the Democratic presidential nominee. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on September 12, 2024. It said: Taylor Swift Loses…
Is a New York Police Department memo that says all uniformed members must start displaying their pronouns starting January 1, 2025, authentic? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the NYPD told Lead Stories that the memo is fake. It also misspells the words "authority" and "inputted", further indicators that it's not authentic. The claim appeared in a post (archived…
