Does a viral screenshot deliver a real extract from Michael Wolff's book about U.S. President Donald Trump demanding a "gorilla channel" in the White House? No, that's not true: It's an old joke that first emerged in January 2018 as a response to the revelations in Michael Wolff's 'Fire and Fury.' Lead Stories confirmed that the book contains no mention…

Did Lufthansa offer free business class upgrades to people in Israel to apologize for the Holocaust? No, that's not true: The company publicly denied it. Two online AI detectors said the image purportedly providing the proof was likely to have been generated by AI. The claim originated from a post (archived here) published by the @0xRacist X account on March…

Did President Donald Trump announce that everyone born before 2000 would get all their debt erased? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that he made such an announcement or is considering a similar plan, and no official statements, proposals, or policy platforms support this claim. There has also been no credible policy discussion from administration sources about forgiving…

Nina Rybárová is a fact checker and editor at Lead Stories.…

Did President Donald Trump post a message on his Truth Social account saying that Queen Elizabeth should pardon former prince Andrew after his arrest? No, that's not true: The original message was posted by an account clearly marked as satire as the screenshot shows. "Luke Skywalker" actor Mark Hamill shared the fake post, apparently missing the satire label, to mock…

Is the viral selfie of the seven dogs walking home together in China a real photo? No, that's not true: The picture was likely generated by AI. AI detection results from two tools pointed to AI generation, as did a key detail in the image itself: dogs appearing to take a selfie -- something real dogs cannot do. The claim…

Did Kuwait declare war on Iran as a viral social media post claimed? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Kuwait made any such declaration; however, it did declare force majeure due to the Middle East conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. By doing so, Kuwait is legally suspending, delaying, or canceling oil and gas shipments…

Were the pilots of the Air Canada plane that crashed into a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport both females? No, that's not true: The pilot and co-pilot killed in the ground collision have been identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther. The FAA administrator described the two as "young men at the start of their careers" during a March 23,…

Is there a television special called "Seeking the Truth, Finding Justice" about Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in which celebrities -- from Pope Leo XIV to Barbra Streisand -- invested over $246,000? No, that's not true: There is no evidence of such a TV show or that anyone contributed to making it a reality. The claim is an example of so-called…

Did Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyár, who is challenging sitting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the April 2026 election, describe U.S. President Donald Trump as "a senile grandpa" in a public speech? No, that's not true: The claim originated from a fake report that stole the logo of Euronews, a real news organization, in an apparent attempt to make the…