Fact Check

Is Apeel, a company that makes an edible coating for fruits and vegetables, injecting "shots," or vaccines, into produce because Bill Gates owns the company? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Apeel has anything to do with vaccines. Gates gave Apeel grants in 2012 and 2015, but did not found and does not own Apeel. Yahki, the…

Does a video on Mexico's Milenio Television channel show a Mexican cartel member carrying a U.S.-made Javelin anti-tank missile? No, that's not true: Raytheon Technologies, which makes the Javelin, told Lead Stories that the video shows another type of shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon. The claim appeared in a post on Twitter (archived here) by Mexican journalist Azucena Uresti on May 31,…

Is Walmart required to provide a refund of $500 to consumers who shopped there in 2022, and will consumers have to answer four questions to receive this refund? No, that's not true: This post is an online scam. Lead Stories has previously debunked similar claims about Walmart issuing a store credit of $500. The senior director of national media relations…

Did the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus vow in a song to convert children to homosexuality? No, that's not true: The satirical song titled, "Message from the Gay Community," was sharing the specific and direct message that they wanted to convert children to be "tolerant and fair"; not to convince them to become homosexuals. The claim appeared in a video…

Does a video on social media portray "a hidden world of underground cities" and "tunnels for trafficking"? No, that's not true: The clip shows the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland. The claim originated in a video (archived here) posted on TikTok on May 28, 2023. The text overlay said: There Is a Hidden World of Underground Cities Tunnels for Trafficking!?…

Did Elon Musk promote a brand of sea moss as a remedy to help a variety of health issues? No, that's not true: This video footage that appears to show Musk volunteering an endorsement during an interview is fake. The clip was taken from an appearance at the TED2022 conference, where Musk discussed purchasing Twitter and other topics but did…

Are conservatives or Republicans now taking issue with "manufactured" rainbows that appear when there is water spray from a fountain? No, that's not true: This viral 2007 video of unscientific musings about rainbows was mashed up and posted to mock conservative Republicans in 2023. In the original video, the person's political party affiliation is not readily apparent. Remixed in 2023,…

Did seven people show up for former President Donald Trump in Iowa as the 2024 election season began? No, that's missing context: The video of Trump with seven people was taken inside a radio station office where he was recording an interview -- it was not an event open to the public. He spoke at public events in Iowa that…

Does this video show former President Barack Obama's son at a political rally in Kenya? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Obama has a son. The original video was found on YouTube using the words, "barack obama look-alike." Obama's only children are his two daughters, Malia and Sasha, whom he shares with his wife, Michelle. The claim…

Did the mother of Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States, leave her inheritance to a son named "Michael Robinson Obama," insinuating that "Michael" is Michelle Obama's real name? No, that's not true: The claim was made on a website that described itself as satirical. Although the claim originated on a now-defunct satirical website called Obama Watcher, it…

Is Donald Trump still president because of Title 10 and Executive Order 13912? No, that's not true: A constitutional law expert told Lead Stories that Title 10 and an executive order do not override the U.S. Constitution, which states that the president is elected by the Electoral College. The claim appeared in a video published on Rumble on May 30,…

Did the "most vaccinated countries in the world" have the "worst case fatality rates" for COVID-19? In addition, did the vaccines fail to save lives? No, that's not true: These claims are not supported by current scientific evidence. Numerous studies have shown that COVID vaccines have been effective in reducing severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths caused by the virus. Vaccines…

Did the U.S. military convict Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky of treason on May 29, 2023? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories, "There is no truth to this claim." It is also not in the U.S. military's jurisdiction to arrest civilians, and this claim is from a website that regularly publishes…

Was a book by Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet to perform her work at a U.S. presidential inauguration, banned from public elementary schools in Miami-Dade County in Florida? No, that's not quite right: The book version of Gorman's inaugural poem "The Hill We Climb" was restricted to the middle school section of a media center at just one public school…

Does a list of two dozen papers allegedly funded, supported or published by government agencies present new evidence confirming that vaccines cause autism? No, that's not true: Those posts on social media reused old, previously debunked studies, stemming from a retracted article, not from government research. The claim is derived from a post published on Facebook on December 9, 2020,…

Is presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis selling a "Make America Florida" hat? No, that's not true: This hat is not available on DeSantis' official online store. A separate shop that is not officially associated with DeSantis' campaign is selling the hat. The separate shop has a disclaimer that states the site is "Not Authorized by any Candidate or…

Did another publication's fact check find that it was true that Whoopi Goldberg had been asked to leave Tina Turner's funeral? No, that's not true: A satire website published a fake story about Goldberg and then fact-checked their own fake story to say it was true. Both the satire website, dunning-kruger-times.com, and the fake fact checking website, freedomfictions.com, are part…

Does a photo shared on social media during the May 22, 2023, attack on the Russian region of Belgorod by two paramilitary groups show the wife of the region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, at an "international airport" with her "belongings"? No, that's not true: This photo was distributed by the Russian airline Azur Air at least three months before these groups…

Does a video shared on social media show "leaked footage of our flat Earth from 1977"? No, that's not true: A 22-second clip that was first posted to TikTok in February 2023 was created by a satirical account that uses computer-generated imagery (CGI). Versions of the video were later shared to social media accounts without the satirical disclaimer to suggest…

Does a post show "new video evidence" of Maricopa County election officials breaking into sealed election machines? No, that's not true: The "new" video is a recording of a 2022 public live stream of the Maricopa County, Arizona, election headquarters where workers were installing new memory cards into the ballot tabulators prior to the November 2022 election, the spokesperson for…