Politics

Did the FBI, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, seize vote counting machines in Texas and Arizona? No, that's not true: The claim originated from a social media account that has been the subject of several Lead Stories fact checks, and the creator's Facebook page lists its category as "Comedian." The image used in the post showing law…

Does a bar chart showing differences between midterm U.S. House results in 2022, and projected counts for 2026, prove that Democrats got 20 million new votes out of nowhere? No, that's not true: The unattributed chart marked "2026 (projected)" shows a reasonable prediction, but the suggestion that 20 million votes or voters just appeared is not justified. Turnout data and…

Did Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed fail a background check conducted for classified U.S. Senate briefings? No, that's not true: The claim originated from social media accounts that have been the subject of several Lead Stories fact checks, and the creator's Facebook page lists its category as "Comedian." The Congressional Research Service says members of Congress are not required to hold security…

Do official documents show that there were more votes in certain races in Wyandot County, Ohio, than ballots cast? Yes, but that is missing context: The numbers certified in the unofficial certification of results from Nov. 3, 2026, were incorrect. "Those numbers do not math," the Director of Wyandot County Board of Elections, Darcy Zimmerman, told Lead Stories, confirming there…

Does a viral graph mapping President Trump's result in the 2024 election onto the results of the 2026 Senate election show a uniform, 15% decrease for all states that had a Senate election? No, that's not true: A clearer version of the graph produced by Lead Stories shows only a few states where the number from that calculation matches the…

Did Nicki Minaj delete her official Instagram account after the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections? No, that's not true: Minaj's account has been unavailable for viewing since the end of 2025. There are no reports of her official account being reactivated in 2026. The claim was made in a post (archived here) on Threads by the account jmatthewcobb on Nov.…

Did President Donald Trump post on Truth Social that the "CLARITY Act" is canceled alongside the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found no record of the post. No established news outlets had reported that he shared the message at the time of publication or announced plans to cancel either initiative. The…

Does Wisconsin have 7 million registered voters but only 4 million adults? No, that's not true: The Wisconsin voter list includes both active and inactive records, and the total was more than 7 million in 2022, when the claim was made. As of Nov. 6, 2026, the state had more than 3.67 million active registered voters and nearly 4.86 million…

Does a video really show Mike Lindell after the 2026 midterm election driving recklessly fast toward Texas and not looking at the road? No, that's not true: This video clip originally showed Lindell in a parked car during an appearance that aired on Steve Bannon's "War Room" in 2023. The video clip was altered shortly after its release in 2023,…

Does a viral collage actually document the Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower lit in blue to celebrate Democratic wins in the 2026 midterms? No, that's not true: Five online tools determined that the pictures in it were made with generative AI. No established news outlets reported that the two sights turned blue for this occasion. The claim appeared in a…

Does a video prove that a November 2026 investigation uncovered a massive voter registration fraud scheme in Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: The video showed a 2024 press conference. It concerned a case that ended more than six months before the 2026 midterms. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) on X by the @TrumpWorld_QQ account on…

Does a result briefly showing James Talarico with over 91.9% of the votes in the U.S. Senate race in Tarrant County, Texas, during KornackiCam on NBC prove fraud? No, that's not true: The discrepancy appears to be a data entry error involving a missing digit in Ken Paxton's vote count that was immediately questioned on air and revised a few…

Did X suspend the account of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after the 2026 midterm elections? No, that's not true: The X account in question, @GovAbbott, was suspended between Feb. 12 and March 8, 2025 -- not after the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections. The account appears to have been an official account of the Texas Governor's office at one time,…

Was the plane that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2026, registered to an address mentioned in the Epstein files? Yes, but that is missing context: The address belongs to a corporate services center where hundreds of thousands of companies are registered. The shared address alone does not establish any connection between the plane's owner or operator…

Does a real election map show Democrats won 64 Senate seats on Nov. 3, 2026? No, that's not true: The map is fabricated and does not represent the number of seats won by either party on Election Day 2026. At the time of publication, Democrats held 54 Senate seats, Republicans held 44, and two seats remained undecided, according to the…

Does a viral image show a real Truth Social post in which President Donald Trump responded to Democratic wins in the 2026 midterms? No, that's not true: The supposed screenshot of his post on Truth Social was fabricated. Neither Trump's account on that platform nor an archive of his posts contained an entry saying "you are an enemy of the…

Does a viral video show crowds celebrating the result of the 2026 U.S. midterms in Melbourne, Australia? No, that's not true: It is an old video from 2022. It showed Australian soccer fans celebrating a victory by their national team during one of the games of that year's FIFA World Cup. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump offer Canada an "associate membership" in the U.S. in the early hours of Nov. 3, 2026, while posting on Truth Social? No, that's not true: The post attributed to him on social media didn't match anything published by his profile that day. As of Nov. 4, 2026, no established media organization reported that such a…

Was any evidence provided so far there was a signal connected to a foreign Wi-Fi device in a vote tabulator in Michigan on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2026? No, that's not true: Patrick Colbeck, with the Election Crime Bureau, backed by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, declined to provide evidence supporting his claim in an interview with Lead Stories. Michigan Department…

Did a man receive a voting text message from VoteReady directed to his dead grandfather who was somehow registered to vote in Humble, Texas? No, that's not true: The name and address mentioned in the text are associated with a living person registered to vote in Harris County, Texas. It is not clear if the text intended for the Humble…