Politics

Were four U.S. Secret Service agents placed on leave after tampering with the air defense systems at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's Florida home? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service told Lead Stories, "there is zero truth to that post." The X account that posted the claim is from a website with a disclaimer stating it…

Does a viral video show defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro receiving an ovation upon his arrival in the United States in October 2026? No, that's not true: The footage predated the runoff election by roughly one month. The video showed Bolsonaro still campaigning in Brazil. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X where it was published…

Did dozens of Pennsylvania election workers say that then-Gov. Tom Wolf and then-Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar ordered them to destroy Trump ballots in the 2020 presidential election? No, that's not true: This false news story originated from a Facebook page that lists its category as "comedian" but has spread to other social media platforms without the comedy disclaimer. Lead…

Is a photo that shows Beyoncé with a shirtless Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein and another photo of just the two men on an airplane real photos from the Department of Justice Epstein files? No, that's not true: Hive Moderation's AI detection tool rated one image 99.9% likely to be AI-generated and the other 99.6% likely. A search of the…

Does a real "Maui Sunset" photo show Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Jeffrey Epstein together? No, that's not true: An online tool concluded that the image was "made or edited" using Google AI. Lead Stories found no matching reports from established news outlets and no evidence that an authentic version of the photo was publicly available. The claim appeared in…

Did President Donald Trump post to Truth Social, already declaring victory in the 2026 midterms and saying counting ballots is "wasting time"? 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 his account shared the message at the time of publication. The claim appeared in…

Is a punch hole in a California ballot envelope proof of election rigging in the 2026 election? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that elections in California can be rigged based on just the existence of a punch hole on a ballot envelope. The punch holes serve a dual purpose. The Ventura County Clerk-Recorder & Registrar of Voters…

Does a viral video actually show Flávio Bolsonaro crying after his defeat in Brazil's Oct. 25, 2026, presidential election? No, that's not true: Lead Stories established that the events in the video had been recorded days before the official election results were announced and that it was posted well before the results were announced. The initial caption said that the…

Does a video show Flávio Bolsonaro with fewer votes in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election in October 2026 than in the first, proving fraud? No, that's not true: The vote count was incomplete, with about 93% of the ballots counted, and the video does not show the final results. Once all ballots were counted, Bolsonaro had 3.7…

Does a photo prove that climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested in Rome for throwing confetti in a fountain at St. Peter's Square in October 2026? No, that's not true: That image of her had been online since 2023, and it showed her arrest in Sweden, not Italy. The rumor originated from a self-described satire network of pages known to…

Does a video prove that Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf did not shake hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in Lviv in April 2026? No, that's not true: The video cuts off before the two leaders actually shake hands. Video and photos published afterward show the king and Zelenskyy shaking hands immediately after the moment in the…

Did the Toronto Sun publish an article reporting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy purchased a nuclear bunker in Canada in September 2026? No, that's not true: When contacted by Lead Stories, the outlet's deputy editor denied the claim. The article appeared on toronto-sun.ca, an impostor site registered eight days before the claim spread. The claim originated from an article (archived…

Is White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly officially President Donald Trump's next press secretary as of Oct. 23, 2026? No, that's not true: The White House has not announced who will replace Katie Zacharia, who held the job for five days before being fired on Oct. 16, 2026. The White House told Lead Stories that President Trump and…

Are the ballots of early voters in Florida, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and other states being switched after they vote? Here's what we know so far: Some social media posts leading up to the November 2026 midterm elections included claims that votes were being switched in states across the country. States reached by Lead Stories said there were no…

Do real leaked images show satanic rituals taking place on Epstein Island with Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Gates, the Clintons, and Stephen Hawking? No, that's not true: Google's SynthID detection tool found a watermark indicating each of the four images in a 12-second video was made or edited with Google AI. Hive Moderation's AI detection tool rated one image 99.6% likely…

Does a video show touchscreen voting machines selecting the wrong candidates for the Nov. 3, 2026, midterm elections? No, that's not true: The video combines two clips from earlier elections, one from 2019 and the other from 2014. Neither shows a voting machine malfunctioning during the 2026 elections. The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) by the…

Does a viral picture show a real Charlie Hebdo cover featuring protesters chanting 'free Palestine' alongside 'free iPhone' and 'free Balenciaga'? No, that's not true: The magazine's website did not show such a cover published in October 2026. Three online AI detection tools determined the image was AI-generated, not drawn by a cartoonist. Charlie Hebdo confirmed to Lead Stories that…

Does a video prove President Donald Trump waved to nobody outside the White House before boarding Marine One for Kansas on Oct. 19, 2026? No, that's not true: The clip is missing important context. In longer versions of the video and in versions shot from different angles, the people the president is waving at can be seen. The claim appeared…

Do viral images and videos of a person dressed as the cartoon character Pink Panther actually show October 2026 protests in France? No, that's not true: Results from three online tools showed that this content was produced by AI. Manual reverse image searches revealed that, in several instances, AI was used to modify old, unrelated photos that predated the French…

Does a real video show a man claiming to be a former student of Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico? No, that's not true: Zyon Lewis, the man supposedly depicted in the video, told Lead Stories in a phone interview that it was not him. An online tool also concluded that the videos were more than 99% likely to be AI-generated…