Did Americans keep "100%" of their earnings up until 1913? Not exactly: While the 16th Amendment, which taxed individual income, was ratified in 1913, some higher-earning Americans paid income taxes between 1862 and 1872 to pay off the co
Publication: Fact Check
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Iodine Pills ARE Sold In Canadian Home Hardware Store
Are iodine pills sold in a Canadian Home Hardware store? Yes, that's true: The operations manager for the store featured in a viral video told Lead Stories the pills are for sale at their location due to rising tensions between Russia and
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Seals Are NOT On Florida Streets After Hurricane Ian
Does a video circulating on social media show an elephant seal on a Florida street in the wake of Hurricane Ian? No, that's not true: The video is from a seaport community in southern Chile, where the large, flipper-footed mammal wandered
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Special Forces Did NOT Fight FEMA Agents During Hurricane Ian
Did Special Forces soldiers unleash "a hailstorm of gunfire" against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) agents who were attacking and robbing Hurricane Ian victims in Florida? No, that's not true: A Pentagon spokesperson told Lead
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Satire Account — NOT Reuters — Posted A Tweet Claiming Germany Said US Attacked Nord Stream Pipeline
Did Reuters publish a tweet claiming that Germany has invoked NATO's collective defense provision since the United States attacked the Nord Stream pipeline? No, that's not true: This tweet was not published by Reuters news agency, but by
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Oxford Study Does NOT Say COVID Vaccination Increases Infection Risk by 44% — Figure Is From Study Subsection Only
Does an Oxford University study say COVID-19 vaccination increases the risk of infection by 44 percent? No, that's not true: The figure comes from a small subsection of the study and doesn't represent its overall conclusions. One of the s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Vaccines Do NOT Contain Graphene Oxide
Do any of the COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States contain graphene oxide? No, that's not true: Graphene oxide is not listed as an ingredient in any of the four COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. There is no public
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 4 Range Rovers Are NOT Being Given Away Because They ‘Cannot Be Sold Due To Minor Scratches’
Are four Range Rovers being given away because they "cannot be sold due to minor scratches"? No, that's not true: There is not a giveaway in North America for Range Rovers that have scratches, the company confirmed to Lead Stories. The fa
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show ‘Column Of NATO Military Equipment Blocked By Residents Of Moldova’ on September 18, 2022
Did locals block a NATO column in Moldova on September 18, 2022? No, that's not true: The video that allegedly demonstrates the "evidence" was shot in 2016. The claim appeared in an English-language tweet (archived here) on September 18,
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Did NOT Order Dollars Replaced With Trackable ‘Spyware’ Currency To Control All US Bank Accounts
Did President Joe Biden order the replacement of the U.S. dollar with a trackable spyware version of digital money that will give the government control over the bank accounts of all Americans? No, that's not true: None of that language a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of Italians Taking Down EU Flag Is NOT From September 2022 — It’s From 2013
Does this video show Italians take down the European Union (EU) flag and replacing it with an Italian flag after the right-wing Brothers of Italy group won an election in 2022? No, that's not true: This video is from December 13, 2013. Th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner Did NOT Earn $640 Million From White House Jobs
Did Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner pocket $640 million in jobs as advisers to former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Both Trump and Kushner worked at the White House on a pro bono (unpaid) basis, although they ear
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Protester Did NOT Interrupt Funeral Of Queen Elizabeth II To Demand Apology For Britain’s Role In Slave Trade — It’s An Old Video
Do social media videos show a man protesting at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022? No, that's not true: The video is from a 2007 service at Westminster Abbey marking the 200th anniversary of the act to abolish the sl
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: China Is NOT Creating Fake Eggs Made for Human Consumption
Are nefarious actors based in China manufacturing fake eggs made of plastic and selling them for human consumption? No, that's not true. The absence of corroborating reports on what would be a noteworthy event in the history of food raise
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Obama Did NOT Say About Himself That Once He ‘Walked With My Husband Michael’
Did former President Barack Obama "expose" himself by referring to his wife Michelle as "Michael"? No, that's not true: While he did say the words, he was not talking about himself -- he was citing another person's experience. The claim a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: It Was NOT Legal to Send Kids By Mail in 1913
Did the U.S. Postal Service allow babies and young children to be stamped and sent through the mail until 1913? No, that's not true: Although there are reports of some children being transported by mail carriers in the early 1900s, the pr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Breastfeeding NOT Unsafe For Babies First 2 Days After Vaccination Despite Traces Of MRNA Found In Breast Milk
Do the trace amounts of COVID-19 vaccine mRNA found in breast milk during the first two days after vaccination make it unsafe for babies? No, that's not true: There's no evidence to suggest breastfeeding after COVID mRNA vaccination shoul
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fox News Did NOT Revisit ‘Whitehat Military Sting Operation’ Theory — Just Reported On Ginni Thomas’ Texts
Did Fox News revisit a "theory" about a "huge Trump and military white hat sting operation" in 12 states about the 2020 U.S. presidential election? Did this include a statement that the Biden family, elected officials, bureaucrats, social
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Vicks VapoRub Does NOT Treat Anxiety
Does rubbing Vicks VapoRub on the neck help a person fight off an anxiety attack? No, that's not true: The company, Proctor and Gamble (P&G), and the label on the Vicks VapoRub container say it should only be used to treat cold sympto
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Most Energetic’ Russian Propagandist Did NOT Say He ‘Gets Drafted’
Did Vladimir Solovyov, dubbed "the most energetic" Russian state TV propagandist by the U.S. State Department, say he got drafted? No, that's not true: Deliberately mistranslated subtitles in a viral video that allegedly shows this scene
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Charles IS Expected To Be Crowned King
Is the United Kingdom's current head of state, Charles III, expected not to become the country's crowned king? No, that's not true: Upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, Charles, the prince of Wales, became
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hospitals Did NOT Force Vaccination Of Children For COVID-19; Myocarditis Risk Is Greater Without Vaccine Than With It
Did hospitals force the vaccination of millions of children for COVID-19 and are they now trying to normalize a rare side effect? No, that's not true: Hospitals do not have that kind of power and less than a handful of states have mandate
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: US Government Does NOT Own Or Co-Own Moderna’s COVID Vaccine, Has No ‘Ulterior Motive’ To Mandate Shots
Does the U.S. government own or co-own Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, giving it an "ulterior motive" for mandating the shots? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support this claim. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious D
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Joe Biden Did NOT Advise Americans To Get COVID Vaccine Ahead Of Hurricane Ian
Did President Joe Biden tell Americans to get COVID vaccinations as Hurricane Ian was bearing down on Florida in late September 2022? No, that's not true: A post suggesting he did uses a video recorded in August 2021, not on the eve of Ia
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C Is NOT A Proven Alternative To Chemotherapy That ‘Will Kill Cancer Cells’
Can high-dose intravenous treatments of vitamin C kill cancer cells and act as an alternative to chemotherapy? No, that's not entirely true: Though preliminary evidence suggests that treatment by intravenous vitamin C (IVC), or ascorbic a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Prove Poland ‘Taking The First Step Towards Turning Ukraine Into A Polish Colony’
Did Poland "take the first step towards turning Ukraine into a Polish colony"? No, that's not true: Even a Facebook video that made such a claim admits there are no credible media reports or official statements backing this up. Lead Stori
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Cinnamon, Apple Cider Vinegar Are NOT ‘Natural Diabetes Cures’
Are cinnamon and apple cider vinegar "Natural Diabetes Cures"? No, that's not true: Multiple publications report there is not yet a cure for diabetes. And while cinnamon has been shown to help stabilize glucose levels, taking insulin and
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Thousands Of Soldiers Did NOT Deploy On Streets Of London Or Cross Tower Bridge
Did thousands of soldiers deploy on the streets of London, crossing the iconic Tower Bridge in the early hours of September 24, 2022, local time? No, that's not true: Not only were there no news reports of any such deployments in the Brit
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Show ‘China Coup Against Xi Jinping’
Does a video of night explosions confirm that Chinese President Xi Jinping was overthrown from power during a coup in Beijing in September 2022? No, that's not true: The footage does not show the capital of China at all -- it was shot in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Blood Supply Is NOT Contaminated By People Who Got COVID-19 Shots
Is the U.S. blood supply contaminated by donors who have had the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence that the vaccine enters the bloodstream and Lead Stories spoke to experts who refuted the claim. The c
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Melania Trump Did NOT Just Announce Her Divorce
Did Melania Trump just announce her divorce? No, that's not true: There have not been any public announcements by the former first lady or former President Donald Trump regarding a divorce as of September 27, 2022. No news outlets have re
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump, His Allies Can NOT Influence Triggering Of Emergency Alert System
Are former President Donald Trump and his allies able to "implore" the U.S. military to trigger the Emergency Alert System (EAS), a national public warning system, if they don't like the midterm elections results? No, that's not true: The
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Russian Airlines Did NOT ‘Stop Selling Tickets To Russian Men Aged 18 To 65’
Did Russian airlines ban men between 18 and 65 years old from buying tickets to other countries in response to the "mobilization" announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21, 2022? No, that's not true: Despite rumors on
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: U.S. Presidents Can NOT Declassify Documents Simply By Saying ‘It’s Declassified’ Or By Merely ‘Thinking About It’ – There Is A Procedure For Doing It
Can a president of the United States declassify classified documents and information by simply saying "it's declassified" or by just "thinking about it"? No, that's not true: There is a procedure for presidents to declassify documents and
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Barron Trump Was NOT Kicked Out Of School — False Clickbait Title Does NOT Match Video Content
Was Barron Trump kicked out of school because his tuition had not been paid? No, that's not true: This clickbait title for a video is false. The title's claim is not discussed in the video, which contains a montage of stock photos with a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Ukrainian Children Singing the Unofficial Anthem of the Luftwaffe
Does a video show Ukrainian children singing the unofficial anthem of the Luftwaffe? No, that's not true: They aren't singing a Nazi German air force song. The song is by Bots, a Dutch folk rock group. The claim appeared in a tweet (archi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Russians ‘Pilling Up’ At Finland Border In Response to Mobilization
Did Russians fleeing President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilization of troops for deployment in Ukraine immediately form a "35KM" (about 21.7 miles) line on September 21, 2022 at the Finnish border? No, that's not true: The viral video s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘I Lost My (Child)’ Cancer Posts Do NOT Deliver Free PS5 Console
Did the death of a child result in a parent's social media offer to give away a Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) game console for free because it painfully reminds them of their loss? No, that's not true: The post is a device used to initiate a s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Republicans DID Thank Biden For Drone Strike That Killed Al Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Did no Republicans thank U.S. President Joe Biden for taking out the leader of Al Qaeda? No, that's not true: Several GOP members of Congress publicly acknowledged Biden for the July 31, 2022 drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Military Tribunal Did NOT Convict, Recommend Execution of Brian Stelter
Did the U.S. military convict and execute Brian Stelter, a former CNN host, on September 20, 2022? No, that's not true: These claims were posted on a satirical website. Lead Stories had already debunked the site's prior claim that Stelter