Did members of the Ku Klux Klan hold a Trump-Pence banner during a march? No, that's not true: The photo has been doctored. The actual photo was taken in 2009, seven years before President Trump was elected. The claim originated from a post (a
Publication: Politics
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden In Texas Ahead Of Super Tuesday Did NOT Say: "Tomorrow Is Super Thursday"
Did Joe Biden, a U.S. Democratic candidate for president, say that "Tomorrow is Super Thursday"? No, that's not true: The headline is misleading. As the video of the former vice president shows, Biden said, "Super Thur---" but stopped and corr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bernie Sanders Did NOT March With Fidel Castro, Che Guevara
Did Bernie Sanders, the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, march with revolutionaries Fidel Castro and Che Guevara when he was younger? No, that's not true: A photo purporting to show the Independent senator from Vermont marching with Cas
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: President Trump Did NOT Say Reading Mein Kampf Had A Profound Effect On Him
Did President Trump say that reading Mein Kampf, the manifesto written by Adolf Hitler, "had a profound affect (sic) on me"? No, that's not true: The quote has previously been shown to be completely made up, and the claim that Hitler's book ha
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: VP Pence Did NOT Urge People With Coronavirus To Go To The Police
Did Vice President Mike Pence send out a tweet urging people infected with the novel coronavirus to go to the nearest police station? No, that is a hoax. Pence did not send such a tweet, as evidenced by the fact that no record of this tweet ex
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bernie Sanders Does NOT Own A Lavish 15-Acre Estate In Stowe
Does Bernie Sanders count among his homes a palatial Green Mountain estate on 15 acres in Stowe, Vermont? No, that's not true: This is a story that was put out on social media and publicly shared by a woman who admitted it was "satirical," sai
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Cops Did NOT Threaten A West Hollywood Homeowner With Jail If He Removed A Tent Erected In His Yard By Homeless Men
Did police threaten a West Hollywood, California, homeowner with jail if he removed a tent erected in his yard by a homeless person? No, that's not true: West Hollywood laws allow for the removal of trespassers from private property, including
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: U.S. Diplomat Was NOT Charged With Spying For China And Was NOT Hillary Clinton’s State Department Spokeswoman
Was Candace Claiborne, a former U.S. diplomat, charged with spying for China after serving as a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department under Hillary Clinton? No, that's not true: Claiborne was sentenced for accepting tens of thousands of do
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Chuck Schumer Did NOT Quietly Delete His Tweet Criticizing Trump’s China Travel Ban As ‘Premature’ And ‘War Against Immigrants’
Did U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quietly delete his tweet criticizing President Trump's China travel ban as "premature" and a "war against immigrants"? No, that's not true: The tweet being shared was completely fabricated. Twitter
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Eight Largest Dow Jones Drops In Absolute Numbers Did Happen Under Trump; But They Were NOT Largest By Percentage
Did the eight largest Dow Industrial Average drops all occur under President Trump's watch, with the historic slides happening since early 2018? No, that is a misleading claim that doesn't take into account that financial markets movements are
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Despite Sign, NASA Says VP Pence Did NOT Defy Agency By Touching Piece Of Orion Spacecraft
Did Vice President Mike Pence defy a sign at NASA warning people not to touch a piece of "Critical Space Flight Hardware?" No, that's not true: NASA says Pence had permission to touch the equipment despite the sign, as suggested by a popular m
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The United States Does NOT Spend $900 Billion On Welfare For "Illegals"
Does the United States spend $900 billion on welfare for undocumented immigrants - money that could go toward funding veteran programs? No, that's not true. The suggestion has been making its way - again - around the internet and has evolved s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Report of Rush Limbaugh’s Cancer Shrinking is NOT Real
Did doctors call it a "miracle" that Rush Limbaugh's cancer is shrinking? No, that's not true: This story was originally a work of satire published here by the satirical network "America's Last Line of Defense." It was then republished by many
Truth or Fiction?→ Public Enemy, Bernie Sanders Team Up for Rally in Los Angeles
On February 26 2020, Public Enemy’s official Facebook page announced a Bernie Sanders rally on March 1 2020 in Los Angeles — complete with a poster of Sanders about to drop a microphone: The text in the post read: The time is now! FIGHT
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Trump Call Obama’s Ebola Virus Response ‘a Total Joke’?
Shortly after United States President Donald Trump announced on February 26 2020 that he was naming Vice President Mike Pence to lead his administration’s response to the issue of novel coronavirus COVID-19, critics on social media pointed out y
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Mike Bloomberg Say Bernie Sanders Would Have Beaten Trump in 2016?
After the February 26 2020 Democratic debate, memes and Twitter screenshots circulated on Facebook which suggested that presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said that Bernie Sanders — also running for president — would have beaten Unit
Truth or Fiction?→ Were #DemDebate Tickets Sold for $1,750 to $3,200?
On the night of the February 25 2020 Democratic debate, Twitter rumors appeared containing claims that tickets to the event in South Carolina were sold for amounts ranging between $1,750 and $3,200: JFC these debate tickets started at $1750. That
Truth or Fiction?→ Buttigieg Deletes Tweet Decrying ‘Nostalgia for the Revolutionary Politics of the 1960s’
During the February 25 2020 Democratic debate, Pete Buttigieg said that the United States “can’t afford a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950’s and Bernie Sanders with his nost
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Man Pictured In Meme Did NOT Say That "Jihad Will Continue"
Did a Muslim man whose picture is being widely shared in a meme say that "Jihad will continue until all the Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Atheists are killed"? No, that's not true: This is a made-up quote that has previously been debunked, an
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Mike Bloomberg Did NOT Say He Pimped His Teenage Daughter To Chinese Businessmen
Did Mike Bloomberg once boast that he pimped his teenage daughter to Chinese businessmen during a business trip to China? No, that's not true: The claim is based on a Bloomberg quote in a 1999 magazine article in which Bloomberg said that, whe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bernie Sanders Did NOT Support Ayatollah Khomeini During The Iran Hostage Crisis
Did Sen. Bernie Sanders support Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iran hostage crisis? No, that's not true: Sanders, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, did not support Ayatollah Kohmeini during the crisis, when 52 Americans w
Truth or Fiction?→ Rep. James Clyburn: Black People Were ‘Fully Employed During Slavery’ Controversy
In February 2020, a number of social media and blog posts claimed that House Majority Whip James Clyburn “refused to give credit” to United States President Donald Trump for low Black unemployment numbers, because Black Americans were
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Chuck Schumer Did NOT Say, "It’s Racist To Only Allow Citizens To Vote"
Did U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say, "It's racist to only allow citizens to vote"? No, that's not true: Schumer never said that. Several sites are wrongly attributing this quote to him, but he did not say it. Lead Stories has tra
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bernie Sanders Did NOT Say He Thinks ‘Black People Smell’
Did Bernie Sanders tell an audience that he thinks "black people smell"? No, that's not true: A video of Sanders on a local cable access show when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in the 1980s includes the future senator and presidential c
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The One Video Bernie Sanders Doesn’t Want You to See’
On February 24 2020, the Facebook page “The Hodgetwins” shared the following video purportedly showing presidential candidate Bernie Sanders praising breadlines, framed with text about it being “the one video that Bernie Sanders doe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bernie Sanders Did NOT Say Undocumented ‘Entitled’ to Same Government Benefits As U.S. Citizens
Did Bernie Sanders say undocumented immigrants are "entitled" to government benefits during a campaign rally in Texas? No, that's not true: The candidate for the Democratic nomination for president said that his administration will be about "u
Truth or Fiction?→ Did an MSNBC Reporter Contradict His Network on the Nevada Caucus Tiebreaker?
As media coverage on February 22, 2020 converged on the Nevada State Democratic Party caucuses and their unusual tiebreaker method, MSNBC reporter Gadi Schwartz revealed an apparent rule change on-air that contradicted not only state policy but his ne
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Illegal Immigrants Do NOT Always Get More Welfare Than American Families
Does a study confirm that illegal immigrants collect more welfare benefits than American families? No, that's not always true: A 2016 study that is still being shared online has already been shown to exaggerate the cost of immigrant welfare us
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Bernie Sanders Did NOT Say He Wants To Raise Taxes To 52% On Anybody Making Over $29,000
Did Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders say he wants to raise taxes to 52 percent on anybody making over $29,000 a year during this week's fiery Democratic debate in Nevada? No, that's not true: it is fake news being spread over soc
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Bernie Sanders’ Plan Tax People Making $29,000 at 52 Percent?
A fast-spreading Twitter meme shared by James Woods took aim at a purported statement by Bernie Sanders at the February 19 2020 debate, during which Sanders purportedly claimed that he planned to raise taxes so that people earning $29,000 a year would
Lead Stories→ Fake News: A Viral Image Does NOT Show Rep. Ilhan Omar Without A Head Scarf
Does a viral photo show U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar without a head scarf? No, that's not true: it is an altered image of a man arrested in South Wales that purports to be the Democrat from Minnesota. The image, including one posted here (archived her
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Someone Edit Michael Bloomberg’s Wikipedia Page to Say He ‘Died’ of Wounds Inflicted by Elizabeth Warren?
During a particularly contentious Democratic debate on February 19 2020, rumors circulated on Twitter and Facebook that a mischievous Wikipedia user had edited Michael Bloomberg’s page and indicated he “died” — due to wounds s
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Antifa Protesters Did NOT Unfurl Banner At Trump Hotel
Did Antifa protesters breach security at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas to hang a banner reading Trump "IS IMPEACHED FOREVER" ahead of Wednesday night's Democratic debate? No, that's not true: the video has been digitally manipulat
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch Did NOT Tell Those Who ‘Do Not Love America’ That They Are More Than Welcome To Leave
Did U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch say that those who "do not love America" are more than welcome to leave? No, that's not true: He did not say those exact words. The site making the claim is twisting Gorsuch's remarks. He d
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Did NOT Win 3,084 Counties In 2016, While Clinton Did NOT Win Only 57
Did President Trump win 3,084 counties, while Hillary Clinton won only 57 in the 2016 presidential election? No, that's not true: The post has been copied and pasted multiple times since 2016, but those numbers are not correct. The claims orig
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Michael Bloomberg and Jeffrey Epstein ‘Collab’ on a Charter School Funding Plan?
Amid the flurry of rumors connecting Democratic Party presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg to convicted (now deceased) pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, social media users posted a photo of what they called a “collab” between the two involvin
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Member of "USA Parliament" NOT Matching The Holy Quran
Did a member of the U.S. government burn the Quran? No, that's not true: a viral image on Instagram by @thekenyans claims a member of "USA parliament" desecrated the Islamic holy book, but there are several dubious claims - one being that U.S.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Obama, Clinton And Rice NOT Pictured Chumming With Osama bin Laden
Is a post making the rounds on Facebook showing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice chumming with Osama bin Laden real? No, that's not true. The faked photos, arranged in a collage, are poorly altered images. But they are gainin
Truth or Fiction?→ Bloomberg on ‘Some Guy in a Dress’ and ‘He, She, or It’ in 2019
In February 2020, “newly resurfaced” video of Mike Bloomberg purportedly showing the former New York City mayor describing transgender women as “some guy in a dress” and using “it” in lieu of a pronoun appeared ju
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Dearborn Did NOT Join California In Canceling President’s Day
Did the city of Dearborn, Michigan, decide to join California in cancelng President's Day? No, that's not true: This story was a piece of satire published on a liberal website that intentionally sets out to mislead conservative supporters. The