Is the Virginia governor planning to use roadblocks and U.N. troops to seize guns? No, that's not true: Gov. Ralph Northam has not requested United Nations assistance to confiscate guns, and he has not suggested using roadblocks for weapons se
Publication: Politics
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Republican IS Offered As A Choice In California’s 2020 Presidential Primary, But Only For Republicans
Did California omit the Republican Party as a choice in that state's 2020 presidential primary? No, that's not true: Any citizen registered as a Repubican can vote in the GOP primary. Voters who did not specify a party preference on their vote
Lead Stories→ Fake News: First Lady Melania Trump Is NOT With Pornstar Ron Jeremy
Does a photo show First Lady Melania Trump in the arms of porn star Ron Jeremy? No, that's not true: The image purporting to show Jeremy holding Mrs. Trump actually shows Jeremy holding actress Traci Bingham, whose head was digitally removed a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Republicans Did NOT Block Pay Raise For House Members
Did Republicans block a pay raise for U.S. House members? No, that's not true: actually, the cost-of-living pay raise, which was already included for consideration in the upcoming federal spending package, was halted by Democrats. Democrats fe
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Fact-Check Does NOT Confirm That Nancy Pelosi Did Move Billions From Social Security Insurance To Cover Impeachment Costs
Did a fact-check confirm that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi actually did move $2.4 billion from Social Security Insurance to cover impeachment costs? No, that's not true: the hoax stems from a fake fact-checking and satire website, and real fake-
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Virginia Governor Has NOT Ordered Plans to Cut Electric, Phones, Internet for Gun Confiscations
Has the Virginia governor ordered plans to cut off electricity, telephones, and Internet communications ahead of statewide gun confiscation during the new year? No, that's not true: Gov. Ralph Northam has not issued any such order, and the fal
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Jennifer Aniston Did NOT Say She And Other Celebrities Made A Pro-Trump Company Named ‘Celebrities For Trump’
Did Jennifer Aniston say she joined other celebrities to make a pro-Trump company called 'Celebrities for Trump?' No, that's not true: this is an old hoax that dates to at least October 27, 2017, in a post by dailynewsposts.com that, among oth
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Don Imus Did NOT Leave $2 Million To Trump’s Re-Election Campaign In His Will
Did radio shock jock Don Imus leave $2 million to President Trump's re-election campaign? No, that's not true: The story is made up and is labeled "celebrity fan fiction" on a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters into
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Hillary Clinton did NOT say Democratic voters are ‘stupid’ and ‘easy to manipulate’
Did Hillary Clinton say Democratic voters are stupid and easy to manipulate? No, that's not true: the claim, which originally went viral in 2015, has resurfaced and implies Clinton said those words in an interview with Dick Morris for his book
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Hillary Did NOT Say ‘If Trump Is Removed, I Deserve To Be Given The Presidency’
Did the 2016 Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton say that she deserved to given the presidency if Trump was removed from office? No, that's not true: the article comes from a liberal satire website, and Clinton has neither publicl
Lead Stories→ Aftermath: TheBL.com’s ‘Fake’ Survivors Get New Faces, Duties As Foreign Net Tries To Rise From The Ashes Of Facebook Purge
Editor's Note by Lead Stories Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke: Three days after a virtual apocalypse wiped out hundreds of fake people used to run a foreign pro-Trump network on Facebook, we found signs of life among a few dozen surviving profiles.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: The Entire European Union Did NOT Vote To Ban All Single Use Plastics By 2021
Did the entire European Union vote to ban all single-use plastics by 2021? No, that's not true: this article is misleading, taking out of context the very BBC story to which it links. The EU's Parliament did pass the Single-Use Plastics Direct
Lead Stories→ Fake News: 7 Women In Meme Are NOT Off Food Stamps And Did NOT Find Jobs Thanks To Trump
Are seven women shown in this meme off of food stamps and now with great jobs, thanks to President Trump? No, that's not true: These were all Ivy League students who were interviewed by Essence magazine in 2015 for a story about successful Afr
Lead Stories→ Fake News: RGB Did NOT Call Impeachment ‘Illegal BS’
Did Ruth Bader Ginsburg call the impeachment 'illegal BS?' No, that's not true: Ginsburg did not interview with the fake newspaper, The Washington Beguiler, and there is no record of her saying she called the impeachment proceedings "illegal B
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Obama Did NOT Respond To Report: ‘Barr Is Trump’s Lap Dog. He Lies For Him’
Did former President Obama respond to the Inspector General Watchdog report saying Attorney General William Barr is Trump's lap dog? No, that's not true: the self-proclaimed satirical article says Obama is being investigated, which he is not.
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Socialist California Does NOT Refuse To Fly US Flag ‘Until Trump Is Gone’
Did California refuse to fly the U.S. flag 'until Trump is gone?' No, that's not true: there is no evidence that Californians won't fly the American flag for the remainder of Trump's presidency, regardless of the outcome of the impeachment pro
Lead Stories→ TheBL Editor Reacts As Facebook Takes Down Foreign ‘Fake People’ Network, Admits ‘We Spent Lots Of Money On Trump’
Just days after Lead Stories revealed hundreds of "fake faces" used to mask a Vietnamese-based network of Facebook profiles and groups promoting political content on American timelines, those "people who do not exist" vanished from the social
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Adam Schiff Did NOT Pay Witnesses Over $40 Million To Testify Against Trump
Did House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff pay witnesses over $40 million to testify against Trump? No, that's not true: the story comes from a satire website, there is no evidence that such a payment took place and the people refer
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Justice Roberts Does NOT Call Impeachment Vote ‘Immoral And Possibly Illegal’
Did Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts call the impeachment of President Trump "immoral and possibly illegal"? No, that's not true: Roberts, who would preside over the impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate, has not talked publicly abo
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Two Star Witnesses Against Biden NOT Found Floating In River Ukraine
Were two witnesses against former Vice President Joe Biden found dead in the River Ukraine? No, that's not true: the article comes from a conservative satire website, Biden is not under investigation or criminal indictment, and there is no "Ri
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Approve $4.8 Million In ‘Impeachment Consulting Fees’ To Clinton Foundation
Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi authorize $4.8 million in impeachment-related consulting fees to the Clinton Foundation? No, that's not true: Pelosi never approved such fees to the foundation. The story is a work of fiction and originated on a
Lead Stories→ Fake News: A House Impeachment Can NOT Be Overturned If 80% Of Those Voting For It Are Arrested And Judged By A Military Tribunal
Can a House impeachment of President Trump be overturned if 80% of those voting for it are arrested and judged by a military tribunal? No, that's not true: The U.S. constitution gives the House "sole power" to impeach and the Senate "sole powe
Lead Stories→ Fake News: 4 Democrat Senators Are NOT Turning Republican Because They Oppose Impeachment
Did four Democratic senators turn Republican because they oppose the impeachment hearings against President Trump? No, that's not true: Four Democrats are not switching parties. The claim was first published by a liberal satire website that tr
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Whoopi Goldberg Did NOT Call Melania’s Decorations: ‘Fairly Racist’
Did Whoopi Goldberg call First Lady Melania Trump's White House Christmas decorations "fairly racist"? No, that's not true: The co-host of the morning talk show, "The View," did not make such a statement. The claim was first published by a lib
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Spend $106K Of Your Money To Get Drunk With Hollywood Elitists
Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spend $106,000 of your money to get drunk with Hollywood elitists? No, that's not true: The story making the claim was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters into sharing mad
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Impeachment Begins – Pelosi Did NOT Order President Confined To White House
Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi order President Trump to be confined to the White House? No, that's not true: Pelosi never made such a statement, which was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Rep. Veronica Escobar Did NOT Warn: ‘American Voters Must Not Be Allowed To Vote In Favor Of Donald Trump In The Upcoming Election’
Did U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar warn that American voters must not be allowed to vote for Trump in the 2020 election? No, that's not true: Escobar, a Texas Democrat, never said those words in a CNN interview, as claimed in a story that carried
Truth or Fiction?→ Did the U.S. Department of Defense Display an Image of a Nazi on the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge?
On December 16 2019, social media accounts affiliated with the United States military put up the following image with a post attached to it commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge: The photograph showed a Nazi war criminal, SS-S
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Impeachment NOT Backfiring: Second Democrat Did NOT Leave The Party In 24 Hours
Is the defection of a second Democrat from the party evidence that the impeachment of President Trump is backfiring? No, that's not true: Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey did reveal on Saturday, December 14, 2019, that he would leave his party
Truth or Fiction?→ Was an ‘Anti-Semitic’ Bernie Sanders Shirt Sold at the DNC in 2016?
On December 13 2019, in the wake of a column accusing Sen. Bernie Sanders (who is Jewish) of having an “anti-Semitism problem,” several people came forward to claim that a T-shirt with an anti-Semitic caricature of Sanders was sold at the
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Supreme Court Could NOT Overturn ‘Obstruction Of Justice’ Charges Against Trump
Could the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the "obstruction of justice" impeachment resolution against President Trump? No, that's not true: The U.S. constitution specifies that the House of Representatives has "the sole power of impeachment" and t
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Supreme Court Can NOT Extend Trump’s Term By Up To 3 Years If He’s Acquitted In The Senate
Can the U.S. Supreme Court extend President Donald Trump's term by up to three years if he is acquitted by the Senate? No, that's not true: The U.S constitution makes no provisions for a presidential term to be extended by the high court if th
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Attack Of 14-Year-Old White Kid On School Bus Is NOT Part Of An American Civil War
Was a violent attack on a 14-year-old White boy on a school bus triggered by his wearing a MAGA hat and is it part of a civil war in the United States? No, that's not true: Law enforcement and school officials said there is no indcation the fi
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Mike Bloomberg Campaign Did Not Make #MovesLikeBloomberg Dance Video
Did a Mike Bloomberg presidential campaign intern record and release a video of staffers and supporters doing a #MovesLikeBloomberg dance at a rally in Beverly Hills? No, that's not true: The viral video of an awkward group dance was produced
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Nigerian Man Did Not Hack The US Govt And Give His Family And Friends Permanent Citizenship
Did a Nigerian man hack the U.S. government to give his family and friends permanent citizenship? No, that's not true: The story was originally put out by a South African satire website that used to disguise itself as news and got widely picke
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Trump Rally Crowd Size In Chicago Did NOT Show Dems Are Turning To Trump
Did the Trump rally crowd size in Chicago show Democrats are turning to Trump? No, that's not true: The claim that the crowd size at President Donald Trump's rally in Chicago suggested Dems were leaning toward Trump was satire, published by a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Medicare for All? How Are We Gonna Pay for That? With THIS Money’ Post
On December 12 2019, the Facebook page “Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism” shared the following screenshot of a retweet opining that a $738 billion expenditure for defense (and a Space Force) could be used to fund Medicare for A
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Boris Johnson Hide in a Refrigerator to Escape a Live Television Interview?
The UK’s prime minister created an awkward moment for himself on live television on December 11 2019, just one day before the country’s high-stakes general election. Footage of the episode shows Boris Johnson retreating into a freezer aft
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Dr. Phil Did NOT Say ‘Women Who Support Trump Are Damaged.’
Did Dr. Phil say on his show that women who support President Trump are damaged? No, that's not true: The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up stories that
Lead Stories→ Fake News: Rep. Omar Did NOT Demand Capitol Tree Be Topped By Qo’Nos Crescent Moon
Did U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar demand that the Capitol tree be topped by a Qo'Nos crescent moon? No, that's not true: The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made up sto