A CNN headline says, “Elon Musk Considers Melting Down Statue of Liberty to Make Series of Limited Edition Cyber Trucks"
The Dispatch→ Leaning Into Nihilism
On Joe Biden’s corrupt pardon of his son.
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Did Elon Musk release a flying car? No, but that false claim took off on Facebook
Elon Musk is “finally releasing his first flying car today.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Walmart Did NOT Donate $3.5 Million To Trump, Republicans While Ignoring Democrats
Did Walmart donate $3.5 million to President-elect Donald Trump and Republican campaigns while giving nothing to Democrats ahead of the 2024 election? No, that's not true: Walmart's political donations come from an employee-funded politic
PolitiFact→ Joe Biden – Joe Biden's Full Flop on pardoning Hunter Biden after saying for months he wouldn't
On pardoning his son, Hunter Biden
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Hillary Clinton Said, As Of December 2, 2024, She Would Leave US If Rumored "Epstein Client List" Was Released
Did Hillary Clinton say that she would leave the U.S. if a rumored Jeffrey Epstein client list was released? No, that's not true: As of December 2, 2024, there is no record of Hillary Clinton having made such an announcement on her social
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – No evidence a new Chick-fil-A policy has sparked boycott calls
“Chick fil-A’s new policies have people thinking (of a) boycott.”
The Dispatch→ Defending Taiwan
A response to last week’s Dispatch Podcast.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Photo Shows Elon Musk Dancing In Mesh Halter Top, Dated Circa 2018
PolitiFact→ The Supreme Court is weighing trans health bans. Here’s what to expect.
On Dec. 4, Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments challenging Tennessee’s youth gender-affirming care ban. Will the court extend existing constitutional protections against sex discrimination to trans patients or let the ban stand?
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Robert Downey Jr. Did NOT Say He Would Leave US, Marvel As Of December 2, 2024
Did actor Robert Downey Jr. announce that he would leave the Marvel movie franchise and the U.S., stating, "Goodbye, I don't fit in here," as of December 2, 2024? No, that's not true: A Threads post that reported Downey's supposed announc
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Say He Would Release Epstein and Diddy ‘Lists’ On January 20, 2024
Did Elon Musk say he would release a "bombshell" client list tied to rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs and financier Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: This originated from SpaceX Fanclub, a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer: "We post SAT
Full Fact→ Video of pilot ‘fired for refusing to spray chemtrails’ is German satirical skit
A joke video is being shared on social media with claims it shows a real legal case in Germany of a commercial pilot who lost his job over his refusal to spray “chemtrails”.
Full Fact→ Image of plane crashing into bridge is digital art not real disaster
The picture is circulating on social media along with false claims it shows a ‘horrific plane crash caught on camera’.
PolitiFact→ Can President-elect Donald Trump enact tariffs without Congress? And can anyone stop him?
Experts say when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, he could act unilaterally to enact tariffs, without support from a Congress that’s less excited about them than he is.
The Dispatch→ The Aristocrats
It’s past time to banish the American ruling class.
The Dispatch→ Syrian Rebels Retake Aleppo in Shock Offensive
The resumed fighting comes as Bashar al-Assad’s backers are weakened and distracted.
The Dispatch→ A Russian Dissident’s Lessons in Life and Freedom
Vladimir Kara-Murza embodies principled resistance against tyranny.
The Dispatch→ Did Israel Win the Third Lebanon War?
Hezbollah is weakened, but some Israelis are skeptical of the latest ceasefire agreement.
The Dispatch→ From John Locke to Ezra Klein
Grateful.
The Dispatch→ The Monthly Mailbag With Mike Warren
Our senior editor answers your questions.
The Dispatch→ On Rootedness and Thanksgiving
How remembering the labor of our forbears gives us hope for the future.
The Dispatch→ Flourishing Is About More Than Just Power
Today’s populists are giving up on a free society.
The Dispatch→ Our Best Stuff From the Week of Thanksgiving
Plus: Have we got some deals for you.
The Dispatch→ Why ‘Gladiator II’ Won’t Leave the Mark of its Predecessor
Ridley Scott delivers a thrilling sequel to a changing film landscape.
The Dispatch→ I Thought Happiness Was ‘Idiocracy’ in the Rear-View Mirror
Some thoughts on today’s Grand Old Party.
Full Fact→ No, Elon Musk isn’t investing $1 billion into an ‘un-woke’ film studio
The claim originates from a satirical news website and isn’t true.
Full Fact→ Margarine isn’t ‘one molecule away’ from plastic
Margarine doesn’t share 27 ingredients with paint and isn’t one molecule away from plastic.
Full Fact→ Did Kemi Badenoch say she wouldn’t reverse Labour’s National Insurance increase?
At PMQs Keir Starmer suggested the Conservative leader had indicated she would not reverse the increase, but that doesn’t seem to be quite what she said.
Full Fact→ Arma 3 clips and old footage shared as attacks from Yemen in the Arabian Sea
Posts on social media have been sharing a video game clip and unrelated footage with claims they show attacks from Yemen on the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
Full Fact→ Labour’s ‘£22 billion black hole’ figure is not directly comparable to the deficit in 2010
A number of social media posts seem to compare the forecast overspend in in-year departmental spending which Labour claims to have inherited with the deficit the party left when last in government.
Full Fact→ Viral list of ‘patents on viruses’ fact checked
An image shared on social media with claims it shows a list of patent numbers for viruses such as H1N1 flu, Zika virus and SARS is not quite what it seems.
Full Fact→ Video shows factory fire in West Bank, not Hezbollah attack on Israel
Full Fact traced a video circulating on social media back to reports of a factory fire in Hebron in the West Bank in February.
Full Fact→ Major League Soccer has not banned Pride flags from 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
A claim being shared on social media that MLS has banned Pride flags ahead of next year’s Club World Cup in the United States is untrue, and originates from satirical online articles.
Full Fact→ No evidence child found wandering in Dewsbury or Chesterfield
These Facebook posts are likely hoaxes, and very similar to others we’ve seen before.
Lead Stories→ Lead Stories is on Bluesky — Come For the Updates, Stay for the Starter Pack
What's that blue butterfly in the row of social media icons in the sidebar and footer of our website? Lead Stories is happy to announce we are now also present on the Bluesky social media network. Follow our accounts if you want to get im
Full Fact→ UK has not agreed to fund ‘Bill Gates’ geoengineering experiments’
A headline being shared on social media misleadingly claims that the UK government is to finance geoengineering experiments by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
The Dispatch→ The Feather-Pillow Principle
How much influence will Donald Trump’s advisers actually have?
The Dispatch→ A More Humanist Conservation
Left-wing environmentalism treats humans as a threat to the environment. But this planet is our home.
Full Fact→ Fake Guardian article on Gaza ‘rivalling Bradford’ shared online
Apsana Begum MP did not write an article for the Guardian with the headline “Gaza will rise from the ashes to become a city of the future to rival Bradford”.