Did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo impose a 50 percent retaliatory tariff on Tesla cars sold in Mexico, calling Elon Musk "pendejo"? No, that's not true: As of February 4, 2025, Lead Stories found no credible media or governmen
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – No, CNN wasn't reporting on the Potomac River plane crash hours ‘before it happened’
CNN reported on the Potomac River plane and helicopter crash “hours before it happened.”
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – No, Elon Musk didn’t ban pride content on X
“Elon Musk shocks the world by blocking Pride on X forever: ‘Children must come first.’”
PolitiFact→ Ashley Moody – Fact-check: Florida Sen. Ashley Moody claims trafficking hotline isn’t reporting tips to authorities
The National Human Trafficking Hotline “in the last four years decided that they would no longer report tips to law enforcement, that they would take a more victim-centered approach.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Of ICE Agent Restraining Crying Girl Is NOT Authentic — AI Generated
Does an authentic photo show an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement restraining a distressed little girl? No, that's not true: This image is AI generated. Hive, an AI-generated image detection service determined with 97.4 perce
Internet Archive→ President Trump Signs Executive Orders on U.N. & Iran : CSPAN : February 4, 2025 3:31pm-4:01pm EST
[LIVE] President Trump signs executive orders, including ones that withdraw the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council, prohibit future funding for the U.N. relief agency in Gaza, and impose a "maximum economic pressure" campaign on Iran....This item
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Public Record Colin Powell Said ‘Lazy Immigrants’ Quote
Is former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell accurately credited with a "lazy immigrants" quote often shared on social media? No, that's not true: The quote was first published on social media in 2019 by a user on X who acknowledged hav
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ed Sheeran Did NOT Perform For IDF Soldiers To Show Support For Israel — Performance Was ‘A Large Scale Public Concert’
Did singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran perform for wounded soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces to show support for Israel? No, that's not true: Sheeran denied this rumor in a now-deleted Instagram story. He stated a charity organization boug
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Samuel Hydén NOT The Shooter In Örebro, Sweden, School Shooting On February 4, 2025
Was Samuel Hydén (or Sam Hyde) the perpetrator of a school shooting in Örebro, Sweden, on February 4, 2025? No, that's not true: Comedian Sam Hyde is often named as the perpetrator by internet trolls whenever a mass-casualty incident ha
The Dispatch→ Photo Purporting to Show ICE Detaining a Trump Supporter Is Altered
The actual photo is from a 2018 raid on an Ohio meatpacking plant.
The Dispatch→ Controversial Posts by State Department Appointee Are Genuine
Screenshots of tweets by Darren Beattie have not been edited.
Full Fact→ Donald Trump’s tariffs: what’s happening and what could it mean for the UK?
Our new explainer looks at the latest announcements on tariffs from the new US administration.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Parody Account Claimed Pentagon Spent $600 Million On Sushi, Air Force $1,280 Per Paper Coffee Cup, IRS $230K on Cinnamon Coffee
Did Elon Musk post he found out at DOGE that the Pentagon spent $600 million per year on sushi, the Air Force $1,280 per paper coffee cup and the IRS $230k per month on "Starbucks Cinammon Roast K Cups"? No, that's not true: Those claims
PolitiFact→ Ron Johnson – Wis. Sen. Johnson says US is one of 'very few' nations with birthright citizenship
“We’re one of the very few nations that allowed birthright citizenship,
Full Fact→ ‘CNN report’ on striking Yale professors is fake
The fake report, which claims the professors are striking because of students using AI, has been shared more than 10,000 times on TikTok.
The Dispatch→ Trump Administration Threatens USAID
The aid agency’s future is uncertain amid mixed signals from the president and Elon Musk.
The Dispatch→ You’re Fired
Plus: Will a 25 percent tariff on Canada solve our existential crisis?
The Dispatch→ Strange Bedfellows
Uniting the political extremes against the center is producing some baffling results.
The Dispatch→ When Elon Musk’s Twitter Becomes Real Life
The tech-bro CEO is taking a sledgehammer to the federal government.
The Dispatch→ Why Is Trump Trying to Lose Our New Cold War With China?
He doesn’t care about the policies or ideals that helped us prevail against the USSR.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NOT ‘Breaking News’ — Video Claiming ‘Woman Found Truck Full Of Childrens’ Bodies’ Is Mix Of Old Video Clips
Does a video accurately report "breaking news" about a woman who found a truck full of children's bodies in Mexico? No, that's not true: No recent news story matches the narrative's details as of this publication. The video clips in the m
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Canada Is NOT Planning To Cut Off Energy Exports To US in Response To Trump Tariffs As Of February 3, 2025
Did Canada plan to stop sending energy to the United States in February 2025 because of President Donald Trump's tariffs? No, that's not true: After a call between the two leaders on February 3, 2025, both Canadian Prime Minister Justin T
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Melania Trump Did NOT Win A $900M Defamation Lawsuit Against ‘The View’
Did Melania Trump win a $900 million defamation lawsuit against the TV show "The View"? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for "The View" told Lead Stories the story was false. No news websites indexed by Google News reported anything ab
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Nine-Star US Flag Icon On Federal Websites Since At Least 2020 — NOT Related To 2025 Events
Has the U.S. flag icon in the header of several federal U.S. government websites been replaced by a nine-star version in 2025, or has this icon been added recently? No, that's not true: The icon in the "official website of the United Stat
The Dispatch→ A Little Pain
The unfolding Madisonian disaster.
PolitiFact→ Threads posts – The Black Hawk helicopter in the American Airlines crash was piloted, not autonomous
The Black Hawk helicopter involved in the American Airlines crash “was being controlled remotely.”
PolitiFact→ Viral image – No, this video doesn’t show a North Carolina dam breaking Sept. 28, 2024
Video shows a dam breaking Sept. 28, 2024, in North Carolina.
PolitiFact→ Facebook posts – Don’t fall for this Facebook post scam about at-large serial killer in Monroe, Louisiana
Photo shows “a dangerous serial killer” named Jaden Williams in Monroe, Louisiana.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Post FALSELY Identifies Woman In Photo As Pilot Of Black Hawk Helicopter in DC Crash
Does an image in a social media post show one of the Black Hawk helicopter pilots killed in the January 2025 Washington, D.C., aircraft collision as she worked on the White House staff for two years "instead of flying"? No, that's not tru
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – Story about 1,500 IRS resignations under Trump started as satire
“1,500 IRS agents have submitted letters of resignation after Trump announced he would put 90,000 superfluous IRS personnel on border patrol.”
FactCheck.org→ TikTok and U.S. National Security
In his first term, President Donald Trump tried to force TikTok’s parent company to sell its popular app or cease operating in the U.S., citing the need to “take aggressive action … to protect our national security.” But in his return to th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Say Starliner Astronauts ‘Are Not With US Anymore,’ Astronauts Did NOT Die In Space In January 2025
Did Elon Musk say two Boeing Starliner astronauts died in space, as a social media post implies? No, that's not true: Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were shown conducting a spacewalk nearly a month after the post -- and ther
PolitiFact→ Instagram posts – No, this photo does not show fallen Army pilot posing with Biden
Photo shows Black Hawk helicopter pilot in fatal crash worked for years with President Joe Biden at the White House.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Police Did NOT Find Human Remains And Evidence Of Cannibalism In Oprah’s Los Angeles Home That She Sold In 2013
Did police find human remains and evidence of cannibalism in TV producer Oprah Winfrey's Los Angeles, California, home that she purportedly sold in 2013? No, that's not true: This post reappeared on social media recently but it was copied
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Explosion In Philadelphia Was NOT Caused By ‘Missile Or Comet’ — FAA Reports It Involved A Learjet 55 Airplane
Was the explosion near Roosevelt Mall in Philadelphia on January 31, 2025, not caused by an airplane crash but by a missile or comet? No, that's not true: The Federal Aviation Administration and multiple news outlets confirmed that the in
Full Fact→ No, Melania Trump did not read programme upside down at Jimmy Carter’s funeral
An edited photo circulated online after Mr Carter’s funeral on 9 January 2025.
Full Fact→ Trans woman misidentified as helicopter pilot in Washington plane crash
A false claim has spread widely on social media since the fatal crash between an American Airlines regional jet and a US army helicopter that it was piloted by a trans woman called Jo Ellis.
The Dispatch→ Addicted to Apocalypse
Against the Malthusian temptation.
PolitiFact→ Killing chickens, banning TikTok: Six times Trump criticized Democrats for things he also supported
President Donald Trump has criticized Democrats for Federal Aviation Administration diversity goals, a TikTok ban and FEMA policies. But in every case, his first administration had similar policies in place.
The Dispatch→ Trump to Impose Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China
America’s top three trading partners have all vowed retaliatory action.