Alan Duke

3 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did President Trump post on his Truth Social account on June 5, 2025, that Elon Musk should "go back to Africa"? No, that's not true: The @realDonaldTrump timeline was closely watched at the time in anticipation of Trump's responses to Musk during their high-profile tit for tat dispute. There is no evidence the post ever appeared on Trump's Truth Social account. Fake posts attributed to Trump and Musk spread across social platforms as their feud boiled over on Thursday, June 5, 2025.

3 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Is a photo of Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham standing with Osama Bin Laden real? No, that's not true: The image was digitally altered from a real photo of McCain and Graham standing with Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai in July 2013. The fake version showing al-Qaida founder Osama Bin Laden began circulating after McCain's 2018 death as a way to discredit the senator. It appeared again in June 2025, apparently in an effort to discredit Graham.

3 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr announce they are bringing The Beatles back to the U.S. with a reunion tour? No, that's not true: No announcement can be found anywhere in the news media, on the artists' websites, or with online ticketing websites. The post making the claim used an AI-generated image, which would not be expected in an official announcement. The post links to a sketchy website that may attempt to download malware to your device.

3 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did President Trump delete his June 4, 2025, Truth Social post discussing his phone call Russian President Vladimir Putin? No, that's not true: The post was still visible on Trump's timeline as of 12 p.m. ET on June 5, 2025. Lead Stories confirmed this 22 hours after it was initially posted and 17 hours after the false claim was posted saying it had been deleted. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) shared by the @DemocraticWins on X on June 4, 2025.

3 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did the Rockport County Sheriff say he would ask a grand jury to indict former FBI director James Comey on state terroristic threats charges? No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. Also, there is no Rockport County in the United States.