Alan Duke

3 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did Laila Ali lose her life while giving birth in a Canadian hospital in March 2025? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the 47-year-old former world boxing champ and daughter of boxing great Muhammad Ali was pregnant in March 2025 or that she died while birthing a child. The website that originally made the claim was registered just days before publishing it. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) shared on Facebook on March 28, 2025.

3 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Has actor Will Smith died as of March 25, 2025? No, that's not true: Smith appeared alive in Philadelphia to celebrate the naming of a street in his childhood neighborhood "Will Smith Way" on March 26, 2025. A social media post on a Facebook group page created just a day earlier included a photo from an unrelated 2022 car crash as the only evidence of the star's death. The claim originated in a post (archived here) shared on a Facebook group page on March 25, 2025.

4 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did Elon Musk save the life of 7-year-old Lily Thompson by paying her medical bills and arranging for a Neuralink chip to be implanted into her brain in March 2025? No, that's not true: There are no "local news reports" of a child by that name "battling a rare neurological disorder," as claimed in a blog post. The post said Musk saw the story on March 22, 2025 and immediately stepped in to fund the girl's surgery and arrange for a Neuralink chip implantation.

1 month ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did President Donald Trump cancel taxes on all overtime starting Monday, March 31, 2025? No, that's not true: The video used in a social media post making the claim is from a September 12, 2024, campaign rally when Trump vowed to make overtime pay exempt from federal taxes if he were elected. Congressional Republicans were still involved in the "budget reconciliation" process to write the legislation that might include the tax cut as of March 25, 2025 with no votes expected in the near future.

1 month ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Are two homicide suspects named Seth Chancey and Madison Smith on the run for the killing of 10-month-old Derrick Taylor as of March 24, 2025? No, that's not true: The posts are fake, part of a bait-and-switch scam aimed at luring social media users to ad posts designed to harvest personal and financial information. These posts use mugshots taken from posts about lesser crimes unrelated to homicide or the purported murder victim.