Lead Stories

Lead Stories

Lead Stories is a cutting-edge fact-checking platform that blends big data with journalism. Our unique Trendolizer™ tool helps us swiftly identify the hottest trending topics. Remember, "Just Because It's Trending Doesn't Mean It's True."

International, National, Local

English

Online/Digital

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

68

Ranking

Global

#127978

United States

#37243

News and Media

#1668

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Fact Check: Liz Cheney And Adam Kinzinger Did NOT Write Warnings About The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Attributed To Them In A Meme

1 week ago | leadstories.com | Dean Miller

Did Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger write the warnings about the Big Beautiful Bill that have been attributed to them in a viral post? No, that's not true: Kinzinger took to social media to call it out as a fake. The words in the meme do not match public statements or social media posts by the two former Republican members of Congress.
Fact Check: California's First Female Architect Julia Morgan's Reinforced Concrete Tower DID Survive 1906 Quake, But That Photo Is Fake

1 week ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did California's first female architect Julia Morgan design a reinforced concrete tower in 1904 that survived a 1906 San Francisco earthquake? Yes, that's true: The "El Campanil" bell tower on the Mills College campus in Oakland was undamaged by the magnitude 7.9 quake that devastated the area. The success of Morgan's pioneering use of concrete reinforced by steel was key to propelling her architectural career.
Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Authentic Arctic Woolly Snake -- No Such Creature

1 week ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Does a video shared on social platforms show an authentic Arctic woolly snake discovered by researchers in Antarctica? No, that's not true: The video was created by an artificial intelligence tool, not by a camera that recorded real people handling a real creature, according to an AI detection tool used by Lead Stories. A search online for information about the purported snake only found similar social media posts and no authoritative sources confirming it exists.
Fact Check: FBI Did NOT Uncover 14 Pardons, 11 Executives Orders Signed By Autopen Joe Biden Was Not Aware Of -- Satire

2 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did FBI investigators find 14 pardons and 11 executive orders signed by autopen that Joe Biden was unaware of? 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.
Fact Check: Pro-Trump Cuban Activist Hector Luis Valdes Cocho Was Picked Up By ICE Detention And Is Awaiting Possible Deportation

2 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Was pro-Trump Cuban activist Hector Luis Valdes Cocho detained by ICE and held for possible deportation from the United States? Yes, that's true: Valdes Cocho, who was exiled from Cuba to the U.S. in 2022 because of his political activism, was initially arrested in November 2024, on state fraud and traffic charges in Florida. ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) took custody of him in January 2025, for possible deportation.
Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Authentically Show Houthis Missiles Targeting Israel's Ben Gurion Airport | Lead Stories

2 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Does a photo shared on social media authentically show Houthis missiles targeting Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in May 2025? No, that's not true: The Houthis' attempt to target the airport on May 18, 2025, failed when Israel's air defenses intercepted the rockets. There was a Houthi missile that hit near the airport on May 4, but none since.
Fact Check: Rep. LaMonica McIver Did NOT Start Singing 'You Fight On' During CNN Interview About Her Arrest -- It's A Parody

2 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Alan Duke

Did Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-NJ, start singing "You Fight On" during a CNN interview about her recent arrest on an assault charge at an ICE facility? No, that's not true: The purported video of the spontaneous singing was digitally created by the administrator of a parody account on X.com. The video's creator acknowledged this in a post, and the account is clearly labeled as parody. Other accounts were taking the video and reposting it as authentic.
Fact Check: Next Air Force One Is NOT Qatari-Made -- Qatar Manufactures No Jet Airliners

2 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Dean Miller

Did the Pentagon in May of 2025 approve acquisition of a "Qatari-built jet" to be the next Air Force One? No, that's not true: There is no aircraft manufacturing industry in Qatar that could make a jet of that size. The Pentagon on May 21, 2025 announced it had approved President Trump's plan to accept a Boeing 747 as a gift from the government of Qatar to be the President's official mode of air travel. Boeing 747s were built at Everett and Renton, Washington.
Fact Check: AI Video Does NOT Authentically Show RFK, Jr. Saying China adds 'Gay Chemicals' and 'Fruity Piña Colada Flavoring Agent' To Vapes

2 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Dean Miller

Did Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. testify before Congress that "China is putting gay chemicals in the vapes, coupled with fruity pina colada flavoring agents"? No, that's not true: The video uses generative AI to create a facsimile of Kennedy's voice and mouth movements, but it ends with a screenload of text that says it is a deepfake. The account on which the video was posted describes itself as "Mostly satire. I make videos".
Fact Check: AI Video Does NOT Show Actual Israeli Bombing Of Gaza

2 weeks ago | leadstories.com | Dean Miller

Does this video authentically document the Israeli military bombing Gaza, as a social media post claimed? No, that's not true: The video used in the X post originated on a TikTok account labelled: "DISCLAIMER: ALL VIDEOS I POST ARE AI GENERATED." The name of that TikTok account is "@everythingai97". Several elements of the video reveal digital artifacts of the kind often found in videos that are made using generative AI.

Lead Stories journalists

Alan Duke

Alexis Tereszcuk

Christiana Dillard

Dean Miller

Ed Payne

Lenka Ponikelska

Leslie Lapides

Liana Aghajanian

Madison Dapcevich

Contact details

Email

[email protected]

Email Patterns

[email protected]

Contact Forms

Contact Form

Website

http://leadstories.com

Socials

Try JournoFinder For Free

Search and contact over 1M+ journalist profiles, browse 100M+ articles, and unlock powerful PR tools.

Start Your 7-Day Free Trial →

Traffic locations