Leading Report is an American website and Twitter account that describes itself as a "leading source for breaking news". It is known for promoting misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and United States politics.[1]

History

The Leading Report Twitter account was created in May 2022. A corresponding website was later created in February 2023. The fact-checking website Science Feedback traced the website's ownership to a former baseball athlete and a car wash owner.[1]

Misinformation and conspiracy theories

Leading Report has promoted misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines,[2][3][4][5][1] climate change denial[1] and false claims of electoral fraud in the U.S.,[6][7][1] including the "ballot mule" conspiracy theory.[1] It has also promoted the false claim that hydroxychloroquine is effective against COVID-19.[1] The misinformation tracker NewsGuard gave Leading Report a score of 0/100, stating that it "severely violates basic journalistic standards".[5]

In May 2023, Leading Report falsely claimed that Kevin McCarthy had called for the "immediate expulsion and possible prosecution of Rep. Adam Schiff for committing crimes of treason against the United States".[8]

In July 2023, Leading Report published an article claiming a "new comprehensive study" by Steve Kirsch, who is known for promoting misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, found "that for Amish children, who are strictly 100 percent unvaccinated, typical chronic conditions barely exist, if any at all", including "auto-immune disease, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, ADHD, arthritis, cancer, and autism". The article cited anecdotal evidence Kirsch provided, and Kirsch had made no claim of a study finding zero cases of the conditions.[9][10][11]

In October 2023, after the Israel–Hamas war started, Leading Report tweeted that Hamas claimed to have received support from Ukraine. Hamas had not made such a statement.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Teoh, Flora (October 31, 2023). "Who's Behind The (Mis)Leading Report?". Science Feedback. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Neurological adverse events are very rare after COVID-19 vaccination and less frequent than after SARS-CoV-2 infection". Health Feedback. May 22, 2023. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ Funke, Daniel (July 31, 2023). "Posts distort UK data on Covid vaccines, death". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  4. ↑ Yandell, Kate (August 31, 2023). "COVID-19 Vaccines Have Not Been Shown to Cause 'Turbo Cancer'". FactCheck.org. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Summers, William (September 14, 2023). "Senator shares baseless claim linking vaccines to stillbirths". Australian Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  6. ↑ Marcelo, Philip (August 25, 2023). "No, there isn't a new lawsuit revealing 2020 ballot fraud in Georgia. An old video is recirculating". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  7. ↑ McCreary, Joedy (September 20, 2023). "Ballot paper, not bad guys, caused Arizona's Election Day printer problems | Fact check". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  8. ↑ Funke, Daniel (May 19, 2023). "House speaker has not called for US congressman's prosecution". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Claim by Steve Kirsch that the Amish don't experience autism, cancer, or high COVID-19 mortality because they don't vaccinate is baseless". Health Feedback. July 18, 2023. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  10. ↑ Frank, BrieAnna J. (July 24, 2023). "Yes, there are cases of Amish children with autism, cancer and diabetes | Fact check". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  11. ↑ "No evidence that Amish kids have 'zero' cancer, diabetes and autism". Reuters. July 27, 2023. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  12. ↑ Payne, Ed (October 9, 2023). "Fact Check: Hamas Did NOT Claim Ukraine Sold Them Weapons Used To Attack Israel In October 2023". Lead Stories. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
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