Leading Report

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Leading Report
FoundedFebruary 2023
Founder(s)
  • Patrick Webb
  • Jacob Cabe
URLtheleadingreport.com

Leading Report is an American fake news website[1][2] and Twitter account that describes itself as a "leading source for breaking news". It is known for promoting misinformation and conspiracy theories, including about United States politics and COVID-19.[3][4]

History

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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 two individuals named Jacob Cabe and Patrick Webb. Cabe is a former baseball athlete, while Webb is a car wash owner who is an admin of the Facebook group "Patriots for Trump" and has a history of promoting misinformation on social media.[3]

Misinformation and conspiracy theories

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Leading Report has promoted misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines,[4] climate change denial[3] and false claims of electoral fraud in the U.S.,[12][13][3] including the "ballot mule" conspiracy theory.[3] It has also promoted the false claim that hydroxychloroquine is effective against COVID-19.[3] The misinformation tracker NewsGuard gave Leading Report a score of 0/100, stating that it "severely violates basic journalistic standards".[9]

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.[14]

United States politics

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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".[15]

In June 2024, Webb promoted a conspiracy theory that CNN would implement a 1-2 minute delay for a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, "potentially allowing time to edit parts of the broadcast".[16][17][11] The false claim was repeated by generative AI chatbots ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.[18][19]

In September 2024, following Trump's widely-criticised debate performance against Kamala Harris, Leading Report claimed that an ABC News whistleblower would "allegedly" release an affidavit proving that Harris had been given the debate questions ahead of time. The claim originated from an account named "Black Insurrectionist", which did not offer proof for its claim. The claim was amplified by Bill Ackman.[20][21][2]

COVID-19 vaccines

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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.[22][23][24] A leader for the Amish Heritage Foundation stated they were aware of Amish children with each of these conditions, and that claims to the contrary are "anti-Amish tropes. It marginalizes us Amish people and contributes further harm toward Amish children who need medical care and attention".[23]

In September 2023, Leading Report baselessly claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine would increase the risk of stillbirths. The false claim was amplified by Australian senator Matt Canavan.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Shaheen, Mansur (June 28, 2024). "CNN denies rumors of delay in TV broadcast of presidential debate". The Mirror US. Archived from the original on June 28, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Merlan, Anna (September 17, 2024). "How the debate whistleblower car crash conspiracy went viral". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on September 18, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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.
  4. ^ a b Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines: [5][6][7][8][9][3][10][11]
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Goldhamer, Marisha (August 17, 2023). "Posts misconstrue study on Covid antibodies transmitted by vaccinated". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on June 28, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c 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.
  10. ^ McCreary, Joedy (December 7, 2023). "False claim 20% of New Zealanders who received COVID-19 mRNA vaccines died | Fact check". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Novak, Matt (June 27, 2024). "6 Viral Conspiracy Theories About the Trump-Biden Debate That Are Totally Fake". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on June 29, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Liles, Jordan (June 27, 2024). "CNN Won't Use '1- to 2-Minute Delay' During 1st 2024 Biden-Trump Debate". Snopes. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  17. ^ Yurow, Jeremy (June 27, 2024). "CNN debunks social media rumors about presidential debate delay". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 28, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  18. ^ Hart, Robert (June 28, 2024). "OpenAI's ChatGPT And Microsoft's Copilot Reportedly Spread Misinformation About Presidential Debate Amid Growing Fears Over AI Election Dangers". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  19. ^ Connatser, Matthew (June 29, 2024). "ChatGPT wrongly insists Trump-Biden CNN debate had 1 to 2-minute delay". The Register. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  20. ^ Bolies, Corbin (September 12, 2024). "ABC Denies Kamala Harris Was Given Questions Before Trump Debate". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  21. ^ Rashid, Hafiz (September 13, 2024). "MAGA Pushes Laughable New Lie to Excuse Trump's Debate Face-Plant". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ a b 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.
  24. ^ "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.
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