Contact | Lead Stories

Have a tip? Want to send us some additional information about a story? Have a correction or appeal about a Facebook or Instagram label? Need to contact one of our reporters? Scroll down past this notice and check the relevant section of this page...

Notice: Abusive or threatening emails will likely be ignored (or reported to the authorities). So will messages sent to the inappropriate mailbox. Don't waste your time.

If you absolutely can't help yourself, send such emails to hatemail@leadstories.com

Tips & information

Have a tip about something we should look at? Additional information that could change the conclusion of a fact check? Email tips@leadstories.com and let us know.

We are most interested in viral claims/stories/videos/images/posts (no matter the political slant) that are false (or very misleading), harmful to someone and relevant to a U.S. audience. If your tip is about something else it is unlikely we will write a fact check about it. You can read more about how we decide what to fact check here.

Facebook and Instagram Labels: Appeals & Corrections

If you came here after you saw a label on a Facebook or Instagram post and you want to get it lifted, the process is below. Only requests submitted via this process will be considered, we do not process appeals sent via chat, phone, DM, text message, smoke signal or other methods.

Important Notes:

  • Lead Stories can only process appeals or corrections for content where you are the original creator or publisher. If you just reposted or shared something we cannot help you.
  • Lead Stories can only process appeals or corrections for content that was flagged by Lead Stories. If the notice on your content mentions "The same information was checked in another post" it means Facebook automatically flagged your content and only they can unflag it. Contact Facebook in such cases, we are unable to help.

anotherpost.jpg

(Example of a fact checking notice added by Facebook, not by Lead Stories)

There are two ways a rating can be changed or lifted: either the publisher can correct the content and add a notice to it or the publisher can provide us with convincing evidence our rating or our fact check was wrong (in which case we will publish a correction) or we used the wrong label (for example if we rated a satircal article as "False" or if an fact check label was mistakenly applied to an unrelated picture).

If something you created or published has been rated by Lead Stories under Facebook's Third-Party Fact Checking Partnership and you wish to appeal the rating or notify us that you published a correction:

  • First make sure you have read Facebook's guidelines for publishers (especially the section about appeals/corrections and the need to publish a correction notice)
  • Do NOT delete the article/post/image/video (this makes it impossible to change the rating)
  • Do NOT change the URL of the article/post/image/video (this makes it impossible to change the rating)
  • Then send a message to: appeals@leadstories.com including the link to the fact check and the link or post you are appealing about or which you have corrected. Facebook has provided email templates you can use to make sure your message includes all the relevant information.

Editorial

  • Email: alan@leadstories.com
  • Phone: 323-762-3215
  • Mail: 2400 Ventura Blvd, #1015, Studio City, Ca 91604

Editorial/technical

  • Email: maarten@leadstories.com
  • Phone: +32(476)310757

Legal/corporate

  • Registered Agent: Sanders Law Firm, LLC
  • Mail: Lead Stories LLC, 31 North Tejon St., Suite 405, Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Reporters

Need to get hold of one of our reporters? Email reporters@leadstories.com with their name in the subject line.