At the heart of some of Ben Carson's campaign stops and interviews are personal anecdotes about overcoming obstacles in his youth. (Video via Ben Carson)
"When I was a teenager, I almost stabbed someone," Carson said.
And as Carson continues to gain popularity in the polls, those anecdotes are getting more and more attention.
The Wall Street Journal reports two stories detailed in Carson's biography, "Gifted Hands," are tough to verify. In one story, Carson claims, in high school, he protected a group of white students from being attacked the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. At least one of Carson's classmates said it might've happened, but he didn't see it.
Another story involves Carson during his time at Yale. In "Gifted Hands," Carson claims one of his professors told his classmates an exam had to be retaken because the originals were burned. Long story short, Carson's classmates walked out, Carson stayed, his teacher admitted it was all a hoax and rewarded Carson for his honesty. (Video via Yale University)
The Wall Street Journal reports that story has also been hard to pin down, and specific details, like the name of the course, are a bit shaky.
The more Carson talks about these personal stories, the more they are scrutinized. But claims that Carson has fabricated parts of his comeuppance should be taken with a grain of salt.
Politico published a damning report Friday about how Carson's camp admitted he had lied about his admission to The U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Carson's representatives hit back at the report, saying the Republican presidential candidate never claimed to have been admitted and never applied. Politico later updated their story, walking back their initial claims.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
