Does a viral video showing wedding scenes where various little girls are being married to older men authentically show muslim child marriages as social media posts are claiming? No, that's not true: The viral footage originated on an Instagram account that posts AI generated videos. Several detection tools found evidence the video was generated using artificial intelligence. The video has…
Did King Charles III give official notice that he has revoked U.S. independence, effective immediately, will reign as monarch and that "The nincompoop you've elected as President will go to gaol", as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: There was no official statement to that effect from the British monarch. No such statement appeared on Buckingham Palace social…
Did actor James Woods post an authentic copy of a tweet by Congresswoman Maxine Waters in which she misspelled impeach as "inpeach" and confused a urine test with an IQ test, supposedly responding to President Donald Trump calling her "Low IQ Maxine"? No, that's not true: Woods posted to his X account a copy of a fake tweet that was…
Does a video confirm a March 2025 discovery of vertical structures that are just shy of 2,000 feet in depth and roughly 1.24 miles underneath Giza Pyramids? No, that's not true: The clip cited a paper that was three years old. It did not make the specific assertions the video host made. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…
Did a CIA document in the unsealed JFK assassination files name British actress Penelope Keith as the lone killer? No, that's not true: The purported investigative document naming Keith as the "lone shooter" cites her work in the BBC TV comedy series "The Good Life," which did not start airing until 1975, at least 10 years after the investigation ended.…
Does a purported bodycam video authentically show an "Officer Miculitzki" stopping a blind black man on the street and calling his cane a dangerous weapon? No, that's not true: The video originated on a Youtube channel that says it publishes scripted content. Copies of the video went viral on social media without that disclaimer present. The video (archived here) was…
Did Arlington National Cemetery remove Gen. Colin Powell's profile from the cemetery's website in March 2025? A spokesperson for the cemetery told Lead Stories that the cemetery had removed a category relating to African-American service members, but that Powell's profile had been moved to two different sections of the website. Lead Stories confirmed Powell was still present in the sections…
Did Barron Trump post a tweet on X about DOGE auditing the National Cancer Institute because they hadn't found a cure yet after 88+ years of research? No, that's not true: A viral screenshot of such a post appears to have originated on a now deleted X account that did not belong to Barron Trump. According to media reports, Barron…
Is a "Homicide Bureau" searching for "Santos Chylice" over "the death of 8-month-old baby Gonzalez Cassandra" in Holly Hill? No, that's not true: Facebook posts calling on readers to be on the lookout for her used the mugshot of someone listed on the internet as being arrested on drug charges. The posts are part of a common social media scam…
Did Damon Imani appear on the February 24, 2025 episode of "The View" to verbally spar with co-host Sunny Hostin over the term "Woke", as a social media post seems to show? No, that's not true: Imani has never appeared on ABC's morning show. He is a producer, artist and commentator who creates and publishes digitally altered videos placing himself…
Was a man named Jerce Reyes Barrios, described as a soccer player from Venezuela on social media, deported from the U.S. to El Salvador? The story was reported by ABC News, citing the man's attorney. Filings in U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. spell out Barrios' account. Here is what we know so far. The story appeared in a post…
Are people in various communities in the United States and England being warned about an 18-year-old known as Russell Robinson or Dycorrian Wayne Lofton knocking on doors and attacking people after he gains their trust? No, that's not true: Facebook posts calling on readers to be vigilant and lock their doors used mugshots of unrelated people. The posts are part…
Was a French scientist denied entry to the U.S. in March 2025, due to the supposed discovery, on his phone, of messages critical of U.S. President Donald Trump? The story was first reported by French newspaper Le Monde and news service Agence France-Presse (AFP). But a Department of Homeland Security official said it was over "possession of confidential information on…
Did President Donald Trump speak to Fox News about a "Tesla medbed," calling it an "incredible piece of technology"? No, that's not true: Medbeds -- a term for a device that can carry out miraculous healing and age reversal and defy mortality -- do not exist. Footage which appeared to show Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany interviewing Trump on the…
Does this viral video show scenes of protest in Istanbul with "tens of thousands" demonstrating against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan? No, that's not true: The footage dates back to 2024 and is related to a papal visit to East Timor. It has nothing to do with current events in Turkey. The claim about the video appeared in a post on…
Are there news reports about FBI Director Kash Patel ordering an investigation of "13 Congressional Democrats" for inciting violence against President Donald Trump, and did he say they "put him in real danger" and "they did it on purpose?" No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of…
Did ABC News tweet that Harvard tuition for the 2025-2026 school year will be free for "students from Jewish families" with annual incomes of $200,000 or less, as a social media post claims? No, that's not true: The genuine ABC News tweet was altered to produce the counterfeit version used in a post on X. There is no such story…
Did President Donald Trump order the Keystone pipeline system "to transport ONLY American Oil"? No, that's not true: The claim came from a site with a satire label that explicitly says "nothing on this page is real". Originating in Canada, the Keystone Pipeline System moves unrefined Canadian petroleum, and some from the U.S. to refineries in the United States. The…
Does Sen. Chuck Schumer have an estimated net worth of $85 million despite having an annual salary of just $193,400? No, that's not true: Financial disclosures required by law show the New York Democrat and his wife have a combined wealth of no more than $2,665,000. There is no evidence that Schumer has significantly more financial wealth than disclosed. A…
Did the Central Intelligence Agency in 1978 only request to black out mentions of Israel when journalists and historians sought to read documents about investigations into President John F. Kennedy's assassination? No, that's not true: The CIA wanted other things to be redacted, too, as seen in other files from the JFK collection. According to the agency's website, it generally…
