Does a real photo show Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell posing with three young women whose faces have been redacted? No, that's not true: This fake photo was made to look like a Polaroid photo from 1998. The high resolution fake image was featured as a clickbait thumbnail for a YouTube video, with black redactions as if it originated from…

Is the business featured in a recent video by Dr. Mehmet Oz related to hospice and home care fraud in Los Angeles? No, that's not true. The business is a family-owned and operated bakery and market and there is no evidence that implicates the business in any fraud prosecution or to the hospice and home care industry. Several other businesses…

Did police discover the body of an elderly woman in a Pima County suburb with clothing found at the scene that closely resembled what Nancy Guthrie was wearing before her disappearance? No, that's not true: "This is not factual," the public information officer for the Pima County Sheriff's Department told Lead Stories. As of February 5, 2026, "TODAY" show host…

Did a viral video of a crying French school teacher hit and teased by fighting students show a real-life scene from a French classroom? No, that's not true: The clip showed typical inconsistencies found in generative AI videos. The name of the account that initially posted the video contained "IA", a French equivalent of "AI". The claim appeared in a…

Did U.S. Senator Ted Cruz say, "Let's stop attacking pedophiles" at a congressional hearing? Yes, he did, but his spokesperson described that as a gaffe, "a verbal slip", and clarified that the senator opposed such crimes. The overall context of Cruz's remarks did not contradict his press office's clarification. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X…

Did the Department of Justice database correctly render the contents of a Jan. 17, 2013 email to Jeffrey Epstein when it turned the email's words into "New Brazilian just arrived, sexy and cute, =9yo"? No, that's not true: The original email said "19yo". The = sign is one of several substitution errors that arise from optical character recognition scanning, PDF…

Did the Epstein files contain an email discussing the beginning of World War III, scheduled to start on Feb. 8, 2026, as a viral image implied? No, that's not true: No email with the phrases "ww3" and "investmentt opp (nuclear)" could be located on the website of the Department of Justice, as of this writing. Lead Stories found a file…

Is a photo that shows Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein with young girls and boys authentic and part of the Department of Justice's publicly released Epstein files? No, that's not true: The image shows clear signs of being created by AI. The photo has not been released in the Department of Justice Epstein files as of the publication date of…

Did scientists at Harvard University create a 3D model depicting what Mary, Mother of Jesus, might have looked like? No, that's not true: This is an AI-generated image based on the likeness of Madonna, the "Queen of Pop". The joke post follows a formula which has been circulating for years online in which the face of a modern celebrity is…

Does a viral video prove that Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk removed his wife from his will shortly before his murder? No, that's not true: The rumor originated from a self-described satire account. No professional media organization reported the purported change in the will. The claim initially appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on January 30,…