Does a viral clip accurately document what happened during the 2026 FIFA World Cup award ceremony when Spanish soccer player Lamine Yamal came to the podium to receive a medal from Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Contrary to claims on social media, Yamal didn't refuse to shake hands with U.S. President Donald Trump: their handshake was well-documented by multiple…

Did President Donald Trump publish a post on Truth Social saying that he would "turn the giant faucet" located in California toward Canada as that country's wildfires burn? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such a post was ever made on Trump's official Truth Social account. The fabricated post seems to reference previous statements made by Trump…

Does a Spanish team photo from the World Cup trophy presentation have U.S. President Donald Trump edited out of it? No, that's not true: Trump was not removed -- digitally or otherwise -- from the photo. Broadcast footage of the ceremony shows Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino just outside the frame. The claim appeared in a post and image…

Does a viral video show a referee who officiated the 2026 FIFA World Cup final crying over Argentina's defeat? No, that's not true: That referee retired three years before that game. Social media posts reused a clip from his last match when the emotional response was prompted by the greetings from the players, not by an outcome of a game.…

Did Sen. Mitch McConnell's staff post a hospital photo containing possible AI glitches over the weekend of July 18-19, 2026? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the staff of the U.S. senator from Kentucky released such an image, as it does not appear on his official website or social media channels. A representative from McConnell's office said,…

Does a video show an ambush or IED attack on a convoy of M1A Abrams tanks crossing a bridge? No, that's not true: This video is fake. It circulated on social media in early April 2026 with captions claiming it showed Israeli tanks attacked by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Hive Moderation AI-generated content detection tool rated one early copy…

Did Donald Trump post "Paul McCartney is an anti-Trump joke" on Truth Social? No, that's not true: The post's original creator said it was fake. There is no such message on Trump's Truth Social account, and no credible news reports exist of Trump criticizing McCartney or the Beatles. The claim appeared in a July 17, 2026, post on Facebook account…

Does a video show an American B-52 bomber being shot down by a missile? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that a U.S. B-52 has been shot down, and no credible news organizations had reported such an incident as of July 18, 2026. Additionally, the video displays several visual characteristics that strongly suggest it was created using computer-generated…

Is this an actual video of the Iranian attack on a base in Jordan used by U.S. forces on July 17, 2026? No, that's not true: There is no evidence the clip depicts an actual attack. An online AI detection tool concluded that the video was likely AI-generated, assigning it an 80.9% confidence score. Additionally, the account that posted the…

Have you seen viral videos showing fights between captive insects and small animals? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. A growing number of social media accounts feature nothing but AI-generated videos of staged fights between captive insects, small reptiles, and animals. Many of these are…