Is a grainy image of former Prince Andrew and Meghan Markle in intimate postures authentic? No, that's not true: The image is "99% AI slop," the creator of the image wrote on their X.com account. Blocky pixelations and a faint red ring around the woman's face reinforce what the image-creator said: it's a manufactured picture. The claim appeared in a…

Did Chelsea Clinton tweet, "Close but no cigar Trump!!!" while claiming there was a conspiracy to disparage her father's name? No, that's not true: This is a fake screenshot. Chelsea Clinton never posted a tweet with this loaded satirical wording. Additionally, usernames on X are displayed with an @ sign, while the ChelseaClinton username pictured in the fake screenshot does…

Did NBA player Victor Wembanyama, or NFL players Jeremiyah Love, Jalen Hurts, or Micah Parsons, reward Maria Thompson with a pickup truck or SUV after she helped him when he was having car trouble? No, that's not true: This story is a copy/paste clickbait formula which has been circulating on social media. Nearly identical stories mentioning those and other names…

Did the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks refuse an invitation to the White House? No, that's not true: There's no evidence the team has been invited to Washington for a reception with President Donald Trump or that the team has refused such an invitation. The White House has not responded to inquiries from Lead Stories about the matter. The Seattle…

Did Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift announce on a livestream that they are spending $250 million to find the truth in the Virginia Giuffre case? No, that's not true: Neither the celebrity couple nor news organizations said anything about it. The claim was promoted by overseas-based pages that publish made-up stories to drive traffic-based ad revenue. The claim appeared in…

Is this a real video of President Donald Trump kissing Nicki Minaj? No, that's not true: The black-and-white "security camera" footage purporting to show them kissing exhibits clear signs of AI manipulation, including unnatural facial blending where their faces appear to partially merge and separate, inconsistent lighting, and the absence of a verifiable source. An AI detection tool rated it…

Did school picture contractor LifeTouch put "you and every other American kid" in the Epstein files? No, that's not true: There's no evidence that all 49 million American schoolchildren are in the Justice Department's files. The company name appears in the Department of Justice's online library of released files about pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, but only once, on a minor…

Does a legitimate screenshot show that Elon Musk in February of 2026 wrote "I agree with the teachings of Jesus," in an X post? Yes, that's true: The X owner did post that message on his verified account. The screenshot does not alter his post. The claim appeared in a February 17, 2026, post on X.com account @TheRealThelmaJ1 (archived here).…

Did tabloid news outlet TMZ publish a report saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a Los Angeles mansion belonging to Sean "Diddy" Combs for $61 Million? No, that's not true: Using TMZ's search box, Lead Stories found no such story about Diddy. Searching for Zelenskyy's name similarly showed no such TMZ story. The claim appeared in a Feb. 18, 2026…

Did Thai golfer Atthaya "Jeeno" Thitikul say 'don't touch my family' at a news conference with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt? No, that's not true: No media outlets reported that about the golfer or any other celebrity, including actors Robert De Niro and Tom Hanks and gospel singer Guy Penrod, who was rumored to have made the identical statement…