Does a viral video show a real-life lunch date set up by a husband to confront his "cheating wife" at the location of her potential date? No, that's not true: The video was staged. It was one of many clips promoting an app that claims to detect whether a partner is cheating. The claim appeared in a post (archived here…

Does a real video show Iranian missiles destroying a U.S. Navy warship in the Strait of Hormuz? No, that's not true: There are no credible news reports of such an attack, and the clip appears to be from a military simulation video game known for its realistic graphics. There is no evidence that Iranian missiles hit an American military vessel…

Did Erika Kirk announce she was opening an orphanage in honor of Charlie Kirk? No, that's not true: A video on TikTok repeats a false claim which began circulating on social media in late October 2025. There is no record of Erika Kirk announcing plans to build a school for orphans in honor of her late husband. The copy/paste posts…

Does a photo show Hollywood actors, including Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, attending the funeral of Chuck Norris? No, that's not true: An online AI image detection tool found it to be 100% likely AI-generated. A separate analysis further revealed a SynthID watermark, indicating the image was created or edited using Google AI tools. The claim appeared in a post…

Does a viral screenshot deliver a real extract from Michael Wolff's book about U.S. President Donald Trump demanding a "gorilla channel" in the White House? No, that's not true: It's an old joke that first emerged in January 2018 as a response to the revelations in Michael Wolff's 'Fire and Fury.' Lead Stories confirmed that the book contains no mention…

Did Lufthansa offer free business class upgrades to people in Israel to apologize for the Holocaust? No, that's not true: The company publicly denied it. Two online AI detectors said the image purportedly providing the proof was likely to have been generated by AI. The claim originated from a post (archived here) published by the @0xRacist X account on March…

Did President Donald Trump announce that everyone born before 2000 would get all their debt erased? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that he made such an announcement or is considering a similar plan, and no official statements, proposals, or policy platforms support this claim. There has also been no credible policy discussion from administration sources about forgiving…

Nina Rybárová is a fact checker and editor at Lead Stories.…

Did President Donald Trump post a message on his Truth Social account saying that Queen Elizabeth should pardon former prince Andrew after his arrest? No, that's not true: The original message was posted by an account clearly marked as satire as the screenshot shows. "Luke Skywalker" actor Mark Hamill shared the fake post, apparently missing the satire label, to mock…

Is the viral selfie of the seven dogs walking home together in China a real photo? No, that's not true: The picture was likely generated by AI. AI detection results from two tools pointed to AI generation, as did a key detail in the image itself: dogs appearing to take a selfie -- something real dogs cannot do. The claim…