&Quot;Caitlin Clark&Quot;

Are social media posts claiming that a long list of celebrities, including 85-year-old Joan Baez, were photographed wearing an incredibly daring thong bikini on the beach real? No, that's not true: The images used in the post were AI-generated. The claims came from a spam operation managed from Vietnam. Among the false posts Lead Stories found is a post (archived…

Are social media posts real that claim that a long list of athletes called the mandatory wearing of LGBT armbands a "political charade" and said they play for their team, not any movement? No, that's not true: None of the sports stars named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from AI-generated Facebook posts produced by a…

Did Keanu Reeves, Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and many others say that children should be raised according to "traditional values" avoiding "LGBTQ themes"? No, that's not true: This is a fake ragebait story claiming that many fans are now boycotting celebrities over something they never said. Nearly identical stories mentioning those and other names were published by a…

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 Stevie Nicks, Tom Brady, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Elon Musk, or dozens of other entertainers, sports stars, or media figures defend Donald Trump from accusations he's authoritarian and trying to cancel elections? No, that's not true: The identical story is told about at least 55 celebrities who purportedly said "This disorder is being used to scare Americans. To convince…

Did Travis Kelce, Jelly Roll, Bruce Springsteen, Caitlin Clark and a 12 other celebrities say that President Trump was "a vicious old bastard draining America's soul after the Born-in-America Act"? No, that's not true: The claim that at least 17 different sports stars and entertainers made that identical statement was made up by a Vietnamese-based spam factory that uses artificial…

Did Dolly Parton, Kid Rock or various other celebrities all donate $500.000 to a "Remembering Renee Nicole Good" fund? No, that's not true: Several quasi identical stories were posted on social media with the name of the donating celebrity swapped out depending on the intended audience. The stories originated on a network of Facebook pages and websites run by people…

Did Zohran Mamdani, Melania Trump, Sen. John Kennedy, Paul McCartney, or other prominent Americans go live with a 3 a.m. emergency monologue claiming they were under threat for secrets they were about to expose about President Donald Trump or former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden? No, that's not true: Nearly identical stories mentioning those and other names were published…

Did prominent Americans like Elon Musk, Caitlin Clark, Stephen Colbert, and Joy Behar each pay down $667,000 of schoolkids' lunchroom debts? No, there's no evidence that's true: In the case of FBI Director Kash Patel, the gift was inflated to $979,000, which would be more than five times his FBI salary.The posts making the claims include no evidence by which…

Did Donald Trump (or another famous person) dismiss the achievements of Dick Van Dyke (or some other celebrity) by saying, "He's just a dancer." (or some other talent)? No, that's not true: This story about a broadcast studio turning into a "televised earthquake" is nothing but a formulaic structure to pair the names and pictures of some famous people for…