Are social media posts claiming that a long list of celebrities each "went live at 3 a.m." with an urgent message saying they had received a threat meant to silence them real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from AI-generated Facebook posts produced by a spam operation…
Are social media posts real that say a long list of musicians, actors and other celebs are each stepping "back into the spotlight" for a "Back to the Heart" or "Back to the Fire" project? No, that's not true: The false claims originate from AI-generated articles and Facebook posts created by a spam operation managed from Vietnam. Fake fan pages…
False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. Here are our most read fact checks of the past year, reflecting our reader's interest in finding out the truth about various viral stories. If you see something suspicious in 2026,…
Did the late Charlie Kirk say "Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously" as social media posts claim? No, that's not a precise quote: Attacking affirmative action, Kirk slammed by name four prominent liberal Black women . On his podcast, he specifically criticized Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, TV host Joy Reid, Supreme Court…
Did Elon Musk promise a "major shake-up" at MSNBC, vowing to fire host Joy Reid, as a social media post said? No, that's not true: This first appeared in an article on a website with a satire disclaimer that's known for publishing fabricated content. The post's caption also identifies its content as "RATED SATIRE." The claim appeared in a post…
Is Donald Trump selling holy oil to raise money to cover his legal costs as a defendant in dozens of lawsuits? No, that's not true: The comment about holy oil was a sarcastic remark by TV commentator Al Sharpton about Trump's legal and financial problems, rather than a statement of fact. Sharpton made the joke on MSNBC host Joy Reid's…
Did CNN cut Benjamin Watson off in mid-sentence during an interview because the NFL star started talking about Jesus? No, that's not true: Watson, who was at the time a tight end for the New Orleans Saints, was interviewed via satellite feed by CNN journalist Brooke Baldwin on November 28, 2014. The topic of the interview was not football, but…
Did Democrats say that American taxpayers must pay reparations to illegal aliens? No, that's not true: The claim is a distortion of a statement made by a member of congress in reference to children separated from parents after arriving at the border to apply for asylum in the United States. Rep. Pramila Jayapal said the federal goverment must "make reparations"…
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