&Quot;Los Angeles&Quot;

Did a widely-shared video show a submarine appearintg at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina? No, that's not true: The local Coast Guard unit told Lead Stories that no such thing happened. The viral reel was consistent with previously documented instances of a school of fish traveling together in the area, and that was confirmed to Lead Stories by South Carolina's Department…

Did The International Olympic Committee plan a vote on moving the 2028 Games out of Los Angeles? No, that's not true: The meme spreading that news originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are made up.The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and…

Did Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift attend a "No Kings Day" protest and is there a photo to prove it? No, that's not true: A viral story about the appearance of the pair was illustrated with a photo generated with artificial intelligence. The story also mentioned social media posts by the couple that they didn't actually make and there were…

Did a photo show a huge crowd flattening the bridge deck of San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge during the "No Kings" protest on June 14, 2025? No, that's not true: A viral post wrongly attributed to biologist David Attenborough was talking about 1987 events and used a photo from that year. There were no news reports about "No Kings" events…

Did an authentic news outlet report that the May 2025 expense report of the California Democratic Party showed it bought 200 pallets of bricks ahead of ICE protests in Los Angeles? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook account that identifies the owner as a comedian working for Donald Trump. The bricks story did not include links…

Does a widely-shared video prove that U.S. military tanks patrolled the streets of Washington, D.C. on June 11, 2025? No, that's not true: The person who recorded it told Lead Stories that the 10-second clip showed an armored vehicle that was in the nation's capital to participate in a military parade on June 14, 2025. That account was consistent with…

Does a video on TikTok show "Bikers on the way to California to back ICE agents" in June of 2025? No, that's not true: The video was first posted to TikTok in November 2022 -- almost three years before protesters in Los Angeles took to the streets to block aggressive ICE immigration raids. The video's original poster was documenting bikers…

Does a video show "bikers on their way to Los Angeles" as a viral social media post claimed? No, that's not true: The video, captioned "Californication", shows bikers in the Los Angeles area in 2022. It has nothing to do with events in that city in 2025. The video reappeared in a viral post on X (archived here) published on…

Did a photograph shared widely in June 2025 show California's first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom shopping in Beverly Hills during anti-ICE protests and unrest in Los Angeles? No, that's not true: The photograph was actually taken in January 2025. After initially claiming the picture showed Siebel Newsom shopping on June 8, the Daily Mail updated its story and issued a…

Was a controversial June 2025 Craigslist ad seeking the "toughest badasses" in Los Angeles traced to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page that describes its content as satirical. The ad appears to have been a prank, but prompted suspicions that its authors were recruiting paid anti-ICE protesters. The claim appeared in a…