&Quot;Passed Away&Quot;

Did an Aug. 3, 2026, procession in Louisville bring the corpse of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to the coroner's office there? No, that's not true: The Louisville Metro Police Department told Lead Stories that reports involving McConnell were "completely false" and said authorities were escorting the body of an officer who had died. As of Aug. 5, 2026, there…

Did Inter Miami player Germán Berterame die as a result of a collision seen in a video of a match against Montréal on July 25, 2026? No, that's not true: Berterame collapsed on the field after being struck in the head by Efraín Morales' elbow in the 70th minute of the match. He spent the night at Montréal General Hospital…

Does a viral image actually show a real-life judge hugging an 88-year-old Vietnam veteran who was about to lose his home? No, that's not true: The image contained characteristic AI generation artifacts. Four online AI detectors ruled the image was highly unlikely to be an authentic photo. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @feelgoodtale…

Does a viral video on YouTube discuss a real-life scandal involving BBC host "James Whitmore" mocking Filipino Doctor "Elena Reyes" for her accent? No, that's not true: The story was made up by AI. Multiple online tools detected AI across different elements of the story, and the BBC website showed no record of either the host or the guest. The…

Did the personal assistants to celebrities including Kid Rock, Prince William, Nikki Sixx and Tanya Tucker die in early 2026, all at age 30? No, that's not true: Nearly identical stories mentioning those and other famous names were all published by an international network of websites and Facebook pages. There were no news articles about the supposed deaths. Several versions…

Did CNN's "Caityn Collins" leave the White House press room after Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt embarrassed her by saying she had not "reported a fact since you left the Daily Caller nine years ago"? No, that's not true: The claim originated on a satirical Facebook page run by a liberal man with a long history of tricking conservatives into…

Were Dalton Knecht, Clayton Kershaw, Andre Iguodala and many other sports celebrities and their associates fatally shot, "while tryiпg to break υp a bar fight"? No, that's not true: Nearly identical stories mentioning them and other people were published by a network of foreign websites and Facebook pages. There were no credible news articles about such events. The Knecht version…

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…

Did Chuck Norris die on March 19, 2026? Yes, that's true: His family released the statement cited by multiple credible media organizations. Previously, the actor had been the subject of multiple death hoaxes. The news was reported in an article (archived here) published by the AP on March 20, 2026, under the title: Chuck Norris, martial arts master and actor…

Were there any official reports about former National Security Advisor John Bolton dying in the wake of airstrikes on Iran in late February 2026? No, that's not true: The claim was only made in a likely satirical social media post. His assistant confirmed to Lead Stories that he was "alive and well" and there were no news reports about his…