Does a real photo show a person dressed as Spider-Man winding up to punch Jake Lang? Yes, that's true: This is a real photo taken by photojournalist Chris Juhn on Aug. 22, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. This photo, and several more from a series showing the incident, were posted to Juhn's Bluesky and Facebook accounts. The photo appeared in a…
Does a real photo show someone dressed as Spider-Man punching Jake Lang at a protest in Minneapolis? No, that's not true: This specific image is AI-generated, although a person dressed as Spider-Man was filmed attacking Lang and later both were arrested. The OpenAI Verify tool found a SynthID watermark in the image indicating it was made with OpenAI tools. The…
Is a meme that shows a mugshot of a woman accused of herding goats through a Walmart while drinking margaritas from a jug a real news story? No, that's not true: The original meme appears to have originated on a satire account. The mugshots used in various posts are either of real women who were arrested for unrelated charges or…
Does a viral video show people trying to enter the Spanish city of Ceuta from Morocco in August 2026? No, that's not true: The video is older than that, showing an event that began in late July. It has been online since at least July 31, 2026. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) on X published…
Is suspected Spokane arsonist Aaron F. Farinacci a registered Republican voter? No, that's not true: Voters in Washington state do not register by political party, according to the Washington Secretary of State's office. Voters in the state can become members of any political party by contacting the party directly, but they are not "registered" as members of a party when…
Does a video show U.S. Sen. John Fetterman being arrested after pulling a gun on a person in a car? No, that's not true: The man seen in the clip is not the senator from Pennsylvania but a man in Des Moines, Iowa. According to reports, Des Moines police identified him as Bradley James Ratkovich, who was charged with assault…
Does a viral post about "a 26-year-old man from Chicago" arrested over "hacking into the Cook County Human Services system" to approve all food stamp applications describe a real-life incident? No, that's not true: The mugshot of the imaginary suspect was generated by AI. Earlier versions of the rumor started years ago as pranks and satire. The claim appeared in…
Is a video showing a transgender Florida student fake, AI-generated, or staged? No, that's not true: The footage is body camera video from the University of Central Florida Police Department. The incident occurred in February 2025 and involved then-student Jarrett Vick, who was upset about how police used pronouns when referring to them during an encounter that resulted in their…
Does a video show Ann Widdecombe murder suspect Joshua Kerry giving a speech at a communist rally praising mass murderers Stalin and Lenin? No, that's not true: The man in the video is named Joshua Covel. He is clearly identified in the video by name. He is credited in the caption as representing Red Youth, the militant youth wing of…
Is Timothy Donahue the ICE agent who shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine on July 13, 2026? No, that's not true: Neither Immigration and Customs Enforcement nor the Maine Attorney General's Office has released the identity of the federal immigration agent involved in the shooting. A news report in April 2026 also identifies Donahue as a Border Patrol…
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