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Have you seen viral videos showing dogs being rescued from train or subway tracks? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They do not show real people risking their lives to save their real pets and many of them seem to have been created to exploit…

Does a screenshot show a real Mehdi Hasan social media post with a September 11 photo and the caption, "Make American planes crash again."? No, that's not true: The screenshot is altered. The original Feb. 16, 2025, and later deleted post by Hasan did not have a 9/11 image showing a plane about to crash into the World Trade Center.…

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 an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer get 71 days of training, while it takes 150 days to become a certified Petco pet stylist? Yes, that's essentially true: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson confirmed that officers receive 71 days of training. The Petco website says its certified pet stylists must complete an 800-hour, 20-week course, which spans about 140…

Do viral screenshots of a Wikipedia article about French soccer referee François Letexier confirm that he is Jewish? No, that's not true: The edits made after the 2026 Egypt-Argentina FIFA World Cup game didn't link to credible sources stating that. Lead Stories found no publicly available information suggesting that Letexier grew up in an "Orthodox Jewish family." The claim appeared…

Did President Donald Trump post a message saying, "Belgium is 2 weeks away from developing a nuclear bomb"? No, that's not true: The message, which appears to mimic a Truth Social post, is fake. A review of his account history found no record of the supposed post. There are no credible reports that he ever shared such a message. The…

Does a real video show a military dog jumping a barrier after seeing his former handler at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this particular scene took place. The video is AI-generated, according to an online detection tool that gave it a 99% score. The claim appeared in a post and video…

Does a photo show the police officer who reportedly shot a rabbi during a Montreal shooting in late June 2026, carrying a rifle and wearing a uniform? No, that's not true: The image displays multiple indicators of AI generation and also appears to be a parody of the Sam Hyde meme that often follows high-profile shootings. Additionally, the shooting victim…

Is a video that shows Joe Rogan saying he is considering refusing to commentate the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight at the White House legitimate? No, that's not true: The video was labeled "Contains AI-generated media." Rogan did criticize the event on his podcast, saying he does not like the idea of fighting outside, but he did not say he…

Did Starbucks place signs in its U.K., U.S. and Ireland coffee shops saying that the company bans pets to become halal-certified? No, that's not true: The sign in the images shared as supposed proof was located in Singapore. However, a Starbucks spokesperson told Lead Stories the sign was posted erroneously and has since been removed. The claim appeared in a…