Does a viral image show a real news report saying that U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' office "tried to tip off" Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro before his capture? No, that's not true: No such report could be found. Neither CBS News, nor any other media outlet published news of such a leak. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…
Does a viral image show Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro captured? No, that's not true: An authentic photo was digitally altered to swap Maduro's head onto the body of a captive. The image originally showed Ukrainian-born pro-Russian businessman and politician Victor Medvedchuk. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on January 3, 2026. It read: 😁The White House…
Does a viral video show missiles raining down from the clouds on Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026? No, that's not true: A viral video making the rounds does not show the actual attacks that took place on that date. It is an old video from 2025 that was described at the time as missiles from Iran impacting Tel Aviv.…
Does the 1986 Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, "authored" by U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, make it legal to "blow drug boats out of the water"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories reviewed the text of the law, and it says nothing about an unrestricted use of lethal force. An expert in maritime law confirmed to Lead Stories that the Act…
Is a video of a conversation between the Venezuelan ship Guaiquerí, commanded by Capt. Yonaiker Bermúdez, and the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Jason Durham legitimate? No, that's not true: The creator of the video said on social media that it was made as a parody, adding that it had "gone around the world as if it were real." The creator…
Did the U.S. Coast Guard report that drugs were found on just 21% of the suspected drug-trafficking vessels stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard in the 13 months before airstrikes, while the rest -- 79% -- did nothing wrong? No, that's not true: Social media posts making the 21% claim reversed the numbers shared by Sen. Rand Paul, who was…
Did President Trump say "Quiet, piggy" to a female reporter when she asked if there might be incriminating evidence about him in the Epstein files? Yes, that's true: Trump pointed at Bloomberg's White House correspondent Catherine Lucey and said "Quiet, quiet, piggy" during a flight aboard Air Force One on November 14, 2025. A White House official justified the comment…
Did the chair of the Nobel committee that chose the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize say that Donald Trump was not chosen because they only "give the award to people of courage and integrity?" No, that's not true: A reporter asked Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes how the campaign by President Trump and his supporters to get the award for…
Do images described as tree stumps provide proof that there were once giant ancient trees which were felled by angels? No, that's not true: The photos show natural geological features around the world which came to be through several geological processes over millions of years. Volcanoes erupting, erosion of different materials at different speeds, and the lifting and folding of…
Does a viral video show the incident where two Venezuelan F-16s flew near an American warship on September 4, 2025? No, that's not true: The video clip in question has been online since August 30, 2025. This is before both the U.S. airstrike on a boat on September 2, 2025 and reports of two Venezuelan F-16 jets flying near the…
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