Fda

Does a viral clip document a real bridge collapse in Norway? No, that's not true: No such event, which would have attracted media attention worldwide, was covered by legitimate news organizations. Multiple visual artifacts show it's an AI creation, including unrealistic movements by the bridge and abnormally behaving trucks. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X…

Does a viral clip show real "transgender Providence Police Department spokesperson Lyle Culpepper" demanding that the public stop saying "the Brown shooter"? No, that's not true: The person in the video is comedian L.E. Staiman. In interviews, Staiman has said that he believes his videos are so absurd that people can easily understand they are parody and satire. The claim…

Do these viral videos show real footage from flooded tents in Gaza? No, that's not true: While there were credible reports about December 2025 flooding in that region, some of the Gaza flood clips shared on social media were not real. The signs pointing to AI included strangely shaped hands, distorted faces and scene elements inconsistent with real natural disaster…

Is a video claiming that "all of our food is 3D-printed" or contains bioengineered ingredients to be taken seriously? No, that's not true: A TikTok video sent out a confusing message conflating bioengineered food and 3D-printed foods. Both are real things but they don't mean the same thing. The TikTok creator who made the claims as she reviewed food products…

Do viral posts about a confrontation between AOC and Donald Trump's son Barron, with the involvement of Louisiana Senator John Neely Kennedy, describe a real-life event? No, that's not true: Contrary to the claim, there is no video recording of an exchange that allegedly happened on the Senate floor. The posts appear to be part of foreign-operated networks that share…

Does a viral video show Muslims protesting against a Christmas fair in Germany? No, that's not true: The video has circulated since October, 12, 2024, showing a demonstration in Hamburg, Germany, against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinians. The time stamp on the 2024 posts puts the march a full month before Germany's traditional Christmas markets begin, according to tour…

Did prominent Americans like Elon Musk, Caitlin Clark, Stephen Colbert, and Joy Behar each pay down $667,000 of schoolkids' lunchroom debts? No, there's no evidence that's true: In the case of FBI Director Kash Patel, the gift was inflated to $979,000, which would be more than five times his FBI salary.The posts making the claims include no evidence by which…

Did Donald Trump mistakenly read "state your name" instead of using his own name while swearing in newly enlisted U.S. troops during the half-time of a Washington Commanders - Detroit Lions game? No, that's not true: Prompting "state your name" is how the officiating officer does it, reminding oath takers to say their name aloud as they repeat the oath…

Does a real video show a body-armor-wearing riot policeman smiling as he pepper-sprays a woman confronting him at a protest? No, that's not true: The video is labeled "Sora" with watermarks indicating it was created using OpenAI's text-to-video app. It originated on an account devoted to improbable wild animal videos, also labeled as Sora productions. Sora creates fake but "hyperreal"…

This is what fact checkers call a "prebunk." A prebunk is like a debunk (another word for fact check), only it's an advance notice of an anticipated false claim. This article is intended to inoculate you from future outbreaks of a specific type of false claims about your favorite entertainment celebrities, sports stars, and politicians. We call this "Viet Spam"…