Hawaii

Does a video clip show a timelapse of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured by the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, released on July 15, 2025, by NSF's NOIRLab and the University of Hawaii? No, that's not true: The authentic image of the comet released by astronomers looks nothing like the video clip circulating on social media. Rather than showing an interstellar…

Did Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, officially designate California Sen. Adam Schiff and former CIA Director John Brennan "domestic enemies"? No, that's not true: An authentic video posted by Gabbard in Jan. 2021 resurfaced on social media in Sept. 2025 with a misleading description that makes it seem like a 2025 video. Gabbard became the Director of…

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey rejects social media claims that she hesitated to open the private road through her Hawaiian estate to help evacuation efforts after tsunami warnings were issued for Hawaii on July 29, 2025. One of her social media accounts publicly shared the denial statement from her spokesperson. The Maui police department put out a statement saying the…

Did a widely-shared video show a submarine appearintg at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina? No, that's not true: The local Coast Guard unit told Lead Stories that no such thing happened. The viral reel was consistent with previously documented instances of a school of fish traveling together in the area, and that was confirmed to Lead Stories by South Carolina's Department…

Did Barron Trump, son of President Trump, get married to Spanish crown princess Leonor and was all of this documented in a lavish wedding video? No, that's not true: A youtube account named "Lovely Trump Family" put out several videos purporting to show such a dream wedding but they all carried disclaimers saying they were generated using artificial intelligence. In…

Did a series of Facebook posts in late March and early April 2025 offer genuine concern over an unidentified woman supposedly found "heavily stabbed" in a black Audi A7, in various locations in the United States? No, that's not true: Such posts were examples of a known "bait-and-switch" scam, which garnered well-meaning shares of the original post before flipping its…

Were the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires intentionally set to implement "smart city" technology across Los Angeles? No, that's not true: While the cause of the wildfires had not been determined at the time of writing, the "smart city" effort to improve technology for municipalities does not include intentionally destroying them first. Los Angeles unveiled its plan to eventually add…

Did a white home with a red roof survive a wildfire that leveled every other home in a Los Angeles neighborhood? No, that's not true: This aerial view does not show a real neighborhood impacted by the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles County. Google Lens image search results say the image was made with Google AI. The image appeared…

If a wildfire destroys cars, must it always destroy nearby trees as well? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found other examples of wildfires sparing trees while nearby cars and houses were incinerated. Experts explain that trees generally have a higher moisture content and take longer to heat up than closed structures like a car or home, making trees less…

Did Elon Musk discuss communities "putting up blue tarps all over the roofs" in an effort to defend against lasers setting fires in a podcast interview with Joe Rogan, as suggested by a video on Instagram? No, that's not true: The clip added altered video and audio to a real 2020 interview, including AI-generated imagery, to make it seem Musk…