Mexico

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…

Did a Russian visitor named Ivan Stepanov rescue a tranquilized bear that was drowning in Lake Tahoe? No, that's not true: The dramatic story shared on social media is ripped off from the real-life heroics of Florida wildlife biologist Adam Warwick, who pulled a tranquilized bear from the water in a Florida harbor in 2008. The photos used in a…

Has the woman photographed wearing a pink hijab posing next to a swastika been identified as Linda Sarsour, senior advisor of the Zohran for NYC campaign? No, that's not true on two counts. Linda Sarsour is not the senior advisor of the NYC mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani -- the "senior campaign advisor" is Zara Rahim. The photo of the…

Does a video show a massive metallic UFO orb over a volcano in Mexico? No, that's not true: The round object in the video is a telescope on the top of the dormant Sierra Negra volcano. The telescope's concave dish-shaped reflector is 50 meters wide, the lighting at the time the video was filmed made an optical illusion of a…

Were Rep. Nancy Pelosi's granddaughters arrested trying to smuggle narcotics into the United States? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. A search of news archives showed that the rumor was not even inadvertently accurate. The claim appeared in a July 16, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here), which contained a photo…

Does a viral video of flood scenes include real clips of the 2025 Independence Day Weekend flooding in Kerr County, Texas? No, that's not true: The opening scene is an obvious product of generative AI. None of the clips in the montage can be traced to authentic filming of the Texas flood. The clips include news coverage of floods that…

Did a Mexican search and rescue team sent to the scene of the July 2025 flooding in Kerr County, Texas rescue a sheriff's daughter, as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Although Mexican rescue crews were in fact sent to help when Independence Day rain caused flash flooding along the Guadalupe River, there is no publicly available documentation…

Did ICE arrest Mexican nationals who helped flood recovery efforts, and did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott say "I support ICE deporting the Mexicans who helped during the floods"? No, that's not true: A viral TikTok video contained a fabricated story about ICE "aiming weapons" at the rescuers and "loading them into vans". A clip of Abbott contained fake audio and…

Is a viral video a real news report about a "Sheriff Larry Leda" saying he'd apply for a green card for the Mexican rescue team that saved his family? No, that's not true: The footage in the viral video came from a press conference during which the phrase "green card" was not said and the caption in the video spelled…

Did a widely-shared video show a real Mexican soldier speaking to camera and saying "We're to help the people of Texas"? No, that's not true: The clip was produced using AI. The video contained telltale glitches such as the soldier's name badge reading "MEXICIO" instead of his name, and a small watermark in the corner of the video signified that…