Does a video show a cyclist finding the Hidden Valley Ranch logo in real life? No, that's not true: While the clip of a man exploring a tranquil valley in Northern California is real, the logo derived from it is fake, and the landscape on Hidden Valley Ranch products does not match the valley in the video. Analysis also revealed…
Is this real footage of an American F-15 fighter jet being shot down by Iran? No, that's not true: The clip appears to come from a military simulation video game, and the same video was posted online about a month before the reported shootdown of a U.S. F-15 in Iran in early April 2026. An online AI detection tool estimated…
We agree with some very prominent people. Here's our proposal... Fact Checking Day on April 2, 2026 marks almost a year since Lead Stories published our last fact check as part of Meta's Third-Party Fact Checking Partnership. Since that day we've published over 1500 fact checks on our U.S. website on topics ranging from fake Epstein Files emails mentioning Elon…
Does a court filing definitively state that the bullet that killed Charlie Kirk does not match the rifle allegedly used by Tyler Robinson? No, that's not true: In court documents, defense lawyers said a summary report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives indicates the agency was unable to match up the bullet recovered from Kirk. The defense…
Oh, joy! It is the most wonderful day of the year (if you are a fact checker)... April Fool's Day is upon us, that day when every outlet, brand, influencer and Internet jokester under the sun tries to come up with something original to fool their audience with. Listing every effort at humor, satire, parody etc. on such a day…
Is a video of a woman crying while tied up from the Epstein files released by the U.S. Department of Justice? No, that's not true: The footage is from a 2007 mockumentary-style horror film titled "The Poughkeepsie Tapes." The video exactly matches footage from the movie that is easily found on the internet. The claim appeared in a post with…
Did former British Prime Minister Liz Truss blame "underground transgender mafia" for a KitKat chocolate heist? No, that's not true: The made-up quote originated from a satire account that had a history of attributing false statements about "underground transgender mafia" to Truss. As of this writing, no credible media outlet had reported the former prime minister making such a remark.…
Did Israeli Channel 13 and Al Jazeera confirm that Hezbollah partially or wholly captured Kiryat Shmona? No, that's not true: There's no reliable evidence to support that claim. Neither news organization reported that Hezbollah fighters had taken Israel's northernmost city, located near its border with Lebanon, although the community has been largely evacuated due to ongoing cross-border attacks. The claim…
Is a video of a dancing man "leaked from Kash Patel's Gmail account"? No, that's not true: While there have been reports about FBI Director Kash Patel's personal Gmail account being hacked, this video has been online since at least 2021. It has been described in the past as "Man's enthusiastic dance to celebrate wife leaving for her home." The…
Did President Donald Trump react with an angry Truth Social post after "only 17 people" turned out for a "Pro Kings" rally in Lexington, Kentucky? No, that's not true: The story originated on the satirical Substack page of comedy writer Andy Borowitz. Trump's Truth Social account showed no posts about such an event, despite what some social media posts claimed…
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