Did American soccer player Folarin Balogun unveil an image of late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk under his t-shirt during the USA-Paraguay World Cup match on June 12, 2026? No, that's not true: The viral image was digitally manipulated. Neither the real footage of the game nor media coverage confirm that such an episode ever took place during that match. The…
Did former President Barack Obama bar President Trump from 'stepping foot inside the Obama Presidential Center' after a Somali World Cup referee was denied entry to the United States? No, that's not true: A video features Obama with an AI-generated voiceover falsely attributing statements to him. The April interview with Stephen Colbert (aired May 5, 2026) contains no such remarks.…
Have you seen viral videos showing people walking on water while wearing some type of floating or anti-gravity shoes? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. Except in rare situations, they do not show real people or events because what they show is physically not…
Did Donald Trump's Truth Social account really make a post about an API service being unavailable, implying that AI writes his posts? No, that's not true: The supposed post does not appear on the president's official Truth Social account, and there are no reliable reports that it ever did. The fake post was edited to look like the real thing,…
Does a viral video show a real-life scene of a child throwing a Pride Flag into a trash bin? No, that's not true: The video contained hallmarks of an AI clip. Two online detectors confirmed the video was made with generative AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @TheBritLad on June 14, 2026. It…
Is a viral video that shows Shakira's 2026 World Cup opening song performance real? No, that's not true: An online detection tool identified elements of the video as AI-generated. Shakira does not appear in the 10-minute video posted on social media. The real footage of Shakira performing the opening song for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with singer Burna Boy…
Was a video of a crowd of people chanting, clapping, and drumming recorded in Belfast during the June 2026 anti-immigrant protests? No, that's not true: The clip had been online since May of that year. The original caption said it showed soccer fans in Germany. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published on X by @KDJRadioShow…
Does a real Fox Sports graphic from the Mexico-South Africa game during the 2026 FIFA World Cup include a long explanation of what it means to be "down to 9 players"? No, that's not true: Video from the match does not include such a graphic. At that point in the game, the yellow on-screen graphic simply read "Down to 9…
Was a woman decapitated in Scandicci, Italy, in June 2026? No, that's not true: The case is not that recent. Italian media widely reported that both the murder and the arrest of the suspect happened in February 2026. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @TaraBull on June 11, 2026. It opened: 🚨#BREAKING: A 44-year-old…
Does a screenshot published on X accurately show the World Cup results predictions as they were pictured in a TikTok video? No, that's not true: The list of score predictions which appeared in a TikTok video has been altered. The TikTok prediction showed a score of "Mexico 3-1 South Africa" which proved to be incorrect. The actual score was Mexico…
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