Have you seen viral videos showing a courtroom sentencing where the convicted person is an over-the-top villain? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They do not show real people or situations but are clickbait entertainment, possibly intended to ragebait people over stereotypes involved in…
Does a viral video actually show that an African migrant from a group rescued from the English Channel on August 7, 2026, said that he wanted "my money and my free house, and English woman"? No, that's not true: In reality, the man from the clip was filmed two years before the incident; he spoke Arabic, not English; and he…
Does a video clip show a farmer on a French show called "Face Your Worst Nightmare" being confronted with dozens of singing children dressed like the brother he killed in a drunk driving accident? No, that's not true: The clip actually shows a children's choral tribute to French composer and actor Serge Gainsbourg. "Farmer François Lavigne," along with the show…
Does a screenshot show a real Mehdi Hasan social media post with a September 11 photo and the caption, "Make American planes crash again."? No, that's not true: The screenshot is altered. The original Feb. 16, 2025, and later deleted post by Hasan did not have a 9/11 image showing a plane about to crash into the World Trade Center.…
Does a real video show Iranian jets being shot down over Tel Aviv by an Israeli laser defense system? No, that's not true: There is no evidence from credible sources that such an incident ever took place. An AI detection tool concluded that the video was very likely AI-generated, assigning it a 99.1% confidence score, and the video contains visual…
Did President Donald Trump file an emergency motion to "stop his own lawsuit against the BBC"? No, that's not true: The president's lawyers asked a U.S. federal judge for a stay of discovery into his finances in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster, which the judge granted on Aug. 6, 2026. Had Trump wanted to stop his…
Are viral high-resolution images real photos or screenshots actually showing the person suspected of punching a man in broad daylight in Warsaw, Poland? No, that's not true: Two AI detectors said the images were generated by AI. The real recording of the incident had a much lower quality, and thus, the images could not be authentic screenshots of that video.…
Did Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, "celebrate 9/11"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that El-Sayed celebrated 9/11. In an interview in early April 2026, he said, "I don't think 9/11 was justified," and distanced himself from Hasan Piker, a Twitch streamer he had appeared with on the campaign trail. Piker said…
Have you seen a viral video showing a beautiful policewoman asking for engagement or friendship, a simple "Hello" or a follow? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They do not show real people or situations although the videos are produced for audiences in several…
Did President Donald Trump post an AI-generated image of himself standing between Gen. George Patton and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, with all three men wearing inaccurate uniforms? Yes, that's true: The image appeared on his Truth Social account. An AI detection tool found a SynthID watermark, indicating the image was generated using OpenAI tools. Another concluded that it was very likely…
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