Antarctic

Does authentic video show U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detaining cats and dogs, as of October 9, 2025? No, that's not true: Viral clips showing cats and dogs being seized were products of generative AI. Their early versions displayed a removable watermark pointing to a specific app. They originated as online satire. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Does a video shared on social platforms show an authentic Arctic woolly snake discovered by researchers in Antarctica? No, that's not true: The video was created by an artificial intelligence tool, not by a camera that recorded real people handling a real creature, according to an AI detection tool used by Lead Stories. A search online for information about the…

Is the pyramidal peak in Antarctica's Ellsworth Mountains the topic of an expert debate over whether it is a masonry pyramid constructed during Antarctica's last warm period, millions of years ago? No, that's not true: There is no credentialled scholar or explorer with on-the-ground knowledge making that case. The nameless mountain in Antarctica's Ellsworth Range sits in a well-studied range…

Does a photo shared on Facebook authentically show a "pyramid" in Antarctica? No, that's not true: The image in question shows Scott's Hut, a historic 20th-century structure in Antarctica's Ross Sea region near McMurdo Station. The structure is an established historic site recognized by the Antarctic Treaty. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook on December 2, 2024, (archived…

Does a recording on social media show Jordan Peterson discussing Antarctica on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast? No, that's not true: In the authentic Joe Rogan recording featuring Peterson, the Canadian psychologist does not mention Antarctica. AI detection tool True Media found substantial evidence the audio in the post was generated by AI. Lead Stories has previously fact checked similar…

Did humans artificially create Antarctica's ice cap in order to boost energy emissions from frozen metals? No, that's not true: Scientists say Antarctica began freezing about 34 million years ago due to a drop in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That's about 28 million years before the earliest humans walked the Earth and about 34 million years before artificial refrigeration…

Did data from December 2023 show that Arctic sea ice had soared to its "highest level for 21 years," thus disproving global warming and climate change? No, that's not true: The blog that made this claim cherry-picked genuine data, a senior research scientist told Lead Stories. While it is true that the total area of the Arctic Ocean covered by…

Was the Earth's average temperature 2 degrees Celsius warmer 55,000 years ago? No, that's not true: Climate experts contacted by Lead Stories all agreed that the Earth's temperature 55,000 years ago was colder than today's average temperature, not warmer. Ice core samples and other geological data show that global temperatures were lower due to extensive ice sheets and lower greenhouse…

Does a "leaked photo" authentically show a "city on the other side of the ice at Antarctica," as a post on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: The image was created using artificial intelligence, based on the results of three image analysis tools used by Lead Stories. Many conspiracy theorists use the ice wall argument to make unfounded arguments, such…

Does a supposed map of America, purportedly from 1500, prove that Antarctica was inhabited by people for centuries? No, that's not true: The map that is shown in a social media post is not from the 1500s. It is a fake map created by the English illustrator Henry Justice Ford for a 1911 book. The claim appeared in a video…