Celebrities

Does a real video show New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani not applauding at the funeral of Staff Sgt. Angel Rampersad? No, that's not true: The video is AI-generated. It was originally posted with an AI disclaimer. The video has since been republished without the disclaimer. The video was reposted (archived here) on X by @magagrunt1 on Aug. 1, 2026. The…

Did President Donald Trump post a video about "Dr. Trump and his Trump Derangement Syndrome patients" on an official social media account? Yes, that's true: The content appeared on his verified Instagram account. Although the video contains numerous signs of AI-generated imagery and audio, there is no evidence that it was posted by an unofficial or impersonator account. The claim…

Are social media posts claiming that Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, or other celebrity women wore "probably the smallest bikini In the world" real? No, that's not true: The images used in the posts were created with artificial intelligence tools and distributed on a network of fake Facebook fan pages managed from North Macedonia. These clickbait posts link to blogs filled…

Are social media posts claiming that a long list of celebrities, including 85-year-old Joan Baez, were photographed wearing an incredibly daring thong bikini on the beach real? No, that's not true: The images used in the post were AI-generated. The claims came from a spam operation managed from Vietnam. Among the false posts Lead Stories found is a post (archived…

Does a real video show Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson publicly declining the invitation to attend the UFC White House event? No, that's not true: An AI-generated cloned voice has been dubbed over pre-existing video clips of Johnson. One clip -- which appears to show his mouth moving in sync with the audio -- is based on footage from an unrelated…

Are social media posts real that claim that a long list of athletes called the mandatory wearing of LGBT armbands a "political charade" and said they play for their team, not any movement? No, that's not true: None of the sports stars named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from AI-generated Facebook posts produced by a…

Are social media posts claiming that Pope Leo XIV and a long list of celebrities each filed a $50 million lawsuit against a news host for "vicious, calculated defamation" real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from a spam operation managed from Vietnam that uses AI-generated Facebook…

Are social media posts wishing Pink a happy birthday and showing the musician wearing an anti-Trump T-shirt real? No, that's not true: The images were generated by artificial intelligence tools and distributed by a spam operation managed from Vietnam. The posts, which link to a website that sells T-shirts, falsely claim Pink's birthday is in May, but the singer was…

Are social media posts claiming celebrities "went live at 3 a.m." with a message saying they received a threat meant to silence them real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from AI-generated Facebook posts produced by a spam operation managed from Vietnam. Among the false posts Lead…

Did Justin Bieber say Jim Carrey "died of Kuru" (a rare disease linked to cannibalism), from eating child meat at Hollywood parties? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Bieber ever made the comments about Carrey. The viral article in which the quotes appear cites no sources and provides no recordings or documentation. The website that published the…