Deep State

Is a photo showing President Donald Trump using a walker to assist him real? No, that's not true: The image has the SynthID watermark that indicates it was created by Google's AI tool, according to an analysis by Google's Gemini chatbot. The image may have been created for satirical reasons since it was posted soon after President Trump signed an…

Did Barack Obama say that he wants to return to the White House in 2028 as president through "legal avenues" or as a "proxy candidate"? No, that's not true: Contrary to the posts citing his "exclusive interview on a major news network" on December 7, 2025, the former president did not talk to any TV stations on that day. He…

New visa directives wrongly conflate journalism with censorship The International Fact-Checking Network is deeply concerned by reports that the U.S. State Department has instructed consular officers to deny visas to individuals who have worked in fact-checking, content moderation, and trust and safety. Fact-checking is journalism. It is the straightforward work of comparing public claims against the best available evidence and…

Did "an entire unnamed mountain" collapse into itself near Casper, Wyoming at the end of 2025 and were emergency crews from several states mobilizing? No, that's not true: A viral post and image making that claim originated on a satirical Facebook page. Earlier there was a (much smaller) collapse in Wyoming's Teton mountains but that happened over 250 miles from…

Did the man charged with planting pipe bombs found near the Republican and Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, sue the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security over illegal immigration? No, that's not true: Legal disputes referenced in a Daily Wire article making that claim confused suspect Brian Cole Jr. with his father Brian Cole Sr. It…

Did Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill, Derek Hough, Brandon Lake, Cliff Richard, athletes Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson and other celebrities ask for their footage to be removed from Netflix over LGBTQ content? No, that's not true: There are multiple social media posts showing different celebrities and athletes with a message that they told Netflix…

Did Bret Baier announce he would "halt all treatment" for his son Paul? No, that's not true: A FOX News spokesperson told Lead Stories this claim is false. Baier has made no such statement that he decided to "halt all treatment" for his son Paul, who was born with five congenital heart defects and had emergency open heart surgery in…

Does an authentic video show a Tesla car charging from a diesel generator that it is towing as it drives? No, that's not true: The video was made by an artificial intelligence tool, according to a test by an AI detector tool. Obvious discrepancies from reality, such as the lack of an actual tow bar attaching the trailer to the…

Is a video showing dogs trying to steal honey by poking a beehive with a stick and getting stung authentic? No, that's not true: The video was posted on a TikTok account that says it publishes "high quality 3D animated shorts". According to a specialized detection tool the video was likely made using AI. The footage also contained several glitches…

Does a video that looks like Ring doorbell footage authentically show a dog bringing a bear home onto the porch of a home? Unfortunately, no: Much to the disappointment and surprise of some viewers of the cute video, the footage is clearly AI generated. The VEO watermark logo on the lower right corner indicated it was made with Google's artificial…