Deep State

Is the quote attributed to an unidentified Muslim man that says, "Christians, you're no longer allowed to say Merry Christmas, it's offensive to Muslims" real? No, that's not true: An AI detection tool concluded that a video of the man saying Christians are no longer allowed to say Merry Christmas because it is offensive to Muslims likely contained AI-generated content.…

Did the Armenian Mirror-Spectator actually publish a report saying that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed to resettle 250,000 refugees who are currently in EU countries? No, that's not true: Neither this news outlet nor any other journalistic publication produced such a report. Lead Stories found no traces of the alleged agreement. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

Did the family of three sisters who drowned in Brighton, England, in May 2026 previously run a GoFundMe campaign for their mother, whose body was never found? No, that's not true: The body of the mom, Janice Adetoro, was recovered from a lake in Birmingham, England, in early February 2010. There is no evidence that a GoFundMe was ever started,…

Does a viral clip of a hailstorm actually show India under siege from massive chunks of hail? No, that's not true: Earlier versions of the claim said it happened in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka. Lead Stories found multiple inconsistencies in the video that strongly pointed to AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published by…

Did "Biden body double" AJ Barron flip and cut a deal to testify about acting on behalf of the then-sitting president? No, that's not true: The tale originated from America's Last Line of Defense (ALLOD), a network of satire sites. Lead Stories found no record of anyone named AJ Barron publicly claiming to be a Biden body double. The claim…

Is an "Internal Memorandum" reportedly from the White House Butler's Office about missing cutlery real? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that the memo is authentic, especially since there is no White House Butler's Office to begin with. The creator of the social media post also acknowledged that the memo was "satire" when someone responding to the…

Was Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of shooting at attendees at the 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner, on the payroll of the Democratic National Committee and several California Democratic politicians, including Nancy Pelosi, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris and Adam Schiff? No, that's not true: A DNC spokesperson, a Newsom spokesperson, and a Pelosi spokesperson all told Lead Stories the…

Did Al Jazeera broadcast a report stating that NATO countries shared intel with Iran on U.S. military movements? No, that's not true: Lead Stories did not find evidence of such a report. The video claiming to be the Al Jazeera report contained an AI-generated voice-over. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on April 22, 2026.…

Is a viral video showing President Donald Trump falling asleep during a press event at the White House real and did he actually hit his head on his desk? No, that's not true: The video and screenshots of it shared by social media users originated from a self-described meme account. The clip was digitally altered, likely using AI. The claim…

Do real photos show an Israel Defense Forces soldier repairing and revering the same crucifixion statue he vandalized? No, that's not true: Two images -- one showing a soldier washing the statue and another showing a soldier kneeling at the base of the cross -- are AI-generated. The photos were identified by Google Gemini as having a SynthID watermark. The…