Is a video of Donald Trump with blindfolded children that claims to have come "out of the Epstein files" real? No, that's not true: There is no record of an image or video showing President Trump with blindfolded children with Jeffrey Epstein. The video is a mashup of footage of Trump and Epstein and children that appears to be AI-generated.…
Did tabloid news outlet TMZ publish a report saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a Los Angeles mansion belonging to Sean "Diddy" Combs for $61 Million? No, that's not true: Using TMZ's search box, Lead Stories found no such story about Diddy. Searching for Zelenskyy's name similarly showed no such TMZ story. The claim appeared in a Feb. 18, 2026…
Does a real photo from 2006 show Jeffrey Epstein posing by a pool with Bill and Hillary Clinton, Diddy, Bill Gates, Jay-Z, and Stephen Hawking? No, that's not true: The image was created with Google AI. It contains an invisible SynthID watermark which can be detected with the Google Gemini app. The fake image was posted (archived here) on Facebook…
Was there an email thread with Elon Musk and Jeffrey Epstein discussing an "epic island vacation" included in the latest release from the "Epstein Files" as implied by a viral image? No, that's not true: No email with the phrase "epic island vacation" appears in the released documents. The phrase "deal withthis . thanyou" visible in the image doesn't appear…
Did TMZ publish real photos of Diddy hanging out in the Fort Dix federal prison yard with fellow inmates? No, that's not true: The images bear a fake TMZ watermark. The celebrity news outlet published an article to clarify that the images circulating are fake. They instructed readers, "If you see these sorts of pics or videos on socials, especially…
Does a photo show demolition done to the White House by Barack Obama to install an indoor basketball court? No, that's not true: A black and white photo shows the West Wing expansion project conducted by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1934. Obama did install a basketball court in 2009, 75 years after the photo was taken, but it did not…
Did Mel Gibson post a message on his X account vowing to expose pedophiles and human traffickers in Hollywood, including "Epstein's network and the Diddy connections"? No, that's not true: Gibson does not have an X.com account, or any social media accounts, his publicist told Lead Stories. The account that posted the message was created in 2024 and only has…
Did the judge in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs issue an arrest warrant for Ellen DeGeneres in May 2025? No, that's not true: The claim appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled it "entirely fictional and crafted solely for entertainment." Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any involvement by…
Did the actor Will Smith testify during the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in May 2025? No, that's not true: The claim appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled it "fictional". Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any testimony by Smith. The rumor appeared in a May 22, 2025, video on YouTube…
Did recording artist Usher testify during the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in May 2025? No, that's not true, as of May 21: The claim appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled it "fictional". Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any testimony by him. The rumor appeared in a May 20, 2025,…
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