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Does real CCTV footage capture schoolchildren kneeling on prayer mats and repeating the Muslim declaration of faith, "Allahu Akbar", as viral social media posts claim? No, that's not true: The low-quality clip seemed to have been distorted to conceal the evidence it was AI-generated video. For example, the clip showed the instructor rising from her knees to sit on a…

Did viral videos document that Ukrainian soldiers started to surrender en masse in Pokrovsk, as of November 5, 2025? No, that's not true: The clips showed a watermark of a generative AI tool. As of this writing, Ukraine denied that its soldiers in Pokrovsk were surrendering in large numbers. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published…

Does a real video show a body-armor-wearing riot policeman smiling as he pepper-sprays a woman confronting him at a protest? No, that's not true: The video is labeled "Sora" with watermarks indicating it was created using OpenAI's text-to-video app. It originated on an account devoted to improbable wild animal videos, also labeled as Sora productions. Sora creates fake but "hyperreal"…

Does a real video show a rich executive trying to override a sherpa's decision to wait by paying him to keep going to the Everest summit? No, that's not true: A TikTok account has been posting AI-generated videos of stereotypical Everest scenarios. Some videos, one showing a motorized escalator to the summit, are clearly parody, while other fake videos posted…

Is a video of a hyena biting a woman's hand through an open car window authentic? No, that's not true: The video was made by an artificial intelligence tool, according to an AI detection tool. Inconsistencies in the video, especially with hands and fingers, are obvious indications the video is not real. The woman's hand was uninjured after the purported…

This is what fact checkers call a "prebunk." A prebunk is like a debunk (another word for fact check), only it's an advance notice of an anticipated false claim. This article is intended to inoculate you from future outbreaks of a specific type of false claims about your favorite entertainment celebrities, sports stars, and politicians. We call this "Viet Spam"…

Does a video show illegal immigrants in the UK stealing from the dead by taking things from graves to sell? No, that's not true: The video was first posted by a TikTok account from Ukraine, on April 27, the day the Ukrainian and Eastern Orthodox Churches observe "Thomas Sunday" or "Provody." The specific observance of the tradition varies by region,…

Does a viral video document mass deportations of Walmart workers carried out by ICE? No, that's not true: The clip was produced by AI. It displayed the telling signs pointing to the artificial nature of the video, such as an ICE officer lacking his head. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on October 22, 2025.…

Did Marco Rubio confirm Rosie O'Donnell's passport was revoked after she forfeited her American citizenship? No, that's not true: The story originated on the "America's Last Line of Defense" Facebook page, which is self-described as satirical. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. There were no actual news stories about this.…

Did Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, or Turning Point USA file a $400 million lawsuit against investor and philanthropist George Soros over an alleged defamation campaign "to silence conservative voices and manipulate public perception"? No, that's not true: The claim originated from a satirical page that said explicitly that nothing it publishes is real. As of October 16, 2025, no credible…