Football Team

Are there no photos showing Abdul El-Sayed playing high school football? No, that's not true: The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan appears in his football gear in a photo posted to his Instagram account in March 2026 and in other photos in his high school yearbook. There is also a newspaper clipping from September 2002 documenting that he…

Does a real photo show Lamine Yamal's little brother Keyne with bundles of cash and the world cup trophy? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated, it was originally posted on Instagram with an AI disclaimer by an account listing itself as an "AI Nostalgia & Multiverse Creator". AI detection tools at Hive Moderation and Google Gemini both found…

Did soccer player Lamine Yamal show a keffiyeh during one of the Spain games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup? No, that's not true: The rumor was based on a digitally altered image taken during a match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in mid-June 2026. Multiple photos of that scene published by credible journalistic organizations showed Yamal celebrating his goal…

Is a photo showing Spanish footballer Lamine Yamal draped in the Palestine flag and holding the World Cup trophy real? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Yamal wore a Palestinian flag over his shoulders after Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final on July 19, 2026. The fake image closely resembles authentic photos showing the…

Does a viral video show a referee who officiated the 2026 FIFA World Cup final crying over Argentina's defeat? No, that's not true: That referee retired three years before that game. Social media posts reused a clip from his last match when the emotional response was prompted by the greetings from the players, not by an outcome of a game.…

Does a real yearbook photo show an edgy punk teenage Pete Hegseth with black spiky hair and eyeliner? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated and is not Pete Hegseth's yearbook photo. Forest Lake High School has an archive of past yearbooks and the real yearbook photos of Hegseth in his sophomore, junior, and senior year are different. The…

Does a viral image prove that Argentina-England referee Ismail Elfath "asked for a photo" with Argentina's captain Lionel Messi? No, that's not true: The photo was cropped to remove the captain of the opposing team, who was posing with Messi and the referees for a standard pre-match shot. The image was produced in 2022, before a different match played by…

Does a viral video show FIFA President Gianni Infantino reacting to Egypt's goal during a July 2026 World Cup game? No, that's not true: The video clip was miscaptioned. The video had been online days earlier, before that match, and showed footage from a different 2026 World Cup match. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) on…

Did Dutch soccer coach Ronald Koeman go on a long, racist rant during a 2026 FIFA World Cup postgame press conference after his team lost to Morocco? No, that's not true: The video was posted by an account that self-describes as the "Number 1 AI football ⚽️ account on TikTok!" The video was tagged "Creator labeled as AI-generated." A transcript…

Does a video show Japanese soccer fans "destroy stadium after defeat by Brazil"? No, that's not true: The video has been reversed -- when played forward it shows scenes of Japanese fans collecting litter after the match with the Netherlands. This footage predates the June 29, 2026, match with Brazil, and was already circulating online after the match with the…