History

Does a viral post tell a true story of Hank Wilcox, a 71-year-old farmer and the father of a deceased service member, helping migrants with free water in "Henry County,"? No, that's not true: News reports about the farmer cited in viral posts about the story were nowhere to be found. The post contained an image that was likely generated…

Do images described as tree stumps provide proof that there were once giant ancient trees which were felled by angels? No, that's not true: The photos show natural geological features around the world which came to be through several geological processes over millions of years. Volcanoes erupting, erosion of different materials at different speeds, and the lifting and folding of…

Has "Phillies Karen" been banned from various stadiums, concerts, and public events? No, that's not true: Stories making the false claims that the woman who became infamous as "Phillies Karen" after she took a ball from a boy at a Philadelphia baseball game are mass produced using artificial intelligence tools. The fake content, published on websites that mimic real news…

Is a video of an African lion meeting a robot with either one of them being scared authentic? No, that's not true: The original version of the viral video includes a Veo3 watermark in the lower right corner, indicating it was made with Google's artificial intelligence tool. The caption on the video claims the lion was "scared" of the robot.…

Did Stephen Colbert sign a $13.5 million deal with Netflix for a 7-episode series about his journey through American TV history as of September 1, 2025? No, that's not true: Although Colbert joked in August that Netflix should call him, there is no evidence Colbert signed a Netflix deal. The only source making the claim is a website that publishes…

Did the NFL ban rainbow gear from the playing field after Philadelphia Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni wore a rainbow hat? No, that's not true: The claim was spread by a Vietnamese-based publisher who used AI-generated text and images in an article that went viral on social media. There are no authentic photos of Coach Sirianni wearing the hat. A quote…

Did Dolly Parton, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson and Blake Shelton announce a joint tour in 2026 called "One Last Ride" as several social media posts declared? No, that's not true: There is no mention of such a joint tour on any of the six country stars' social media pages. No credible news outlet has reported what…

Did country music legend George Strait reject a $500 million deal from Elon Musk to endorse Tesla? No, that's not true: This is a fake story designed to get people to click on a link to a website. This identical fake story, with the same fake quote, keeps getting recycled with different celebrity names attached. The fake story appeared in…

Does a video describe a real CNN debate between Jasmine Crockett and Mike Huckabee involving a bible quote? No, that's not true: The description of the viral YouTube video makes it clear the entire interaction was a work of fiction created using artificial intelligence. Searches of CNN's website for the supposed debate brought up no results. The video (archived here)…

Did U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi successfully sue American basketball player Brittney Griner, preventing the athlete from participating in the Olympic Games? No, none of that is true: No credible media organization ever reported that, as of August 19, 2025. When Lead Stories checked specialized legal resources, those searches showed no confirmation that such a lawsuit ever existed. The claim…