History

Are social media posts claiming that Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, or other celebrity women wore "probably the smallest bikini In the world" real? No, that's not true: The images used in the posts were created with artificial intelligence tools and distributed on a network of fake Facebook fan pages managed from North Macedonia. These clickbait posts link to blogs filled…

Does a real photo from 1903 show a "Bengali woman carrying a British trader" depicting "the height of British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent"? No, that's not true: The image is fake. OpenAI's verification tool detected the image has a SynthID watermark and was made with tools from OpenAI. There are also glitches characteristic of AI-generated images such as…

Did the FBI raid an "antifa" storage unit in Washington and find "aggressive algae" there? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page known for posting satirical content. The post on X removed the "Nothing on this page is real" disclaimer from the image used. Lead Stories found no credible news reports about the FBI raiding a…

Was a man named Ethan Caldwell arrested after posing as a museum tour guide and inventing completely fake histories for every painting? No, that's not true: The story originated on an Instagram page known for posting parody stories. The story carries a disclaimer labeling the post as funny, comedy, satire and "for entertainment purposes only." There are no credible news…

Did the U.S. Park Police arrest "antifa operatives" for dumping algae into the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page known for posting satirical content that carries the disclaimer, "Nothing on this page is real," and the image accompanying the claim is stamped with the same warning.…

Does a video show Algeria fans at the World Cup soccer match against Argentina in Kansas City, Mo. chanting "Messi is the enemy of Allah"? No, that's not true: The video shows a pep rally on the steps of the World Trade Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The audio attached to this video is TikTok sound originating from an Egyptian political…

Is the number of girls raped in the United Kingdom by grooming gangs definitively documented to be 250,000? No, that's not true: That figure is an extrapolation using an unclear methodology based on data from smaller communities with headline-grabbing scandals and is not an actual count of rape cases across the United Kingdom. A 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual…

Did George Floyd make the pictured social media post about trans people on Aug. 3, 2011, years before he died? No, that's not true: The screenshot showing a post from @Bigfloyd73 is fake. The Twitter account with that handle was not created until 2022, after George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020. The fake screenshot resurfaced in a post (archived…

Does a real screenshot show U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine made "German WW2 references" in sexual messages? No, that's not true: The image originated on social media accounts known for their satirical content. There is no evidence that such an exchange ever took place between Platner and anyone else, and Lead Stories found no credible news coverage documenting…

Does a viral post on social media offer any verifiable information confirming that a four-year waiting list for superyacht purchases is entirely made up of Ukrainian officials? No, that's not true: No posts making such a claim included any specific, verifiable data. The man who was the first to spread the rumor refused to disclose the name of the shipbuilder…