Hollywood

Could a man who claimed in a viral video that he had a stack of unclaimed ballots mailed to voters who had moved use them to vote for Spencer Pratt for mayor of Los Angeles as he claimed? No, that's not true: The ballots appeared to be for a precinct in West Hollywood, which is a separate city from Los…

Is this a real photo of Robert De Niro wearing a T-shirt that says "Obama are you coming home soon? The babysitter is weird" and flipping off the camera in front of Trump Tower? No, that's not true. De Niro's rep told Lead Stories the photo was "fake." An online detection tool rated the photo of De Niro with his…

In a real social media post, did Donald Trump write about a Joe Biden visit to Moscow in 1987 and implicate him in various conspiracy theories? No, that's not true: The supposed post does not appear on the president's official Truth Social account, and there are no reliable reports that it ever did. Biden also never visited Moscow in 1987.…

Did Justin Bieber say Jim Carrey "died of Kuru" (a rare disease linked to cannibalism), from eating child meat at Hollywood parties? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Bieber ever made the comments about Carrey. The viral article in which the quotes appear cites no sources and provides no recordings or documentation. The website that published the…

Are social media posts claiming that a long list of celebrities have each said "powerful pro-Israel American billionaires" are working to undermine their careers real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from AI-generated Facebook posts produced by a spam operation managed from Vietnam. Among the false posts…

Did actor Matthew McConaughey say or write that "if Kamala Harris had become president of the U.S., Trump would be in prison"? No, that's not true: The actor's representatives told Lead Stories that it was a fake quote. Such words did not appear on McConaughey's social media accounts or in credible media reports. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Does a viral video show Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce attending the 2026 Met Gala? No, that's not true: Kelce skipped the event. The video showed singer Sam Smith. The claim appeared in a post by the account @C_3C_3 published on X on May 4, 2026 (archived here and here). It read: Travis Kelce looks absurd. This is…

Did Canadian-American actor Seth Rogen die in April 2026? No, that's not true: There were no actual news reports about Rogen being dead. The rumor first appeared on Reddit after the actor's fictional on-screen death in an episode of "The Boys" and was then taken up by social media accounts and obscure websites. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Is a video real that shows Marlon Brando explaining that he declined the 1973 Oscar over the "increasing control of Zionists in Hollywood"? No, that's not true: The American actor did decline the 1973 Best Actor Oscar for his role in "The Godfather," but it was to protest Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans, not "Zionists in Hollywood." Also, an AI…

Are viral posts claiming your favorite celebrity family adopted or had twin babies and giving them names that "are taking the internet by storm" real? No, that's not true: Nearly identical posts naming at least 49 celebrity families were distributed on Facebook in mid-April 2026 by a spam network managed from Vietnam. The posts appear to be AI-generated and have…