Does a viral image actually show a U.S. Army helicopter that crashed in Iran on April 3, 2026? No, that's not true: The picture was online more than a year earlier. It was published in Honduras in March 2025. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published by the @TheLaikYobaz account on X on April 3, 2026.…
Is this real footage of an American F-15 fighter jet being shot down by Iran? No, that's not true: The clip appears to come from a military simulation video game, and the same video was posted online about a month before the reported shootdown of a U.S. F-15 in Iran in early April 2026. An online AI detection tool estimated…
We agree with some very prominent people. Here's our proposal... Fact Checking Day on April 2, 2026 marks almost a year since Lead Stories published our last fact check as part of Meta's Third-Party Fact Checking Partnership. Since that day we've published over 1500 fact checks on our U.S. website on topics ranging from fake Epstein Files emails mentioning Elon…
Does a court filing definitively state that the bullet that killed Charlie Kirk does not match the rifle allegedly used by Tyler Robinson? No, that's not true: In court documents, defense lawyers said a summary report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives indicates the agency was unable to match up the bullet recovered from Kirk. The defense…
Does a real image show a wife crying as she hugs her husband goodbye because he is deploying to Iran? No, that's not true: This is an AI-generated image that was published with a request for engagement. The page where this originated posts emotionally charged AI-generated images with captions asking for comments and shares. Other engagement bait themes include children…
Did President Donald Trump post to Truth Social that the "United States will begin a major Ground Operation in Iran"? No, that's not true: No such message about a "Strong," "Precise" and "Successful" operation appears on Trump's Truth Social account as of this writing. Google didn't index any message with the text from a viral screenshot that appeared to show…
Is a video of a dancing man "leaked from Kash Patel's Gmail account"? No, that's not true: While there have been reports about FBI Director Kash Patel's personal Gmail account being hacked, this video has been online since at least 2021. It has been described in the past as "Man's enthusiastic dance to celebrate wife leaving for her home." The…
Was a President Donald Trump quote from a video really about Iran hitting the "world's biggest aircraft carrier" from "17 angles" while planes were taking off every 32 seconds at one in the morning? No, that's not true: The quote was pulled from a longer video in which it is clear Trump was describing the hypothetical reaction of a Venezuelan…
Does a video of a burning ship actually show an oil tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz on March 27, 2026? No, that's not true: No credible news organizations reported an oil tanker being hit in the Strait of Hormuz on that day. The video showed signs of AI generation. The claim appeared in a post (archived here, here…
Does a real video show Iranian missiles destroying a U.S. Navy warship in the Strait of Hormuz? No, that's not true: There are no credible news reports of such an attack, and the clip appears to be from a military simulation video game known for its realistic graphics. There is no evidence that Iranian missiles hit an American military vessel…
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