Israel

Does a viral clip show real "transgender Providence Police Department spokesperson Lyle Culpepper" demanding that the public stop saying "the Brown shooter"? No, that's not true: The person in the video is comedian L.E. Staiman. In interviews, Staiman has said that he believes his videos are so absurd that people can easily understand they are parody and satire. The claim…

Does a viral image really show the "leaked Facebook profile" of the "Bondi Beach shooter" and does it reveal he is an Israeli named "David Cohen"? No, that's not true: The image circulating on social media shows several signs of digital tampering and possible use of AI. Authorities have named "Naveed Akram" and "Sajid Akram" as the shooters in the…

Does a viral picture of what looks like an Israeli passport confirm that Volodymyr Zelenskyy became an Israeli citizen before he became president of Ukraine? No, that's not true: The image got the spelling of his last name wrong. The machine-readable text on the bottom of the first page didn't fit the internationally standardized form, either. The claim appeared in…

Do these viral videos show real footage from flooded tents in Gaza? No, that's not true: While there were credible reports about December 2025 flooding in that region, some of the Gaza flood clips shared on social media were not real. The signs pointing to AI included strangely shaped hands, distorted faces and scene elements inconsistent with real natural disaster…

Does a real photo show a crisis actor laughing while a makeup artist puts fake blood on his face before he pretended to be a victim of the Bondi Beach terror attack? No, that's not true: This is an AI-generated image made to support a false flag narrative about the Bondi Beach terror attack. The picture is based on the…

Do leaked CCTV videos really show Israeli missiles striking Iranian missile bases? No, that's not true: Several clips in a viral video with that description contain several glitches typical of AI generated footage. It was published by an account that has posted AI-generated imagery in the past. One of the clips did originate with an Iranian TV station. The video…

Have Ukrainian investigators recovered the jewels stolen from the Louvre museum from the assets of a Ukrainian billionaire who is an associate of President Zelenskyy? No, that's not true: The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), which purportedly seized the jewels, has not posted anything about it on social media. The NABU has denied it was true in a statement…

Does a viral video of Israeli soldiers setting an American flag on fire show a real-life event? No, that's not true: The clip was likely created using AI, probably Sora, whose watermark appeared to have been covered by an emoji of a skull. The flag ends up undamaged despite being set alight, the type of glitch that is characteristic of…

Does a viral video show Muslims protesting against a Christmas fair in Germany? No, that's not true: The video has circulated since October, 12, 2024, showing a demonstration in Hamburg, Germany, against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinians. The time stamp on the 2024 posts puts the march a full month before Germany's traditional Christmas markets begin, according to tour…

Did Alexander Turbanov, an Israeli man who was held prisoner by Hamas, make a statement sympathizing with his captors upon his release? No, that's not true: This made-up quote went viral on Feb. 15, 2025 and resurfaced in Oct. 2025. The man in question is not named Turbanov, his name is Alexander Troufanov. The quote attributed to Troufanov was posted…