Marine

Does a real photo show U.S. President Donald Trump walking past a U.S. flag that appears to touch the ground? Yes, that is an authentic photo: Its origin can be traced to a reputable news agency. A White House spokesperson did not deny the photo's authenticity, either, but stated that the image doesn't show the flag "fallen to the ground".…

Is a video showing a U.S. Marine pushing President Donald Trump up the steps into the Marine One helicopter real? No, that's not true: A full version of the video shows the president's pants splitting, exposing a large hole in his underwear and the Marine's uniform is not authentic. It was obviously created by an artificial intelligence tool. The earliest…

Does a video clip show new footage of the Comet 3I/ATLAS? No, that's not true: This video did not originate from any research astronomy agency monitoring the interstellar comet. It is uncredited footage showing a microscopic single-celled organism, a paramecium. The mislabeled video appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @BGatesIsaPyscho on Oct. 27, 2025. The post…

Does a video show a real confrontation between a shouting protester and a man in uniform who identifies himself as Sgt. Pepper? No, that's not true: This video has a watermark from Sora, an app from Open AI that generates videos from text prompts. The TikTok account from which this video originated has posted several military-themed videos generated by Sora.…

Did the woman nicknamed "Phillies Karen" who yelled at a dad about a ball at a baseball game issue an apology where she flippantly said, "Yes, I got the ball. Yes, I kept it. That's how it works at the park." No, that's not true: The woman seen on video fighting for a ball at a Phillies baseball game has…

Does a video marked "Real Footage" show a bloody attack by a dolphin on a marine park trainer named Jessica Radcliffe? No, that's not true: The video caption and title both say the footage is real, but the account that published it describes its content as "Realistic AI visuals | Viral edits". Several glitches in the scene, such as people…

Did former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warn President Donald Trump that he should not think that "the Mossad alone has a video archive of his past depravities"? No, that's not true: The quote was attributed to "Russia media" by a website that claims to be in Israel, but appears to be managed in Ukraine. Lead Stories could find no evidence…

Is the Los Angeles Firefighters Union suing California Gov. Gavin Newsom for "dereliction of duty" by refusing requests for water to be turned on during fires in 2025? No, that's not true: The post spreading that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are fabricated. The owner…

Did a widely-shared video show a submarine appearintg at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina? No, that's not true: The local Coast Guard unit told Lead Stories that no such thing happened. The viral reel was consistent with previously documented instances of a school of fish traveling together in the area, and that was confirmed to Lead Stories by South Carolina's Department…

Does a widely-shared video prove that U.S. military tanks patrolled the streets of Washington, D.C. on June 11, 2025? No, that's not true: The person who recorded it told Lead Stories that the 10-second clip showed an armored vehicle that was in the nation's capital to participate in a military parade on June 14, 2025. That account was consistent with…