Marine

Does a video show a Russian submarine arriving in Havana, Cuba, in May 2026? No, that's not true: The footage dates back to June 2024, when a nuclear-powered Russian submarine and three Russian warships arrived in Havana as part of a port visit coinciding with Russian naval exercises in the Caribbean. The clip resurfaced in social media posts falsely claiming…

Did cheerleaders for 38 sports teams shock social media by posting a bold "fully revealing" photoshoot that got seven million views on X? No, that's not true: The false claims originate from AI-generated articles and posts created by a spam operation managed from Vietnam. Fake fan pages are used to target North American and European Facebook users with nearly identical…

Is a photo of President Donald Trump with one eye closed and the other half open with the U.S. Marine Corps flag behind him new as of April 24, 2026? No, that's not true: The image appeared in social media posts as early as November 2020, although Lead Stories has been unable to pinpoint the exact date it was captured.…

Does a real video show how a blue whale calf can catch its mother's milk as it flows freely in a stream through the ocean water? No, that's not true: This video is fake. The Hive Moderation tool determined with 99.9% confidence that the video was AI-generated. Real footage of whales nursing does not show a high-velocity stream of milk…

Did the BBC air a report allegedly capturing a stolen Cézanne painting on the wall of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presidential office? No, that's not true: The video was doctored to replace a real painting. The work of art seen in the original footage of a different presidential address was painted by a Ukrainian impressionist. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Did Donald Trump post a profanity-laced "unhinged" rant on his Truth Social, claiming he "graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals," along with other false statements? No, that's not true: The message does not appear on Trump's Truth Social account. It is a widely circulated internet meme known as a "copypasta" that has been online beginning in 2010.…

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 Tomahawk missiles streaking past a merchant ship "on their way to targets in Iran"? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. The fake video shows missiles passing dangerously close to the ship and glitchy text on its containers. Although this video is fake, there is real footage that was filmed from a container ship…

Does a real video show a large container ship listing and capsizing in front of bystanders on another craft? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. It was originally posted by an account that describes itself as posting "AI Videos Daily." The containers shown in the video do not shift realistically as the ship begins to roll, and the…

Did a U.S. military commander tell troops that President Trump was "anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon"? Here's what we know so far: The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) said on its website that it has received hundreds of similar complaints. Asked to provide the original email or identifying information, the organization declined,…