Masks

Did multiple people, ranging from anti-Trump protesters to a granny in pink, climb to the top of the Empire State Building on the same day, displaying different messages? No, that's not true: Those images and videos were AI-generated, according to online detection tools and visual analysis. News reports confirmed that only two people -- previously featured in the 2024 documentary…

Does a video of doctors and nurses in masks and protective gear show medical professionals treating a hantavirus patient during the 2026 outbreak? No, that's not true: The video is from 2020 and shows doctors and nurses in Italy treating a patient with COVID-19. The video does not depict a patient with hantavirus in May 2026. The claim appeared in…

Did researchers discover a shocking display of primate intelligence when a band of chimps in the Congo began wearing masks to hide their faces when they were raiding local markets? No, that's not true: This story appeared spontaneously on social media from an account bearing the disclaimer, "story (noun) - an account of imaginary or real people and events told…

Did Nike or Under Armour donate face masks and clothing to ICE agents involved in arresting undocumented immigrants in the United States? No, that's not true: The TikTok host making the claim gave no supporting information about how he confirmed the claim. Lead Stories found no evidence to support the claim and several red flags raising questions about the credibility…

Did the group known as the "Patriot Front" disband the day after Kash Patel started as FBI Director or shortly after Christopher Wray resigned from that position? No, that's not true: As of this writing, the group's website is still active. So is their Telegram channel, where they were actively publishing updates. There have been several claims the group has…

Does a photo show handcuffed and chained Indians being deported from the U.S.? No, that's not true: The photo shows people from Guatemala sitting on a military aircraft at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas awaiting deportation to Guatemala. The photo previously appeared in several January 2025 media reports. The claim the picture showed people from India appeared in a…

Is the monkeypox virus known to spread through airborne transmission, as suggested by a post on Instagram Threads? No, that's not true: Global health agencies agree that the primary way the virus is spread is through close or direct contact between an uninfected and infected person's body fluids, lesions or saliva, plus contaminated clothing or bedding. The U.S. Department of…

Did a passenger flight disappear in 1955 after taking off from New York, only to resurface "37 years later," as a reel on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: This claim appears to be based on a 1985 hoax published by the U.S. tabloid Weekly World News, which wrote that an "airline charter flight that left New York in 1955…

Did North Carolina implement a statewide ban on face masks in May 2024, as a post on Instagram claimed? No, that's not true: The post in question exaggerates the impact of a bill that would decide who can legally wear a face mask in public and for what reasons. The state Senate passed a version of the measure but as…

Does a video circulating on social media show clips of the rainstorms that caused widespread flooding in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates; Bahrain, and Oman in mid-April 2024? No, that's not true: The compilation video contains clips of both real and computer-generated scenes, one from North America. Reverse image search results show several of these clips circulated before the record-breaking…