Melania Trump

Are social media posts claiming that Pope Leo XIV and a long list of celebrities each filed a $50 million lawsuit against a news host for "vicious, calculated defamation" real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from a spam operation managed from Vietnam that uses AI-generated Facebook…

Does a viral image show a real journalistic article saying that Melania Trump used to work as a recreational drug seller at a New York City gay bar in the 1990s? No, that's not true: The writers named in the shared byline did not work together in 2021, the year the article claims to have been published. Lead Stories found…

Did President Donald Trump visit the Secret Service officer in the hospital after the officer was shot on April 25, 2026, at the White House Correspondents' Dinner? No, that's not true: The video is AI-generated, and online detection tools indicate it is fake. It contains a SynthID watermark, meaning it was created or edited using Google AI tools. There are…

Did Jimmy Kimmel offer a "sincere apology to everyone regarding that widow joke" on Monday's episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"? No, that's not true: Kimmel did not make the apology featured in a reel posted on Facebook. The Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector determined the audio track of the reel is an AI-generated voice clone. Melania and Donald Trump demanded ABC…

Did Jimmy Kimmel make an "expectant widow" joke about Melania Trump after the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD)? No, that's not true: Kimmel made the joke on his late night show on April 23, 2026. He was making a mock speech about the WHCD and was not at the actual event on April 25, 2026. The joke…

Did Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, attend the same 2017 conference as White House Correspondents' Dinner suspect Cole Tomas Allen? No, that's not true: The communications office of the Office of the Second Lady at the White House told Lead Stories that it "can confirm that it was not her." There is also no evidence that…

Did Rachel Maddow air a segment claiming that a federal judge has ruled that Melania Trump must testify against her husband? No, that's not true: Maddow never aired a segment that said a judge ruled Melania Trump will be forced to testify in any case. While the chyron on the video says Melania will be forced to testify, the audio…

Is a photo that shows Melania Trump smiling and standing next to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell authentic? No, that's not true: Online detection tools flagged the image as likely digitally altered and likely AI-generated. One rated it as 97 percent likely to be digitally edited. The claim appeared in an April 10, 2026, post on X.com by the account…

Does a viral image purporting to show Jeffrey Epstein hugging Melania Trump document a real-life scene? No, that's not true: Lead Stories did not find supporting evidence that it's an authentic photo. Two AI detectors pointed to the presence of generative AI in the picture. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published on X by the…

Is a viral image purporting to show Melania Trump at the dancing pole in front of Jeffrey Epstein a real photo? No, that's not true: The image originated from an account that publishes fictitious images of celebrities. The initial post contained an additional disclaimer spelling that out. The claim reappeared in a post (archived here) published on Threads on April…