Police Officers

Did a widely-shared video show an argument between a police officer and four undercover FBI agents on an airplane? No, that's not true: The people in the video were simply acting out a scripted scenario. The page that posted the sketch routinely publishes similar scripted scenarios, and is affiliated with Network Media, a company that rents out film sets to…

Does a viral video document ICE agents seizing undocumented children from foster care to deport them? No, that's not true: It's a montage of unrelated clips about alleged juvenile crimes, disorderly behavior at school and other situations with no apparent connection to immigration roundups. The video's narrator provides no dates, places, case numbers or other information to permit independent corroboration…

Did a widely-shared video show a real nurse and police officers falsely accusing a Black man of being drunk, and calling him "Drunky McDrunk Pants? No, that's not true: The people in the video were simply acting out a scripted scenario. The page that posted the sketch routinely publishes similar scripted scenarios, and is affiliated with Network Media, a company…

Did a widely-shared video show a Black undercover FBI agent "schooling" a police officer in a supermarket after the officer stopped and questioned him at the checkout? No, that's not true: The people in the video were simply acting out a scripted scenario. The page that posted the sketch routinely publishes similar scripted scenarios, and is affiliated with Network Media,…

Did a widely-shared video show real police officers handcuffing a Black man in a restaurant who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent? No, that's not true: The people in the video were simply acting out a scripted scenario. The page that posted the sketch routinely publishes similar scripted scenarios, and is affiliated with Network Media, a company that…

Is Donald Trump's June 2025 mobilization of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles just like President George H.W. Bush's 1992 decision to mobilize the National Guard during riots in Los Angeles? No, that's not true: In 1992, both Gov. Pete Wilson and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley asked the President for National Guard to stop riots in Los…

Does a viral bodycam video authentically show a cop pulling over a black judge and then the police officer "lives to regret it?" No, that's not true: The video originated from a channel that publishes re-enactments using the same actors repeatedly in supposedly unrelated roles and situations. While the YouTube channel's description claims to "bring you real, unfiltered bodycam footage,"…

Does a viral post show an Australian man being arrested for trying to take AU$5,000 from his bank account at a Commonwealth Bank branch in a suburb of Sydney? No, that's not true: Police records show the man was arrested for behaving offensively in public, not for any financial crime. He was also charged with hindering officers who tried to…

Does a viral clip authentically show law enforcement bodycam footage capturing officers demanding that an "army colonel" show his ID while at a clothing store? No, that's not true: The video previously appeared on a page on Facebook associated with a privately owned entity, not any law enforcement agency. It published multiple clips imitating authentic body-cam footage but most of…

Did the New York Times publish a story headlined "Pope Leo XIV Was a Founding Member of the 2020 Anarchist Portland Autonomous Zone Known as CHAZ"? No, that's not true: A faked screenshot of such a headline also claimed Robert Francis Prevost spent time writing for an "anarchist zine" in Portland about how to "fist-fight police officers". No such article…