Police Officers

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…

Did Indians or Pakistanis set fire to a church in Wales in April 2025? No, that's not true: In response to widely-shared social media rumors, South Wales Police told Lead Stories there was "no link to India or Pakistan at all" in their investigation into a fire at the Bethany English Calvinistic Methodist Chapel in Port Talbot. Two local teenage…

Did FSU News report alleged Florida State University shooter Phoenix Ikner participated in an anti-Trump rally? No, that's not true: The now deleted section of the article that mentions and quotes Ikner is about "onlookers" who showed up at the protest. The article quotes him as saying "These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons" when talking…

Did law enforcement find "rolls of cash" and drugs on Kilmar Abrego-Garcia upon his arrest, as was asserted by a representative of the Department of Homeland Security? That's not found in a court document detailing a 2019 police stop involving the Salvadoran man and three others. Police records, newly released by the U.S. Department of Justice, among other files from…

Did an image shared on social media capture the recent arrest of a "45-year-old British mother in the UK" later sentenced to nine months in prison for a Facebook post? No, that's not true: The image first appeared online in 2017. It documented a drug bust. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on April 16,…

Did "New York police" say publicly in April 2025 that President Donald Trump's height and weight were 5'10" and 287 pounds? No, that's not true: Neither the New York Police Department nor the New York State Police made any statement about Trump's physical attributes in response to the publication of his annual physical examination. According to Trump's physician, U.S. Navy…

Do posts about a "young boy, around 3 years old," found in The Bronx express authentic concern about the child said to have been found unattended "an hour ago"? No, that's not true: The content of these posts was later replaced with real estate images and obscure links. This is a common tactic to trick people into disclosing sensitive personal…

Are Facebook posts reporting a baby boy was found "abandoned by the roadside roughly an hour ago" in March and April 2025 genuine? No, that's not true: The posts are part of a bait-and-switch scam designed to lure social media users into sharing content that then flips into an unrelated page to boost dubious real estate and marketing promotions. The…

Did Mooresville police warn about zip ties laced with fentanyl being placed on tire rims by sex or drug traffickers as claimed in several viral Facebook posts? No, that's not true: The Mooresville Police Department denied the rumor in a Facebook post of their own. Despite what urban legends say, fentanyl is not easily absorbed through skin contact so even…