Pope

Does an authentic photo show Kamala Harris posing arm-in-arm with Sean "Diddy" Combs? No, that's not true: Combs' face has been pasted onto the body of the man who was standing next to Harris when the photo was taken in 2001 by Ron Galella as can be seen on Getty Images. The man in the original photo is TV host…

Did "leaked reports" say George Soros paid ABC moderators $1 million each to fact check Donald Trump during the September 10, 2024, presidential debate? No, that's not true: The story came from a website whose satire disclaimer reads: "These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up." No credible evidence of "leaked reports" or such payments…

Is a social media post saying that a girl "approximately 3 years old" was found by "Deputy Amy Braidley" authentic? No, that's not true: This is a bait-and-switch post that sends readers to a real estate ad. Lead Stories has previously debunked similar posts with a 3-year-old being found in different locations across the country, each time by a deputy…

Did the Toronto Star, BBC and other major media cover a scandal involving Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh that supposedly "erupted" after he left his microphone on while on TV? No, that's not true: Searches for coverage of this supposed money-making scandal on these news sites led to no results. The post on X that said this linked to a fake…

Does a photograph shared to X in August 2024 genuinely show Pope Francis wearing a rainbow scarf? No, that's not true: One digital forensics website concluded that the photograph was "99.9% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content." Another indicated the photo was 96 percent "artificial." The image also contained several artifacts like weird fingers, inconsistent clothing and odd hair…

Does a video circulating on social media show thousands of Christians in France gathered to pray after the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony purportedly mocked Jesus? No, that's not true: The video shows people gathered in Rosary Square in Lourdes, France, on August 14, 2022 -- the eve of the annual Feast of the Assumption. This video does not show…

Did authentic social media posts offer genuine concern over a missing teen named Kaniesa Perez? No, that's not true: The posts exploit a real missing teen story and falsely say that Kaniesa Perez went missing on the same day from Dover, Pennsylvania, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, among other locations more than a thousand miles apart. In reality, the teen went…

Does a video posted on social media show Russian naval exercises off the coast of Florida in June 2024, as claimed in the post? No, that's not true: The missile launch test shown was performed from the White Sea in May 2018, not off the Florida coast in June 2024. The 2018 test was more than 5,000 miles from Florida.…

Does footage on social media show Palestinians celebrating at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem after they heard news of Iran's mid-April 2024 aerial attack on Israel? No, that's not true: The video was shot days before Iran launched drones and missiles against Israel. The video was recorded during the last Friday of Ramadan, according to a BBC reporter. Lead Stories…

Did Google send out a notification that it would end Gmail service on August 1, 2024? No, that's not true: The company denied that, and no credible sources reported that the announcement in question has ever been made. Early posts about the end of Gmail came from accounts known for posting trolling content. The claim appeared in a post (archived…