Riots

Does a real video show pro-Palestinian activists smashing windows at The Albion Arms pub in London? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this incident ever took place, and no news websites have reported it. An AI detection tool said "the video is likely AI-generated," which is another indication it does not show real events. The claim appeared…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump suggest on social media that Americans "drive downhill" to "adapt" to high gas prices? No, that's not true: His accounts did not show such a post. No credible media organization reported such a statement. The fake screenshot showed a blue checkmark next to Trump's X handle, but his real X accounts display a gray checkmark.…

Did cheerleaders for 38 sports teams shock social media by posting a bold "fully revealing" photoshoot that got seven million views on X? No, that's not true: The false claims originate from AI-generated articles and posts created by a spam operation managed from Vietnam. Fake fan pages are used to target North American and European Facebook users with nearly identical…

Were Dalton Knecht, Clayton Kershaw, Andre Iguodala and many other sports celebrities and their associates fatally shot, "while tryiпg to break υp a bar fight"? No, that's not true: Nearly identical stories mentioning them and other people were published by a network of foreign websites and Facebook pages. There were no credible news articles about such events. The Knecht version…

Did Kristi Noem say "If Jesus wanted America to speak Spanish and have the Super Bowl half time show in a foreign language, he would not have written the Bible in English."? No, that's not true: Noem did not say this. This fake quote came from a meme shared by a satire page that included a small watermark with the…

Was Nekima Levy Armstrong visibly crying in anguish in a Department of Homeland Security photo of her arrest by the FBI for her role in a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota? No, that's not true: The photo of Armstrong's arrest posted by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem showed Armstrong's face as composed and expressionless. About one half hour…

False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. Here are our most read fact checks of the past year, reflecting our reader's interest in finding out the truth about various viral stories. If you see something suspicious in 2026,…

Did Rachel Maddow, tennis champion Coco Gauff and former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, plus dozens of other prominent Americans, post identical brave notes from a hospital bed, saying "I still have a long road ahead. But I believe in recovery -- through love, through support, and through everyone's thoughts and prayers."? No, that's not true: The stories, with identical…

Did the Donald Trump White House publish a press release offering pieces of the demolished East Wing for $500 per item at a website whose name suggested an affiliation with the U.S. president? No, that's not true: An image of the purported press release circulating on social media was full of nonsensical typos and redirected to a nonexistent website. As…

Did Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, or Turning Point USA file a $400 million lawsuit against investor and philanthropist George Soros over an alleged defamation campaign "to silence conservative voices and manipulate public perception"? No, that's not true: The claim originated from a satirical page that said explicitly that nothing it publishes is real. As of October 16, 2025, no credible…