Ronald Reagan

Does a viral clip show authentic archival footage of U.S. President Ronald Reagan telling a story about his conversation with a child who wanted to solve homelessness? No, that's not true: Two AI detectors found that the clip utilized AI generated sound. The video recycled the recording of Reagan's last presidential address from the Oval Office, but in reality, he…

Did Donald Trump just designate the month of March as "Women's History Month" by signing an executive order? No, that's not true: The formal observation of Women's History Month was started by Congress in 1987, an expansion of the previous statute designating Women's History Week. Part of the resolution reads: "The President is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon…

Did former Polish president Lech Wałęsa write a letter to President Donald Trump expressing "fear and distaste" at his February 2025 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Yes, that's true: On March 3, 2025, Wałęsa shared these sentiments in a post published on Facebook. An English-translated version of the original post in Polish appeared on Facebook on March 3, 2025,…

Does an image in a social media post show one of the Black Hawk helicopter pilots killed in the January 2025 Washington, D.C., aircraft collision as she worked on the White House staff for two years "instead of flying"? No, that's not true: The person singled out in the image is not Rebecca Lobach, one of the soldiers participating in…

Was the military helicopter involved in the plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025, unmanned or remotely controlled? No, that's not true: An Army spokesperson told Lead Stories, "The Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was not unmanned or remotely controlled." Officials previously stated that the helicopter had a three-person crew at the time of the…

Did the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the fatal plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025, have a senior military official on board? No, that's not true: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the helicopter involved in the collision over the Potomac River was conducting annual retraining for a "Continuity of Government" mission that would…

Did a Black Hawk helicopter fail to respond to warnings seconds before colliding with a civilian airliner that was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025? No, that's not true: Air traffic control audio archives show the helicopter crew acknowledged two advisories from air traffic controllers to avoid the oncoming aircraft. Transportation Secretary Sean…

Does flight path data on a map prove that Flight 5342 suddenly reversed direction before fatally crashing into the Potomac River? No, that's not true: The reversal shown in a clip streamed by global flight tracking service Flightradar24 was due to a "jump" in data. That was caused by the program switching between data sources, a company spokesperson told Lead…

Was the military helicopter involved in the plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025, "flying dark," as it was supposed to be broadcasting with an ADS-B transponder signal? No, that's not true: While the Black Hawk helicopter was not using ADS-B, it was still operating properly within the airspace, according to flight data and to…

Was the helicopter involved in the midair collision near Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025, a police helicopter? No, that's not true: Local police refuted the claim shortly after the crash. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the helicopter that collided with a civilian plane was operated by the U.S. military. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…