Shooting At The Trump Rally

Does a photo show alleged FSU shooter Phoenix Ikner marching in an anti-Trump demonstration? No, that's not true: The picture shows Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society organizer Oliver Cheese marching behind a banner that says "Fight Trump and the GOP agenda". Social media posts claiming or implying Ikner participated in the march likely were based on an FSU News…

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 two people who participated in the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol die within 24 hours of one another in early 2025, after being pardoned for their actions by President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Although police killed one pardoned participant in January 2025, the other person in question died three months earlier. There is no evidence…

Did former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney post on X that Donald Trump "is now literally threatening" to kill her? No, that's not true: That post came from a self-described parody account. It attributed a fake screenshot of another, nonexistent account on X to Cheney. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on November 1, 2024. The post…

Does a viral image authentically show Donald Trump sitting next to Thomas Matthew Crooks, who is accused of shooting at Trump during a presidential campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: The image shows signs that are consistent with generative AI technology. The image did not appear in credible news coverage of that assassination…

Were explosive devices discovered at the site of a Donald Trump campaign event on September 18, 2024, on Long Island, New York? No, that's not true: Law enforcement denied the rumor. The police statement said that a person "training a bomb detection dog" near the event's location had made a false report. The claim about explosive devices appeared in a…

Did Ryan Routh, the suspect in the apparent attempted assassination of Donald Trump in September 2024, make an appearance in a BlackRock advertisement? No, that's not true: A company spokesperson told Lead Stories that Routh had not "appeared in any BlackRock ads." The post making the claim uses a clip that does briefly show a man who appears to be…

Did someone finally notice that Trump's raised fist has six fingers in the famous image from the aftermath of the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt -- indicating the image is a fake generated by AI? No, that's not true: This image is altered from the original news photo. The post pretending to expose an AI deception was made 40 days after…

Does an authentic photo show Secret Service agents without earpieces during their response to the shooting at a Donald Trump rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: The earpieces can be seen in the original picture captured by Getty Images staff photographer Anna Moneymaker. The image in an X post that claims Secret Service agents…

Did Taylor Swift endorse Donald Trump in August 2024? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Swift said she wanted people to vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election campaign. The image of Swift as Uncle Sam with the phrase "TAYLOR WANTS YOU TO VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP" appears to be AI generated. Swift endorsed Joe Biden…