Technology

Is a video of a cat guarding an eagle's nest to keep a snake from eating the eggs authentic? No, that's not true: The video was made by artificial intelligence tools. One telltale sign is the snake's two tails seen in the first four seconds. Also, the structure of the nest and the branches of the tree change significantly from…

Did Finland test "the world's first engine-less superconducting maglev cargo pipeline, capable of moving cargo at over 500 km/h using no engines, wheels or tracks", as a social media post claimed? No, that's not true: As of August 28, 2025, no media organizations reported on the purported test in Oulu, Finland. The organization that was described as having developed the…

Did Walmart fire an executive who was taking $30,000 daily in kickbacks from an Indian staffing agency in an H-1B visa scandal? No, that's not true: Walmart denied the reason they fired anyone had to do with H-1B visas or a kickback scandal. The outlet that amplified the news posted a disclaimer saying they had not received verification from Walmart…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy react to his August 2025 meeting at the White House by suggesting that Donald Trump rejects a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, believing it would hurt his chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize? No, that's not true: Official government webpages of the Ukrainian president don't contain such a statement. Lead Stories could not find…

Does the scientific community as a whole share the notion that a newly discovered interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is an alien spacecraft heading to Earth for a "surprise attack" in November 2025? No, that's not true: The NASA website says that it's a comet and that it doesn't pose any risk to Earth. Three astronomers told Lead Stories that, as of…

Did an authentic news outlet report that the May 2025 expense report of the California Democratic Party showed it bought 200 pallets of bricks ahead of ICE protests in Los Angeles? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook account that identifies the owner as a comedian working for Donald Trump. The bricks story did not include links…

Was TikTok influencer Khaby Lame arrested by ICE and was he "deported"? No, that's not true: A video on X making that claim showed a 220963977 A-number from ICE's detainee locator system that currently does not show any results. An ICE spokesperson said Lame was briefly "detained" on June 6, 2025 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada…

Was U.S. President Donald Trump's account on X blocked again in the aftermath of the public feud with the platform's owner Elon Musk on June 5, 2025? No, that's not true: The account was still active, as of this writing. The screenshot that resurfaced on social media showed what Trump's account looked like in 2021 - after he had been…

Did a widely-shared video authentically show an "emotional support kangaroo" denied entry to a plane, as the animal's owner argues with gate staff? No, that's not true: The clip originated on an Instagram account that produces AI-generated content. The text on the kangaroo's boarding pass, and the non-existent language spoken by the humans in the video, were clues that the…

Did Barron Trump, son of President Trump, get married to Spanish crown princess Leonor and was all of this documented in a lavish wedding video? No, that's not true: A youtube account named "Lovely Trump Family" put out several videos purporting to show such a dream wedding but they all carried disclaimers saying they were generated using artificial intelligence. In…