Water

Have you seen viral videos showing fights between captive insects and small animals? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. A growing number of social media accounts feature nothing but AI-generated videos of staged fights between captive insects, small reptiles, and animals. Many of these are…

Does a viral image of actor Elliot Page actually show him on the August 2026 Men's Health magazine cover? No, that's not true: The picture originated from a self-described satire account. The image's later variations removed the watermark linking the picture with that account. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X by @Glinner on July 16, 2026.…

Does a real yearbook photo show an edgy punk teenage Pete Hegseth with black spiky hair and eyeliner? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated and is not Pete Hegseth's yearbook photo. Forest Lake High School has an archive of past yearbooks and the real yearbook photos of Hegseth in his sophomore, junior, and senior year are different. The…

Is an image of a U.S. Navy Blue Angels flyover on Pensacola Beach in Florida real? No, that's not true: Although the Blue Angels ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a low flyover during the July 15, 2026, air show, the image in question is not from that event. Instead, the image contains signs that it was created using…

Have you seen viral images of an "activist" talking to a middle-aged farmer, paired with the caption claiming to describe their dialogue? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such pictures recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They do not show real people or situations. This article is part of a series of…

Was a real Florida corrections officer named "Lena Hale" arrested for impregnating inmates? No, that's not true: No credible news organizations reported the story. Viral posts making the claim shared images showing a person supposedly having two different hair colors at the moment of booking. The alleged mugshot displayed signs that were consistent with the use of generative AI. The…

Have you seen viral videos showing Sandra Bullock asking for personal information of followers? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They do not show the real Sandra Bullock or real situations. They seek private or personal information in order to scam people. This article…

While investigating a video for a recent fact-check, Lead Stories encountered a bizarre issue with the SynthID AI detector in Google's Gemini chatbot. Over several chats it appeared to contradict an earlier detection result for the same video file. Initially, the chatbot claimed the video file had a SynthID watermark in it, indicating the video was made or edited with…

Have you seen the viral videos showing mass protests in the streets of British cities? Lead Stories has spotted several such videos recently and found that many were created using artificial intelligence. These videos do not show real people or situations. Instead, they seek to exploit feelings of sympathy and patriotism by triggering emotions such as indignation and anger among…

Does a real photo show Mitch McConnell on life support? No, that's not true: There is no evidence the image depicts an actual moment involving the senior U.S. senator from Kentucky in a hospital. An online AI detection tool found a SynthID watermark, indicating the image was generated using OpenAI tools, and the image contains visual inconsistencies commonly associated with…