Will Smith

Have you seen a viral video showing a beautiful policewoman asking for engagement or friendship, a simple "Hello" or a follow? 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 real people or situations although the videos are produced for audiences in several…

Is suspected Spokane arsonist Aaron F. Farinacci a registered Republican voter? No, that's not true: Voters in Washington state do not register by political party, according to the Washington Secretary of State's office. Voters in the state can become members of any political party by contacting the party directly, but they are not "registered" as members of a party when…

Did the BBC report that Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska was spotted wearing a pendant stolen from France's Lalique Museum? No, that's not true: The BBC denied ever publishing such a report. The video was doctored to digitally add the jewelry item to Zelenska's neck. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published on X by @its_The_Dr…

Does a real video show a machete-wielding migrant yell, "This is the end of England!"? No, that's not true: This AI-generated video was made using a still frame from another video. Several glitches in the video point to it having been made with AI. This, coupled with both videos sharing the same thumbnail image, suggests one video was made using…

Did the Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi speak at length about his emotions upon seeing a woman holding a "100 year old Messi fan" banner in the stands? No, that's not true: While a centenarian in the stands really did hold up a sign for him, the quotes attributed to Messi are made up. They were published by an X…

Are social media posts claiming that Pope Leo XIV and a long list of celebrities each filed a $50 million lawsuit against a news host for "vicious, calculated defamation" real? No, that's not true: None of the celebrities named in the posts made any such statement. The claims came from a spam operation managed from Vietnam that uses AI-generated Facebook…

Are viral posts claiming your favorite celebrity family adopted or had twin babies and giving them names that "are taking the internet by storm" real? No, that's not true: Nearly identical posts naming at least 49 celebrity families were distributed on Facebook in mid-April 2026 by a spam network managed from Vietnam. The posts appear to be AI-generated and have…

Does a video show American F-15 pilot Col. David Eberly after he was captured by Iran in April 2026? No, that's not true: The video shared on social media in the days after an American F-15 fighter jet was shot down during a mission over Iran shows Col. Eberly after his F-15 was shot down over Iraq and he was…

Did Kevin Costner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jared Goff or any celebrities donate millions of dollars to support the funeral arrangements for four of the six U.S. servicemembers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait? No, that's not true: The false claim that at least 37 sports and entertainment celebs made such donations was created and distributed by a spam factory…

Did NBA player Victor Wembanyama, or NFL players Jeremiyah Love, Jalen Hurts, or Micah Parsons, reward Maria Thompson with a pickup truck or SUV after she helped him when he was having car trouble? No, that's not true: This story is a copy/paste clickbait formula which has been circulating on social media. Nearly identical stories mentioning those and other names…