Fact Check

Did a viral video show passengers singing with a flight attendant waving an Israeli flag, in June 2025? No, that's not true: Posts on social media reused an old recording. The footage had been on the internet since October 2023. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on June 19, 2025. It read: Israel carries out a…

Did Paul McCartney give his private jet to a WW2 vet to help the 102-year-old American reunite with his wartime lover? No, that's not true: The text and supporting images in a story making the claim were generated by artificial intelligence tools. There is no documentation that the former Beatle lent his plane to an elderly veteran for a flight…

Did The International Olympic Committee plan a vote on moving the 2028 Games out of Los Angeles? No, that's not true: The meme spreading that news originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are made up.The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and…

Did former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning buy a dog rescue shelter that was about to close? No, that's not true: A viral Facebook post contained no more than fan fiction and an image that appeared to be AI-generated. The page that published it regularly posts similar heartwarming (and fabricated) stories about Manning, along with pictures that appear AI-generated. The story…

Does a viral video show some kind of giant missile being transported, and is it related to the current conflict between Iran and Israel? No, that's not true: The video, captioned in one social media post as "the weapon that Israel fear the most" is several years old. It appears to show the transport of some heavy equipment to a…

Did a widely-shared video show a missile strike occurring during the June 2025 Iran-Israel conflict? No, that's not true: The footage predated that particular round of escalation. It had been online since 2024. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on June 17, 2025. It consisted of a clip of missiles striking an urban environment at…

Did Disney and Playboy announce in June 2025 that they would be collaborating to produce a special $50 edition of the magazine? No, that's not true: The claim originated on Mouse Trap News, which describes its output as "satire and parody". We found no evidence to suggest that the rumor was even inadvertently true. The claim appeared in a June…

Does a video really show missile-shaped baloons with the slogan "Iran is your problem too!" floating past Radio City Hall in New York? No, that's not true: The video was created by a digital advertising agency named Cracker TLV. They created several other videos using the exact same background scene but with other objects floating past. The video can be…

Did a widely-shared video show an Iranian woman dancing in the rain in June 2025, as a protest against that country's "Islamic regime"? No, that's not true: The clip showed Tamta Sabelashvili, a Georgian influencer and personal trainer who lives in France. She posted the video in 2023, meaning it had no connection to the Iran-Israel conflict that took place…

Does a viral image of a town's nighttime skyline under air attack show Iran's attacks on Tel Aviv during hostilities between the two countries? No, that's not true: Authentic coverage of the battle showed defensive weapons streaking upward and far fewer falling projectiles. Also, Tel Aviv's skyline is defined by more than 50 tall towers, while the image shows a…

Does an image of a burnt building really show the Mossad's headquarters hit by an Iranian strike in June 2025? No, that's not true: The giveaway that the picture didn't show a real-life scene was the misspelled name of the Israeli intelligence agency. That and other clues such as inconsistent shadows suggest that the picture has been modified or generated…

Does a trending video on social media authentically capture a fight inside a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv, Israel? No, that's not true: What looked like a crowd pushing each other was a scene from another country, Georgia. It depicted the atmosphere on the day of a verdict in a high-profile trial 13 years earlier. The claim appeared in a…

Did the Biden administration approve the permit in June 2024 for a "grand parade" for the Army's 250th birthday? No, that's not true: The parade permit application was submitted in March 2025, more than a month after President Biden left the White House and President Trump's administration began, according to a National Park Service spokesman. The permit application for a…

Did New Balance publicly cut ties with Simone Biles, ending a $22 million contract after the gymnast criticised activist Riley Gaines in June 2025? No, that's not true: The rumor originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. Quotes attributed to the footwear brand were fabricated. The claim appeared in a June 10, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here),…

Does a viral video show an attack, fire or explosion in Tel Aviv, Israel? No, that's not true: The video actually shows a fire in a parking lot for motorcycles in Chongqing, China. Several social media posts falsely claimed the footage showed the result of an Iranian attack on Israel. An example of such a false attribution can be seen…

Does a viral video show the real-life aftermath of an Iranian attack hitting several skyscrapers in Tel Aviv, Israel? No, that's not true: The video digitally exaggerated the impact of a projectile hitting a specific area of that city. Lead Stories analysis found signs pointing to generative AI as the likely origin of the viral clip. The claim appeared in…

Is a viral "Kamala Harris For The People" graphic a real new campaign logo? No, that's not true: It was created as a joke by a conservative Florida content creator. He posted comments on YouTube and X describing how he had found the artwork that can be seen as a circle of men pleasuring one another and pasted onto it…

Were the Minnesota shootings targeting state lawmakers and their family members motivated by leftist political views of the suspect, Vance Luther Boelter? While many details remain unclear as of June16, 2025, available evidence doesn't support this theory. Here is what we know about Boelter's political affiliation. A rumor about Boelter's left-leaning views appeared in a post (archived here) on X,…

Does a photo in multiple social media posts show Vance Boelter, the man alleged to have killed a Minnesota lawmaker in his own home? No, that's not true: A member of the executive committee of the Texas Democratic Party identified the couple in the image as a Houston candidate for Texas party chair: Lillie Schechter and her husband. Reverse image…

Did a New York State judge order Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to surrender her tax returns and financials? No, that's not true: That yarn appeared on an account labelled "Satire/Parody", which warns readers that everything on the page is made up. There's no record of such a case on Google News' index of thousands of news sites, and with intense interest…