Fact Check

Does a video shared on social platforms show an authentic Arctic woolly snake discovered by researchers in Antarctica? No, that's not true: The video was created by an artificial intelligence tool, not by a camera that recorded real people handling a real creature, according to an AI detection tool used by Lead Stories. A search online for information about the…

Did basketball star Caitlin Clark publicly refuse to advertise Tesla on her Indiana Fever jersey in May 2025? No, that's not true: A post promoting that rumor contained several fabricated quotes attributed to both Clark and Tesla owner Elon Musk. We found no corroboration for the story, or the claim that Clark had threatened to reveal damaging secrets about Musk.…

Did a widely-shared image of a bearded man show the individual arrested in Liverpool after a car drove into a crowd of celebrating soccer fans in May 2025? No, that's not true: Merseyside Police confirmed to Lead Stories that the photo doesn't show the man arrested in that case. That person was described as a "53-year-old white British man from…

Does ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's sell a flavor called "From the River" featuring a Palestinian flag on the packaging? No, that's not true: A viral image which also showed people with "Press" on their clothes carrying watermelons and cameras was generated using artificial intelligence. Ben & Jerry's website featured no such flavor or packaging. The viral image appeared…

Did President Donald Trump address a 2025 Memorial Day message to "scum" and "USA hating judges"? Yes, that's true: Trump posted the lengthy message on Truth Social on the morning of May 26, 2025. Both critics and supporters of Trump re-posted it. The message was presented as real in a May 26, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here). The caption…

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…

Did singer Bruce Springsteen cancel his "Atlantic City Summer Concert Series" over low ticket sales after "blowback" over his on-stage comments about President Trump? No, that's not true: That claim originated on a satirical Facebook page and no such concert series ever existed. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The…

Is Harvard launching free college courses on basic U.S. government understanding and "how to recognize a dictatorship" or a "dictatorship takeover" in response to recent actions from the Trump administration? No, that's not true: According to a Harvard spokesperson the "edX" program has existed since 2012 and it takes about 12 to 18 months to create a new course, so…

Does a viral video authentically show a "Polish Pilot" landing a Boeing 737 on just one wheel? No, that's not true: The footage of the plane, which also featured a "Mentzen 2025" campaign ad and a "Polski Pilot" logo, was created in a video game. The TikTok channel that originally published it said it was created in the "X Plane…

Are "Oscar Mayer Freedom Franks" featuring red, white and blue sausages a real product? No, that's not true: A viral image of such wieners was created as a Fourth of July joke in 2023 by an Instagram account that says it creates "original memes, mashups & fake products". A search on Oscar Mayer's website did not show any such product…

Did FBI investigators find 14 pardons and 11 executive orders signed by autopen that Joe Biden was unaware of? No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The meme appeared in a Facebook post…

Has "Harvard" announced a plan to blacklist President Donald Trump supporters on campus, as a social media post claims? No, that's not true: The SideChat screenshot of the plan circulating on social media is clearly one person's idea ("I think we blacklist...") and not an institutional policy or proposal. In the last week of May, 2025, there was no public…

Did an image shown to the public by U.S. President Donald Trump during a May 21, 2025 meeting with his South African counterpart in the Oval Office capture a mass burial of "white farmers" in that country? No, that's not true: The image was a screenshot of Reuters footage showing a different country. The recording captured humanitarian workers assisting with…

Was pro-Trump Cuban activist Hector Luis Valdes Cocho detained by ICE and held for possible deportation from the United States? Yes, that's true: Valdes Cocho, who was exiled from Cuba to the U.S. in 2022 because of his political activism, was initially arrested in November 2024, on state fraud and traffic charges in Florida. ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)…

Did Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accept a $2.1 million bribe from George Soros, in the form of a vacation home in Italy? No, that's not true: That rumor originated on the Dunning-Kruger Times, a website that describes its own content as satirical. The article included fabricated quotes from "Joe Barron", a fake persona that features regularly as an…

Did the actor Will Smith testify during the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in May 2025? No, that's not true: The claim appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled it "fictional". Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any testimony by Smith. The rumor appeared in a May 22, 2025, video on YouTube…

Was a story about Bruce Springsteen's royalties "tanking" because of a radio boycott of his catalog that also mentioned "WDKT Baltimore Morning Drive DJ Joey Barron" real? No, that's not true: A viral meme that included a fictional DJ and radio station originated on a satirical Facebook page. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking…

Did a viral video really show Pope Leo XIV publicly criticizing JD Vance for his reaction to former President Joe Biden's cancer announcement? No, that's not true: The clip used AI-generated sound to make it appear the Pope scolded Vance for attacking Biden with "cold, calculated words" and lacking "human compassion". No actual news websites reported that the Pope publicly…

Does a photo shared on social media authentically show Houthis missiles targeting Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in May 2025? No, that's not true: The Houthis' attempt to target the airport on May 18, 2025, failed when Israel's air defenses intercepted the rockets. There was a Houthi missile that hit near the airport on May 4, but none since. The image…

Did the footage shown to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on May 21, 2025 in the Oval Office capture a mass grave of "over 1,000 of white farmers", as claimed by U.S. President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The video showed a 2020 temporary memorial, not a burial site. People who participated in the memorial demonstration did not refer…