Entertainment

Did actor Robert De Niro call White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt "KKKatherine" and did she respond that her family "fought to end slavery" while his "snuck into the country illegally in the 1920s"? No, that's not true: A meme describing that supposed exchange originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known…

Did Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr announce they are bringing The Beatles back to the U.S. with a reunion tour? No, that's not true: No announcement can be found anywhere in the news media, on the artists' websites, or with online ticketing websites. The post making the claim used an AI-generated image, which would not be expected in an official…

Did the judge in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs issue an arrest warrant for Ellen DeGeneres in May 2025? No, that's not true: The claim appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled it "entirely fictional and crafted solely for entertainment." Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any involvement by…

Does a video authentically show WNBA star Caitlin Clark describing an encounter with WNBA star Angel Reese telling Clark "You're only here because you're white."? No, that's not true: A voice cloning detection tool concluded that the narration of the video was AI-generated. A Google search of the sentence only found copies of the same fake video and no evidence…

Did actor Morgan Freeman "mercilessly" lecture White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on the topics of racism and inequality on live TV? No, that's not true: The story about the fictional TV-studio encounter was published by an anonymously registered website that listed no authors or publishers. Despite claims the encounter caused "a storm on social media" no actual media reported…

Did Disney World announce it will remove all American flags from its parks and replace them with other flags? No, that's not true: The rumor originated from a self-described parody website, Mouse Trap News. It specializes in publishing made-up stories about Disney. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook where it was published on May 27, 2025.…

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 American Idol winner Jamal Roberts turn down a Tesla ad from Elon Musk in an upcoming music video? No, that's not true: A viral article about such a rejection did not name any verifiable sources or offer any quotes to back that up. It also claimed there had been a "media frenzy" about the issue but no media outlets…

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 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…

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 Pete Townsend from The Who say Bruce Springsteen should "shut up and play" in May 2025? No, that's not true: The fabricated quotation originated on a Facebook page that describes its content as satirical. Earlier in the month, Springsteen criticized President Donald Trump on stage at a concert in Manchester, England. The fake quotation appeared in a May 21,…

Do viral videos authentically show the British porn actress known as Bonnie Blue being arrested? No, that's not true: The police vehicle is painted to look like police cars in Britain, but licensed to a prop service that provides cars to film and video makers. If the actress, born Tia Emma Billinger, had been arrested, England's notoriously competitive press corps…

Did recording artist Usher testify during the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in May 2025? No, that's not true, as of May 21: 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 him. The rumor appeared in a May 20, 2025,…

Did Attorney General Pam Bondi say "It's illegal to call yourself 'The Boss' if you're not in charge of the entire country"? No, that's not true: A fake Fox News graphic containing the fabricated quote originated on the Facebook page of someone who calls himself a "satirist" and "comedian." We found no corroboration for the fake quotation, which was a…

Did comedian Mo'Nique testify during the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in May 2025? No, that's not true: That claim appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled the claim "fictional". Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any testimony by her. The rumor appeared in a May 19, 2025, video on YouTube (archived…

Did percussionist Sheila E. testify during the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in May 2025? No, that's not true: That claim appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled the claim "fictional". Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any testimony by her. The rumor appeared in a May 19, 2025, video on YouTube…

Did a legitimate news report reveal the Kamala Harris presidential campaign was making an illegal $200,000 payment for travel expenses to music mogul Beyoncé for appearing at a campaign rally in 2024? No, that's not true: A satire site created that story to trick conservatives into sharing it as real. Campaign finance documents on file show no such payment to…