Entertainment

Does a video on Facebook show actress Jada Pinkett Smith endorsing a "health spending card" promotion? No, that's not true: The audio in this post is fake, as she was talking about her health in at least one of the video clips used in this claim -- not a "health spending card." Fake promotions, such as the one linked to…

Does the Salzburg, Austria, airport have a counter for people who flew to Austria instead of Australia? No, that's not true: A meme originated from a satirical ad campaign positioned at the baggage claim in the Salzburg airport. The ad, featuring a SOS call button, was from a communication technology company that provides solutions such as the SOS intercom call…

Is a video of jets surrounding Donald Trump's jet real? No, that's not true: The video that appeared in a viral X post is from a video game. A YouTube video with the same footage has "#flightsim" and the acronym to a flight simulation video game in the description. A TikTok video with the same footage also has the same…

Did Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Joe Rogan endorse a plan by the federal government to distribute health spending cards worth up to $5,600, with every American qualifying for one? No, that's not true: The claim that the government is freely giving out health spending cards with thousands of dollars on them is a scam. Such scams are usually attached…

Did BBC News broadcast "breaking" news that Elon Musk has a new trading app that will allow Britons to make so much money that they won't have to work anymore? No, that's not true: The BBC's website includes no such report and the footage of Musk is from an appearance at the World Government Summit on February 15, 2023. He…

Did Pope Francis declare World Economic Forum chairman Klaus Schwab a "more important" figure than Jesus Christ? No, that's not true: The People's Voice, the website originally making the claim, provided no sources proving the pope said this. The site has a long history of publishing fake or made up quotes and has a liability disclaimer that seeks to absolve…

Does a video show reports of "skinwalkers" sighted at school in Ohio on September 17, 2023? No, that's not true: The claim that there are "skinwalkers" -- a witch in Navajo legend -- in classrooms is not made anywhere during the footage. September 17, 2023, was a Sunday, when Ohio schools would likely not have classes. Similar video was posted…

Do images in a social media post show rapper Boosie celebrating Pride Day in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana? No, that's not true: These pictures have been created using artificial intelligence. An AI content detector assessed that there is a 99.5 percent chance that these images were likely to be AI-generated. A Google News search also did not find reports that…

Did star tennis player Venus Williams receive a standing ovation for "refusing to play a trans woman"? No, that's not true: The claim came from an article on a website that's part of a satirical network. The publishing network's Facebook page says "Nothing on this page is real." The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) on October…

Does a video show hundreds of people "who identify as dogs" at a "trans species rights" protest in Germany? No, that's not true: The group of people dressed as dogs and barking in the video attended a festival in Europe that celebrated "a week full of unique leather and fetish events." They were attending a street fair and parties and…

Did the National Football League (NFL) ban the performance of the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the Black National Anthem, at any NFL-sponsored venue after the purported performance of the song by Beyonce Knowles-Carter in San Francisco? No, that's not true: When this claim was published, September 19, 2023, Beyonce was not performing at any NFL…

Does a social-media video of a young woman knocking on a door in distress to seek shelter from a male stalker, who claims to be her husband, depict an actual event? No, that's not true: It's a staged skit. The video, which features actors, is part of a three-part horror story shot by a French content creator. The claim that…

Does a video on TikTok capture the moment of the F-35B crash in South Carolina on September 17, 2023? No, that's not true: the clip does not accurately portray the location. It was originally published by an account specializing in sharing "realistic" fragments from flight simulator video games. Its author confirmed to Lead Stories that the video was artificially generated.…

Does this video show that political commentator Tucker Carlson "broke in tears" talking about Antarctica? No, that's not true: This video does not show Carlson crying while talking about Antarctica. The Facebook video merely shows clips of Carlson speaking, but does not allow the original audio from these moments to be heard. The claim appeared on Facebook on September 6,…

Does this video show a military medical specialist examining a living alien in a laboratory setting at Area 51 in southern Nevada, or elsewhere, perhaps in New Mexico? No, that's not true: This video clip is not evidence of alien life. It is a short clip from an adult film titled "Roswell UFO" produced in the Czech Republic for horrorporn.com.…

Does this video show a real flight attendant and a "trans person" arguing over pronouns on a passenger aircraft? No, that's not true: This video was made by the comedian and content creator Jibrizy. The video is a clip from a longer Jibrizy scene, and the longer video ends with Jibrizy saying, "Hey guys, that was all a skit ...…

Does this video show a real, very angry mom removing a LGBT flag from a classroom? No, that's not true: This video was made by the comedian and content creator Jibrizy. The original full-length video posted on Facebook states that this is a skit in a disclaimer message at the end. The actors, including the woman who played the role…

Did singer Beyonce sing a rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the Black national anthem, instead of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a NFL game held in September 2023? No, that's not true: the claim appeared first on a website clearly marked as satire. Beyonce had not performed at any NFL games in 2023 at the time…

Did Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin all say they'll quit "immediately" if "The View" adds Candace Owens as a host? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a satirical website that has a history of fabricating content surrounding popular topics, and features a disclaimer that states, "Everything on this website is fiction." Lead Stories could not find…

Did Facebook or its parent company Meta announce a plan to charge all of the platform's users $4.99 a month for access? Will copying and pasting a post about the change allow people to "opt out" or "bypass the system"? No, none of that is true: Neither Facebook nor Meta made such an announcement as of this writing. Different variations…