Entertainment

Was the backflip banned after it was performed by the prominent Black figure skater Surya Bonaly in 1998? No, that's not true: Decades ago, the International Skating Union banned somersault jumps, which includes backflips with a one-foot landing, in figure-skating competitions. The video in the post that claims Bonaly's backflip caused the ban is actually from 1994, not 1998. Bonaly,…

Did Grammy award-winning singer Rihanna wear a pentagram-shaped symbol on her belt during the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: The shape seen in the post, on her aerial safety belt, is hexagonal, but in clearer photos is neither a hexagon nor a pentagon . A pentagram, associated with satanism, has five points. The claim appeared as…

Does a social media video show entrepreneur Elon Musk discussing imprisoned internet influencer Andrew Tate? No, that's not true: This appears to be a "deepfake" video of Musk, now the CEO of Twitter. The video uses publicly available footage from a TED Talk with Musk in April 2022. A transcript of Musk's remarks proves that he did not talk about…

Did Robin Roberts, the longtime co-host of ABC Television's "Good Morning America" (GMA) die on January 30, 2023? No, that's not true: As of February 1, 2023, Roberts remained alive and well, and actively posting on Instagram from New Zealand. The post implying that she had died is a ruse to get readers to an ad for CBD products. The…

Did football player Damar Hamlin die on the field in early January 2023 and is the NFL covering it up? No, that's not true: Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, did collapse in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals but was revived by medical personnel before being taken to the hospital. Hamlin posted to his Instagram account while hospitalized…

Did celebrities call for a "total Hollywood strike" until everyone is vaccinated against COVID-19? No, that's not true: The claim, posted by a prolific publisher of fake news, is based on a fake tweet purportedly from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. An Academy representative told Lead Stories it is not their tweet. The claim appeared in an…

Is Disney giving away $1 tickets for "women born before 1980"? No, that's not true: The company's website contains no mentions of this alleged promo campaign. The claim appears to be a bait likely aimed at making users share their personal information. The claim originated in a post on Facebook on January 30, 2023. It contained a shared link showing…

Is a video showing two people trying to help a man break free from the grasp of a giant python that has swallowed his entire head real? No, that's not true: This giant snake wrapped around a white Iveco van is not real, but a novelty prop installed at Zhongnan Baicao Garden, an amusement park and zoo in Huzhou, China.…

Was a baby with elephant-like facial features born in Norway, and have thousands of Hindu people flocked to Norway to see the child since media in India reported the birth? No, that's not true: The photo posted with this claim does not show a real child. It is a 2010 sculpture, a surreal human-animal hybrid composed of silicone, fiberglass and…

Was American singer-songwriter Beyoncé hospitalized in critical condition after her January 21, 2023, performance in Dubai? No, that's not true: There is no evidence she was admitted to a hospital after her Dubai concert. Although the title of a video on Facebook made that claim, the video itself does not substantiate it. The Facebook page belongs to a gaming video…

Did actor Michael Clarke Duncan, famous for his role in the 1999 movie "The Green Mile," die? Yes, that's true... but it happened in 2012. News of his death went viral again in 2023 after a clickbait website (likely from Pakistan) reposted an undated obituary for the actor that appears to have been stolen from a Canadian news website. The…

Was country music star Toby Keith "fighting for his life" and hospitalized as of January 25, 2023? No, that's not true: While Keith has been diagnosed with cancer, the image attached to this post does not show him hospitalized. He has also been filmed performing and doing interviews on verified social media accounts recently. The claim about Keith's health appeared…

Did the A&W chain selling American food and root beer admit that its mascot, Rooty the Great Root Beer Bear, was "polarizing" for his pantlessness? Did the company decide to portray him wearing jeans from now on? No, that's not true: A&W said it was a joke. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by a radio station…

Did a Norwegian group of trans activists request that Aretha Franklin's song "Natural Woman" be removed from audio streaming services Spotify and Apple Music on January 20, 2023? No, that's not true: The account that started the thread on Twitter later added a disclaimer explaining that it does not represent any real-life trans rights advocacy group and only posts parody…

Was Andrew Tate found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in prison as of January 24, 2023? No, that's not true: The former kickboxing champion and internet influencer remained in detention as of January 24, 2023, but had not been tried, convicted or sentenced. He was arrested in late 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and participating in organized…

Will the face of Walt Disney replace Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill in 2023? No, that's not true: Neither the Walt Disney Company nor the U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced such a change as of January 23, 2023. The article that announced the purported change to the $100 U.S. note was made on a satirical website whose…

Does a recent Facebook Reel accurately depict devastating damage from a 2023 plane crash? No, that's not true: This footage is from the set of director Steven Spielberg's 2005 movie "War of the Worlds." A twin-engine ATR 72 airplane crashed in Nepal on January 15, 2023, but the plane seen in the Reel is a 747. The location of the…

Did CNN publish a news article that linked Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin's on-field collapse to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the news network confirmed to Lead Stories by email that the media outlet never published such a story. A widely shared social media post featured an altered photograph of an original CNN headline. The…

Does this video accurately show a plane crash or emergency? And might it even be live ? No, that's not true: This footage is not real. It is a computer-generated video from a popular video game named Grand Theft Auto V that is often used to generate long videos of airplane "emergencies", "crashes" or "emergency landings", sometimes with the purpose…

Has the U.S. military "extracted giant mummies" from caverns in the Grand Canyon? No, that's not true: The story about Egyptian artifacts allegedly found in North America goes back to the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, it has been debunked multiple times. The current version of the claim originated from a Prophecy Watchers video (archived here) published on…