Deepfakes

Does a pro-Ron DeSantis PAC ad use a real recording of former President Donald Trump's voice? No, that's not true: The audio of Trump used in the ad was created by artificial intelligence, the spokesperson for the political action committee told Lead Stories. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published by Never Back Down on July 18, 2023,…

Did a viral video show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy performing a belly dance on camera? No, that's not true: The footage portrays a different person, a professional belly dance instructor from Argentina, and Zelenskyy's face seems to have been superimposed on that person's body. The story appeared in a post (archived here) published on TikTok on July 15, 2023. It…

Does this video document a demonic possession in 1896? No, that's not true: The video was created with CGI digital effects as the account that published it in 2019 noted. The claim appeared in a post published on Instagram on May 14, 2023. It opened: This is so scary...This is footage of an ACTUAL Demonic Possession in 1896 This is…

Did former first lady, Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton go on MSNBC to express her support for Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis? No, that's not true: The video uses a combination of authentic footage and a deepfake audio track. As of July 7, 2023, no evidence shows that Clinton endorsed DeSantis elsewhere.…

Did a new robot designed and built by a robotics company in Japan, known as STN-YGF, arrive in the United States to serve and protect citizens? No, that's not true: This video has been edited to include computer-generated imagery (CGI). The original unedited video footage was filmed on August 10, 2021. It showed President Joe Biden disembarking from the Marine…

Did MSNBC try to pass off a fake picture of the Titan submersible wreckage found on the sea floor in a live broadcast of breaking news footage? No, that's not true: The image of the debris did not originate on a live MSNBC broadcast and does not show a piece of debris from the Titan submersible, or wreckage from any…

Does a photograph authentically show Tom Cruise with his two "stunt doubles"? No, that's not true: An image shared widely on social media in June 2023 was generated using the artificial intelligence program Midjourney, the image creator confirmed to Lead Stories. A version of the claim originated in an image shared to Twitter on June 7, 2023, (archived here) that…

Do photos show that the craft store chain Hobby Lobby is selling demonic statues? No, that's not true: These images have been created by an AI artist. The images originated on Reddit and Facebook in groups for AI art. Hive Moderation, a program that detects whether content is AI-generated or not, concluded that there is a 99.9 percent chance that…

Did Elon Musk launch an AI cryptocurrency trading platform called Bitsoft 360 AI? No, that's not true: This video of Musk was taken from a guest appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast on September 7, 2018, and its transcript shows Musk never said, "I launched an AI cryptocurrency trading platform called Bitsoft 360." The fabricated audio has been added to…

Does a "photo" show Donald Trump "in his 50's," then a businessman, "dancing with a 13 year old girl"? No, that's not true: That is not a photo -- it is an image artificially created by algorithms. The story appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on June 14, 2023. The caption said: .@RepMTG Hey Marge, here's a photo Of…

Does a video containing still images of then-President Donald Trump and Anthony Fauci capture them embracing each other? No, that's not true: Those pictures are computer-generated. The claim originated from a tweet (archived here) on June 5, 2023. It said: Donald Trump became a household name by FIRING countless people *on television* But when it came to Fauci... The entry…

Is this footage of the tall creature reported in a Las Vegas backyard shortly after a police body camera picked up a bright green flash in the night sky in April of 2023? No, that's not true: This footage was posted by a TikTok user who makes CGI videos and labeled this video as such. The CGI video has been…

Is there legitimate footage of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi giving a "shoot to kill order" for those who participated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021? Similarly, is there legitimate footage of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arguing with Pelosi and President Joe Biden about finding ways to punish the January 6 rioters? No, neither of…

Is Target selling clothing with satanic imagery? No, that's not true: A search for clothes depicting satanism on Target's website did not result in the images seen in the Facebook post, or any relevant images that could back up this claim. A software developer from Pennsylvania confirmed to Lead Stories that he created the images seen in the Facebook post…

Did Elon Musk promote a brand of sea moss as a remedy to help a variety of health issues? No, that's not true: This video footage that appears to show Musk volunteering an endorsement during an interview is fake. The clip was taken from an appearance at the TED2022 conference, where Musk discussed purchasing Twitter and other topics but did…

Was there an explosion near the Pentagon on May 22, 2023? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo but a digitally fabricated image that shows a plume of smoke near a building that slightly resembles the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia. The building in the image is not the Pentagon,…

Did Elon Musk brag about firing "crybaby liberals"? No, that's not true: This video was made using AI, or artificial intelligence. The Instagram post where this claim originated seems to be an ad for an app that uses AI to make public figures say whatever the user wants. The claim appeared on Instagram (archived here) on May 4, 2023, with…

Did old, never-before-seen photos surface in May of 2023 of Donald Trump posing with young women on a private jet, and also partying with Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: Although there are authentic images of Donald Trump posing for pictures with young women and with Jeffrey Epstein, these three images surfaced on social media without any provenance or explanation…

Was former President Donald Trump photographed wearing a helicopter helmet and a military-style vest? No, that's not true: The image from social media is most likely AI-generated. The claim originated from a tweet (archived here) published on May 1, 2023. It contained what looked like a picture of Trump posted under the caption: This is what a President looks like.…

Did a photo recently surface that shows Jeffrey Epstein posing with four children on a tropical beach? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo but an image created with the AI program Midjourney. This image, and another in the same vein showing a likeness of Epstein posing with five children, were posted on Instagram by an account…