Fact Check

Is a viral post about the retirement of a Denver kindergarten teacher named Clara Holt illustrated with a photo of someone named Clara Holt? No, that's not true: The photo is copied from a BBC report about the reunion of students of Shirley Arnold, a primary school teacher in Kent, England. No Clara Holt appears on Colorado's list of certified…

Did a federal judge in Virginia drop charges against former FBI Director James Comey because the prosecutor misspelled Comey's last name as "Homey"? No, that's not true: The rumor on social media originated from a satire website. As of October 10, 2025, the trial date was set for January 5, 2026; however, the former FBI Director's legal team stated that…

Did the chair of the Nobel committee that chose the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize say that Donald Trump was not chosen because they only "give the award to people of courage and integrity?" No, that's not true: A reporter asked Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes how the campaign by President Trump and his supporters to get the award for…

Does a video show Delta Airlines removing an elderly man from a flight because he was wearing a MAGA hat? No, that's not true: The man was wearing a red hat that read "Build Back Better My Ass," not "Make America Great Again." The pilot, who said he himself was "ultra MAGA", told him he was escorted off the plane…

Are completed California Proposition 50 redistricting ballots visible through Sacramento County's mail-in envelopes? Yes, but that is missing context. A mark on a Prop 50 ballot can be seen through a hole in the vote-by-mail envelope from Sacramento County, Ca. if the ballot is folded with text on the outside and placed facing one of the holes on the envelope.…

Is a video of a pregnant woman saying her doctor told her to leave Texas to deliver her baby because of the state's abortion laws authentic? No, that's not true: The woman posted another video explaining that she is not pregnant and not from Texas. She said it was an "engage bait" strategy in which she pretended to be "MAGA"…

Does a viral video of a protester chanting "No queso! No cheese!" before being sprayed with orange-colored gas by law enforcement show a real-life scene? No, that's not true: A prominent watermark identified the video as having been generated by a specific AI tool. Visual artifacts indicate it was AI-generated, including faceless people in military fatigues and several examples of…

Is the viral video of a young woman wondering what an ice cream truck is doing out and about at 1 a.m. the last video she ever posted? No, that's not true: After posting that video August 19, 2025, she posted a related video August 21. On August 23, she posted another TikTok video about the ice cream truck and…

Does authentic video show U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detaining cats and dogs, as of October 9, 2025? No, that's not true: Viral clips showing cats and dogs being seized were products of generative AI. Their early versions displayed a removable watermark pointing to a specific app. They originated as online satire. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did a man with a T-shirt cannon fire a prize directly at an elderly woman seated in the stands, knocking her over? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. It was created for a satirical Facebook page, Weaber Valley Speedway, which publishes fake updates and event footage as if they are a real small town racetrack. The fake video…

Did a video from "Sky 8" really show a chimp on a scooter, on the run from police cars on a freeway and did this chimpanzee escape from "metro zoo" downtown? No, that's not true: The video of the Vespa-riding monkey bore the watermark of AI tool Sora and was generated using artificial intelligence. It contained several text artifacts typical…

Does an authentic video show the moment when a curious black bear climbed on a porch railing and woke a napping man? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. It has the watermark of Sora, an app from OpenAI which can generate videos from text-based prompts. The video (archived here) was posted on X by @DisrespectedThe on Oct. 6,…

Does a viral video show a real moment when a man is tricked into opening an airplane bathroom door with a woman inside? No, that's not true: The video was made and posted by a skit-maker and content creator. He has posted videos that show pranks or jokes being played on people. The woman in the plane bathroom appears in…

Does a video of a police pursuit of a person in a pickle costume show a real-life scene? No, that's not true: The pickle video bears the watermark of Sora, an app from Open AI that generates videos from text prompts. No news organizations reported that such a pursuit took place. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

Does a video of Argentina's President Javier Milei authentically capture him singing on stage? Yes, that's true: Milei performed at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires on October 6, 2025. Many media outlets covered the event. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on October 8, 2025. It opened: 🇦🇷 Argentinian President Javier Milei held a…

Does a video show a real confrontation between a shouting protester and a man in uniform who identifies himself as Sgt. Pepper? No, that's not true: This video has a watermark from Sora, an app from Open AI that generates videos from text prompts. The TikTok account from which this video originated has posted several military-themed videos generated by Sora.…

Is a video showing a Portland police officer threaten to arrest an ICE agent if he doesn't stop "driving into people," and the agent replying "won't be messy" authentic? No, that's not true: A longer video giving a wider view reveals the officer is warning a woman in a civilian vehicle, who has no apparent connection to ICE, that she…

Did California Governor Gavin Newsom win the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 and has President Donald Trump "exploded with rage" over the news? No, that's not true: The story originated on a well known satire publication named The Borowitz Report. There were no actual news reports about Newsom being awarded the prize. The viral article (archived here) was published…

Did California Governor Gavin Newsom win the Nobel Peace Prize on October 7, 2025? No, that's not true: The story originated in a post by satirist Andy Borowitz. The 2025 prize was scheduled to be announced on October 10. The story appeared in an October 7, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here), which stated: OSLO--Donald J. Trump reportedly "exploded with…

Did Detroit singer Kid Rock call rapper Bad Bunny "a man in a dress" and criticize the NFL's selection of the Puerto Rican rapper for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: There's no public record of such a remark by Kid Rock. There is no mention of the 2026 halftime show on Rock's social media accounts…