Politics

Was pro-Trump Cuban activist Hector Luis Valdes Cocho detained by ICE and held for possible deportation from the United States? Yes, that's true: Valdes Cocho, who was exiled from Cuba to the U.S. in 2022 because of his political activism, was initially arrested in November 2024, on state fraud and traffic charges in Florida. ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)…

Did Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accept a $2.1 million bribe from George Soros, in the form of a vacation home in Italy? No, that's not true: That rumor originated on the Dunning-Kruger Times, a website that describes its own content as satirical. The article included fabricated quotes from "Joe Barron", a fake persona that features regularly as an…

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 a viral video really show Pope Leo XIV publicly criticizing JD Vance for his reaction to former President Joe Biden's cancer announcement? No, that's not true: The clip used AI-generated sound to make it appear the Pope scolded Vance for attacking Biden with "cold, calculated words" and lacking "human compassion". No actual news websites reported that the Pope publicly…

Did the footage shown to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on May 21, 2025 in the Oval Office capture a mass grave of "over 1,000 of white farmers", as claimed by U.S. President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The video showed a 2020 temporary memorial, not a burial site. People who participated in the memorial demonstration did not refer…

Did Representative Ilhan Omar fail to condemn the shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers at the Capital Jewish Museum, as a social media post implied? No, that's not true: The Minnesota congresswoman posted she was appalled by the shooting and offered thoughts and prayers to the families in a post on X at 9:17 AM Pacific Time on May 22,…

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,…

Did the Venezuelan government donate $22.9 million for an apartment to be built on top of Barack Obama's Presidential Library? No, that's not true: A meme making that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The meme appeared in a post…

Did a photograph shared online show the victims of a May 21, 2025 shooting outside a Jewish museum in Washington D.C.? No, that's not true: The Israeli embassy named Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim as the two embassy staff shot dead. The picture in question showed two men, neither of them Lischinsky, holding Israeli flags. The claim appeared in…

Did Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-NJ, start singing "You Fight On" during a CNN interview about her recent arrest on an assault charge at an ICE facility? No, that's not true: The purported video of the spontaneous singing was digitally created by the administrator of a parody account on X.com. The video's creator acknowledged this in a post, and the account…

Did the Pentagon in May of 2025 approve acquisition of a "Qatari-built jet" to be the next Air Force One? No, that's not true: There is no aircraft manufacturing industry in Qatar that could make a jet of that size. The Pentagon on May 21, 2025 announced it had approved President Trump's plan to accept a Boeing 747 as a…

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 Attorney General Pam Bondi threaten to prosecute anyone calling President Trump "Clown Prince Trump" and was this reported on Fox News? No, that's not true: A viral image making that claim originated on a satirical Facebook page. It contained several hints that were hard to discern on a phone screen, such as a "Fox Mews" logo and a "Braking…

Did Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. testify before Congress that "China is putting gay chemicals in the vapes, coupled with fruity pina colada flavoring agents"? No, that's not true: The video uses generative AI to imitate Kennedy's voice and mouth movements, but it ends with a screen of text that says it is a deepfake. The account on which the video…

Does this video authentically document the Israeli military bombing Gaza, as a social media post claimed? No, that's not true: The video originated on a TikTok account named "@everythingai97" with a bio that says: "DISCLAIMER: ALL VIDEOS I POST ARE AI GENERATED." Several elements of the video reveal digital artifacts of the kind often found in videos that are made…

Did President Donald Trump announce in a video that "Pride Month is canceled" and that it would be replaced with something called "Confidence Month" in June? No, that's not true: A viral video that also has Trump saying things like "poop is poop" and "pride is a sin" had an audio track generated using AI. The video part was from…

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…

Does a viral graph accurately represent the outcome of the 2025 Romanian presidential election? No, that's not true: The graph showed the odds of Nicușor Dan's victory, not the actual share of the votes he earned. The image originated from a betting website, not from the national election officials. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X where…

Does a video show China air-dropping humanitarian aid into Gaza in May 2025? No, that's not true: The video is from March 2024, when U.S. military planes dropped food and supplies onto a beach in Beit Lahiya, Gaza. Other videos posted at the time show the same scene, and news reports documented the event. There is no evidence that China…

Were people in Kentucky not warned ahead of the May 16, 2025 tornado that killed more than 20 people in the southeastern part of the state? No, that's not true: The National Weather Service issued warnings two days ahead. Multiple state officials, including Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, have said there's no evidence the National Weather Service tornado warnings were delayed…