Society

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.…

Note: on October 9, 2025 Turning Point USA did make following announcement (archived here) on their X account: 🚨 HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 It's true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All American Halftime Show. Performers and event details coming soon. On October 7, 2025 when this fact check was written they hadn't yet made such an announcement: Did…

Did U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi file a petition requesting to remove Bad Bunny from the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: Lead Stories searched publicly available documents from the Department of Justice and found no such petition. No credible media organizations reported on any such official action. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

Did the Russian cities of Vyborg, Petrozavodsk, and Murmansk decide with an overwhelming majority vote to leave Russia and join Finland? No, that's not true: This fictional multipart story is illustrated with an AI-generated image of "unidentified militants" and a fictional map of "Greater Finland". The fake news narrative is a twist on an idea from the early 1900s regarding…

Did Nike or Under Armour donate face masks and clothing to ICE agents involved in arresting undocumented immigrants in the United States? No, that's not true: The TikTok host making the claim gave no supporting information about how he confirmed the claim. Lead Stories found no evidence to support the claim and several red flags raising questions about the credibility…

Is Alisa Kasmer, the woman who posted a long message on Facebook attacking Stephen Miller, really Miller's cousin? Yes, that's true: Kasmer's post claimed that she babysat Miller and he is her first cousin. Lead Stories researched the White House Deputy Chief of Staff's family tree and confirmed that Kasmer, 43, is the daughter of Miller's paternal aunt. Photographs included…

Does a video show the moment Marimar Martinez was shot by a federal agent in southwest Chicago after she allegedly rammed a Department of Homeland Security SUV? No, that's not true: This video does not show the incident Martinez incident. It shows a different collision which happened later the same day a few blocks away. The miscaptioned video appeared in…

Does a video that looks like Ring doorbell footage authentically show a dog bringing a bear home onto the porch of a home? Unfortunately, no: Much to the disappointment and surprise of some viewers of the cute video, the footage is clearly AI generated. The VEO watermark logo on the lower right corner indicated it was made with Google's artificial…

Does CCTV footage authentically capture a bear's intrusion into a woman's bedroom? No, that's not true: The clip contained several visual artifacts consistent with generative AI production. Among those is a piece of furniture partially absorbed by a wall. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on October 2, 2025, on X, under the caption that read: This…

Did People magazine publish a satirical image of Donald Trump dressed like Marie Antoinette to illustrate an article about the White House Ballroom construction project? No, that's not true: People magazine illustrated the article with a standard portrait photo of Trump wearing a blue suit with red tie. A fake screenshot used the real article's headline and People logo --…

Did Buffalo Bills Coach Sean McDermott tell the press that he will pull his team from the 2026 Super Bowl because of the National Football League's choice to make Bad Bunny the 2026 halftime performer? No, that's not true: The Facebook page that said McDermott made such remarks wrote it happened before journalists but there were no actual news report…

Does a video depict a true story of an IDF soldier who converted to Islam and became an activist for Palestine? No, that's not true: The video uses clips showing several different women to illustrate a made-up story. The woman dancing in the first scene wearing an Israeli Army uniform is eyebrow artist Karin Edri. The woman pictured leading the…

Do viral clips with a pop-up warning advising people "under 18 years old" against watching videos of the "overcrowded Oktoberfest" show dramatic events in Munich, Germany? No, that's not true: It's engagement bait added to routine video of the annual beer and folk culture festival. Such pop-up banners attempt to make social media users hit "like" or "follow" buttons as…

Does an authentic video on TikTok show Keith Urban saying that "Nicole cheated"? No, that's not true: The video has been edited with a fake voice. The original video interview was published by Variety in 2024 and featured Urban trying to guess which of his songs certain lyrics came from. The topic of the reason for the marriage breakup was…

Did the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, or any team, petition the NFL to replace Bad Bunny as the performer for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: There have been no team announcements of such a demand, and no news media has reported on…