Society

Did the servers for gay dating app Grindr in Phoenix or Glendale have problems handling increased traffic related to Charlie Kirk's memorial service in Arizona on September 21, 2025? No, that's not true: A website named Downdetector did show an increase in outage reports around that time but according to their methodology the graphs on the service are at least…

Is the privately owned aircraft with the tail number N888KG known to be part of the investigation of the assassination of Charlie Kirk? No, that's not true: On September 21, 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media that the investigation ruled out any connection between the shooting and the plane's flights on the day Kirk was shot. The…

Does a viral video show two military pilots arrested for refusing to fly armed planes to Israel? No, that's not true: A video with a false caption has gone viral more than two weeks after it was filmed. The chaotic scene was filmed on Sept. 3, 2025 when a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing was disrupted with shouts from…

Did UK police attempt to seize a child's phone for viewing a social media post? No, that's not true: In the recording shared as "proof" of the claim, police were heard saying the reason for their visit was different. In a statement released in response to social media posts, police said that their visit to the home of a suspect,…

Did Travis Kelce or other celebrities make a public statement that Jimmy Kimmel should leave America? No, that's not true: This is a made-up story which has been repeated using the same formula with many different famous names. At least nine variations of this story have been published on Facebook by pages originating overseas -- none of them are true.…

Did Charlie Kirk say "Equal pay isn't just a women's issue; when women get equal pay, their family incomes rise and the whole family benefits."? No, there's no evidence for that: The quote is widely attributed to former U.S. Representative Michael M. Honda. It was attributed to Charlie Kirk by a parody account on X named "Rep. Jack Kimble" which…

Did Amy Redford make a video where she detailed the reasons why she will not allow Donald Trump to appear at the funeral for her father, Robert Redford? No, that's not true: This video's narration is an AI-generated cloned voice. There has been reporting that Sibylle Szaggars Redford is organizing the funeral in accordance with her husband's wishes -- to…

Did Eminem release a tribute song for Charlie Kirk? No, that's not true: As of September 19, 2025, no Eminem's official pages mentioned the purported song. An account that posted the 2-minute 22-second music video included a disclaimer that it publishes "altered or synthetic content". The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on YouTube on September 14, 2025.…

Does the viral image show "Matthew J. Ruth", the deceased suspect in the shooting that left three law enforcement officers dead in Pennsylvania on the night of September 17, 2025? No, that's not true: The images show a different person, who is still alive. That was confirmed to Lead Stories by the man himself and by police. The claim appeared…

Did Charlie Kirk make this final video sometime before he died, "Knowing this day might come"? No, that's not true: A video posted on TikTok contains a mashup of real scenes, but the audio is fake. A specialized detection tool analyzed the audio track from this video and determined that the voice of Charlie Kirk was made with an AI…

Did Metallica vocalist James Hetfield commit to pay for the education of Kirk's children, as multiple social media posts said? No, that's not true: There were no news reports or public statements backing up any of that. Hetfield has made no such announcement, nor have other celebrities whom social media engagement campaigns falsely claim are making the same "commitment." The…

Did Charlie Kirk's wife Erika Kirk file a $40 million lawsuit against ABC, as is claimed in a social media post? No, that's not true: The story originated on a satirical Facebook page that clearly labels its content as fake. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The social media post…

Did Stephen Colbert announce he was opening a $10 million "paradise" for dogs and cats? No, that's not true: The story is completely made up. There is no evidence that Colbert has said that he will be spending $10 million to open a care center for stray pets. The article about the announcement is copy/paste clickbait and appears to generate…

Does a viral image show an authentic transcript of a conversation between Tyler Robinson and his roommate about how to become Muslim? No, that's not true: Most likely intended to be a joke, the picture showed a made-up exchange. No court record or credible media reports corroborate that Robinson, who was charged with killing the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, ever…

Did a real photo show Donald Trump slurping up a plate of spaghetti while King Charles III made a speech at a state banquet? No, that's not true: The picture of Trump with a mouthful of spaghetti has been digitally edited. At no time during the King's speech was Trump eating, and videos of the table show that there was…

Did Israel's Chief Rabbi, David Yosef, write a condolence letter to the family of Charlie Kirk on September 2, 2025 -- more than a week before Kirk was killed? No, that's not true: The letter was written on Sept. 12, 2025, but it was shared publicly online with a typing error -- it was dated September 2, 2025. In an…

Is a Texas man fighting for his life after he was bitten by black widow spiders that came out of a package he stole from a lady's porch? No, that's not true: This story is fiction, but may have been inspired by something that really did happen. The story about the Texas porch pirate originated in October 2024 from a…

Is there an authentic photo showing the White House lawn partially covered by a large banner that features the images of President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: The banner is real and was displayed on the Long Walk at Windsor Castle on September 15, 2025, but not on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C. A…

Did Metallica's frontman James Hetfield publicly suggest that the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was the result of "a dark plan"? No, that's not true: No credible media outlets reported that. The musician didn't write that on social media, either, because he is not on such platforms. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook, where it…

Does this photo, found in several viral social media posts, show the man that Mississippi police found hanging from a tree on September 15, 2025? No, that's not true: Police said the dead man found near the Ameristar Vicksburg Casino was Cory Zukatis. But, the Warren County Coroner said this photo is not Zukatis. The photo appeared in a September…