Has a video interview of Alex Pretti talking about how he kicked out the taillight of an SUV used by federal agents emerged and sent "shockwaves through the public"? No, that's not true: No such video has been found. The quotes are all made up. The website and Facebook pages spreading the claim are part of a spam network based…
Does a photo of an ICE agent show evidence he is wearing a gold bracelet he stole from a man in Minnesota? No, that's not true: While this photo of an ICE agent appears to be real. It does not provide any evidence that the agent is wearing stolen jewelry. The post includes no specific dates, places or references to…
Is a video showing ICE agents chasing a man who is sitting in an office chair covered by a large hand "giving the middle finger" down a Minneapolis street real? No, that's not true: The short video originated on social media accounts that acknowledge all its content is AI-generated. There is no reporting, including on Fox 9, the Minneapolis TV…
You might have seen or heard rumors about ICE agents being deployed at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, to help provide security. The Lead Stories Rome office looked into what is actually happening, so you know what is going on if you see social media posts about it. Agents from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI),…
Was Alex Pretti fired over complaints of inappropriate conduct with patients three months before federal agents fatally shot him on a Minneapolis street? No, that's not true: The claim was started by a spam factory based in Vietnam that uses artificial tools to publish fake articles promoted by Facebook pages also managed from Vietnam. The article named the wrong hospital…
Does a video showing a muzzle flash, smoke, and sparks from a bullet hitting pavement accurately show the handgun taken from Alex Pretti misfiring just before he was fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis? No, that's not true: The short video was created by an artificial intelligence tool, although based on a real video of that moment. The social…
Was Alex Pretti's nursing license expired when he was shot to death by ICE agents on a Minneapolis street on January 24, 2026? No, that's not true: The Minnesota Board of Nursing's online credential search webpage showed Pretti's registered nursing license, which was issued on January 19, 2021, was set to expire on March 31, 2026. An image shared in…
Did the parents of Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse shot to death by ICE agents in Minneapolis, say their son quit his hospital job months earlier and showed "unusual behavior"? No, that's not true: A statement released by Pretti's parents referenced his work as an ICU nurse at a Veterans Administration hospital, but it did not say that he had…
Did a social media post correctly report that anti-ICE protesters at a hotel in Minneapolis started "beating up the staff because two ICE officers were staying there" and that local police were absent from the scene? No, that's not true: A receptionist told Lead Stories that the hotel's employees weren't harmed and that the police were present during the protest.…
Is the image of a man dressed in a pink dress wearing a gold crown a real photo of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old man shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota? No, that's not true: The person shown wearing the pink dress is an altered image of Ben Taylor, a comedian who appeared on the reality show Fishtank. The…
Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
Spotted something? Let us know!.
Get more fact-checks in your Google Search results by setting up leadstories.com as one of your preferred sources.
