Is a video of an African lion meeting a robot with either one of them being scared authentic? No, that's not true: The original version of the viral video includes a Veo3 watermark in the lower right corner, indicating it was made with Google's artificial intelligence tool. The caption on the video claims the lion was "scared" of the robot.…
Is a video showing a huge tsunami wave destroying a city authentic? No, that's not true: An online AI detection tool found the video is 99.5 percent generated by artificial intelligence tools. While this video does not have a label, the account that posted the video shares other videos that are clearly AI-generated. The video (archived here) was posted on…
Is a story about a former foster child named Lily Tran getting into Stanford and being called on stage to speak alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth real? No, that's not true: The image and the text used to tell the story were generated by artificial intelligence tools, according to AI detectors. There are several versions of the story circulating on…
Did Elon Musk sign a $13.5 million deal with Netflix for a 7-episode series about his "turbulent journey" as of September 3, 2025? No, that's not true: There is no evidence Musk signed a Netflix deal. The only source making the claim is a website that publishes hundreds of fake stories each day, including debunked claims that Stephen Colbert and…
Did George Strait sign a $13.5 million deal with Netflix for a 7-episode series about his journey to become a music legend as of September 2, 2025? No, that's not true: There is no evidence Strait signed a Netflix deal. The only source making the claim is a website that publishes hundreds of fake stories each day promoted by Facebook…
Did Stephen Colbert sign a $13.5 million deal with Netflix for a 7-episode series about his journey through American TV history as of September 1, 2025? No, that's not true: Although Colbert joked in August that Netflix should call him, there is no evidence Colbert signed a Netflix deal. The only source making the claim is a website that publishes…
Did the NFL ban rainbow gear from the playing field after Philadelphia Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni wore a rainbow hat? No, that's not true: The claim was spread by a Vietnamese-based publisher who used AI-generated text and images in an article that went viral on social media. There are no authentic photos of Coach Sirianni wearing the hat. A quote…
Does a video describe a real CNN debate between Jasmine Crockett and Mike Huckabee involving a bible quote? No, that's not true: The description of the viral YouTube video makes it clear the entire interaction was a work of fiction created using artificial intelligence. Searches of CNN's website for the supposed debate brought up no results. The video (archived here)…
Is a video of Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni describing President Trump being a "mix of sweat and flatulence" and "a giant moving biogas pit" authentic? No, that's not true: The video includes a disclaimer that reads "Creator labeled as AI-generated" on the TikTok channel where it originated. It has been widely shared on social media platforms by other accounts…
Did a California aquarium collapse, killing 50 people, as was claimed in a viral Instagram reel? No, that's not true: A disaster of that magnitude and novelty would have been a worldwide news story and there is no record of such an event in news publications in or out of California. The Instagram account that posted the video consists of…
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.
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