Deep State

Did President Trump sign into law an income tax exemption for families making less than $120,000? No, that's not true: No such exemption has passed the U.S. House and Senate. There is no such exemption on the official list of laws signed by Trump. The claim appeared in a September 4, 2025 TikTok video (archived here) published by the AppalachianQueen5…

Is a story about a young girl named Lily getting her deceased police officer mother's police dog Max after bidding $52 at an auction authentic? No, that's not true: The text, photos and images used to tell the story on social platforms were generated by artifical intelligence, according to AI detection tools. There is no evidence of a real story…

Does the viral story about missing hikers "Steve and Natalie Brody" who were supposedly found dead in Alaska's Denali National Park add up? No, that's not true: There were no news reports on the case and several details in the posts about the case are verifiably not real. The website of Interpol does not mention the "Lars Anderson" the story…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy react to his August 2025 meeting at the White House by suggesting that Donald Trump rejects a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, believing it would hurt his chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize? No, that's not true: Official government webpages of the Ukrainian president don't contain such a statement. Lead Stories could not find…

Did a Russian visitor named Ivan Stepanov rescue a tranquilized bear that was drowning in Lake Tahoe? No, that's not true: The dramatic story shared on social media is ripped off from the real-life heroics of Florida wildlife biologist Adam Warwick, who pulled a tranquilized bear from the water in a Florida harbor in 2008. The photos used in a…

Does an authentic video capture actress Sydney Sweeney breaking her silence about the controversy over her American Eagle "good jeans" ad? No, that's not true: The video contains a last-frame disclaimer that it is "Unreal." The video was first posted to an X account that routinely releases deepfake/AI-generated videos that show prominent people commenting on current events in shocking or…

Is a viral story about two missing hikers named "Sarah Bennett" and "Andrew Miller" found dead in a cave in 2019 consistent with reality? No, that's not true: Several details in the tale about the missing couple from Colorado don't add up, such as a non-existent newspaper quote of a sister named "Emily Bennett" in the Denver Post and an…

Did Astronomer CEO Andy Byron release a statement in which he lamented how "a private moment became public" without his consent? No, that's not true: A widely-shared screenshot showed a fake statement first published by a parody account on X. Byron, who is married, was the subject of news coverage in July 2025 after he appeared to have been shown…

Did Sky News publish a headline that read "Ice agents quitting in droves due to low morale, doxxing fears"? No, that's not true: The headline did not appear on the website of Sky News at the time of writing. It appears to have originated as a meme from the "South Dakota Department of Propaganda", a website with a satire disclaimer.…

Did rock guitarist Eric Clapton announce he would pay funeral expenses for the families of those killed in devastating flooding in parts of Texas, in July 2025? No, that's not true: We found no corroboration for a blog post that was shared widely and also claimed Clapton would be providing other forms of compensation. Social media posts supposedly praising Clapton…