Deep State

Did Donald Trump post "I don't poop myself" to his social media platform, Truth Social, as posts on social media suggested? No, that's not true: An account on X that describes itself as posting satire and parody content first shared an image that appeared to be a screenshot of the quote but with a satire label. The original poster also…

Does a video shared on Facebook genuinely show underwater HAARP devices surrounding Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall? No, that's not true: The video shows a coral restoration project in the Florida Keys, two marine scientists told Lead Stories. The antenna-like objects seen in the video are part of that coral reef rehabilitation project. A version of the claim…

Does a viral video show an Israeli tank destroyed "by the resistance's fire" in Lebanon in October 2024? No, that's not true: The claim recycled footage of a Russian tank in Ukraine that emerged on social media nearly a year before the start of Israel's September 30, 2024, ground operation in Lebanon. Ukrainian media initially posted the footage on October…

Does a video on an Iranian news website show a blaze that broke out in Tel Aviv, Israel, following an Iranian drone strike in October 2024? No, that's not true: The same footage appeared in June 2022 on a YouTube channel belonging to news outlet Al-Jazeera. The description from 2022 says it shows a fire that broke out at a…

Did Gov. Gavin Newsom sign a bill banning memes and parody in California? No, that's not true: The bill specifically exempts "Materially deceptive content that constitutes satire or parody." The Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024 mandates that large online platforms either remove or label deceptive and digitally altered election-related content during specific timeframes. The claim appeared in…

Does a video capture Venezuelan immigrants surging through a supermarket in Aurora, Colorado? No, that's not true: The earliest version of the video on TikTok was geotagged to a city in Brazil, not in Colorado or the United States at all. Nothing in the footage proved that it was filmed in Aurora. Instead, all indicators, including the crowd's use of…

Did President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris decline to attend a memorial ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in August 2024 for the 13 U.S. military service members who were killed in Afghanistan three years earlier? No, that's not true: There's no evidence either one of them was asked to attend the public wreath-laying ceremony on August 26, 2024.…

Did Elon Musk and Donald Trump team up to conduct a cryptocurrency scam that would violate election laws, as claimed in a post on X? No, that's not true: Footage from the 2024 Tesla shareholder's meeting, streamed live, was altered with a fake AI-generated voice and facial synchronizing animation. Musk's original presentation had no mention of "crypto", the altered video…

Is a picture of Air Force Two without a tail number proof that the photo was digitally manipulated? No, that's not true: A spokesperson from the Air Force's 89th Airlift Wing, which maintains and flies aircraft for government leaders, told Lead Stories that planes normally used for Air Force One and Two are being cleared of tail numbers for security…

Did the Toronto Star, BBC and other major media cover a scandal involving Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh that supposedly "erupted" after he left his microphone on while on TV? No, that's not true: Searches for coverage of this supposed money-making scandal on these news sites led to no results. The post on X that said this linked to a fake…