Satire

Have you come across viral videos showing how people mock influencers for wearing Christian-themed clothing? Lead Stories has identified several of these clips in recent weeks and determined that many were AI-generated. The people and scenarios depicted there were not real -- social media accounts posted this kind of content to play on religious sentiment, driving likes and shares as…

Does a viral video actually document an incident in which a man was attacked by three migrants in London while having breakfast? No, that's not true: A Lead Stories visual analysis showed many hallmarks strongly suggesting that it is not real footage. Two online AI-generation detection tools concluded the video was between 99% and 99.9% likely to be AI-generated. The…

Did a story claiming that men said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a high-priced escort in Boston come from an actual news source? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page known for posting satirical content that carries the disclaimer, "Nothing on this page is real," and the accompanying image bears the same warning. Lead Stories found no…

Have you seen viral videos showing large cruise ship disasters with the boats sinking dramatically into the water? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. The videos have similar looking cruise ships sinking with various crowds watching as the ships go down. Some of these accounts…

Have you seen viral videos showing people, mostly veterans in military fatigues with the U.K.'s flag, invoking patriotism to make social media users follow a specific account? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. Some of these accounts post videos of different-looking men saying the exact…

Have you seen viral videos showing older veterans being disrespected or bullied by authority figures? Lead Stories has spotted several such videos recently and found that many were created using artificial intelligence. These videos do not show real people or situations. Instead they seek to exploit feelings of sympathy and patriotism by triggering emotions such as indignation and anger among…

Does a video featuring a "Christian Influencer" who "accidentally" attended an LGBTQ+ Pride Month event document a real-life story? No, that's not true: The clip was initially published with a satire disclaimer. Its creator previously said that she uses humor to call out what she considers problematic religious practices to make Christianity more inclusive. The story originated from a post…

Have you seen viral videos showing timelapse construction of secret bunkers, underground rooms or hidden lairs out of wild materials and objects that would give the builders a safe place to hide to survive a catastrophic event? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They…

Have you seen viral clips showing people dying from "overfloating" the edge of infinity pools or from falling down from the top of the building after a collapse of the pool's transparent walls? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. An expert specializing in swimming…

Have you seen viral videos showing people making Indian street food using their feet or other body parts or pouring dirty water in it? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such clips recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. Often the goal of such videos is to generate engagement on social media by…