Deepfakes

Did police arrest Annie Guthrie and seize her vehicle after finding something "deeply disturbing" in the investigation of her mother Nancy Guthrie's disappearance? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, there was no evidence that Annie Guthrie was in police custody. This false claim about NBC Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie's sister was created by a Vietnam-based spam…

Does a viral video show security camera footage recovered by police that shows the exact moment Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, disappeared? No, that's not true: The Pima County Sheriff, whose office is investigating the kidnapping, has not released security camera footage collected by investigators. Multiple visual artifacts show that it's likely AI-generated or AI-altered video from a different circumstance, mis-labelled…

Did police blockade Tommaso Cioni's home with him inside as their probe into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance "suddenly" focused on the son-in-law as a suspect? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, there was no evidence that police had surrounded Cioni's home or that he was inside. This false claim about Savannah Guthrie's brother-in-law was created by a Vietnam-based…

Is a viral image showing Bad Bunny burning a flag while preparing for the Super Bowl halftime show real? No, that's not true: The image, featuring the singer wearing a white, blue and pink striped dress and lighting an American flag on fire using a lighter, first appeared on a Facebook account that says it publishes satire. It also contained…

Is a viral image showing Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman and Jeffrey Epstein eating sushi together a real photograph? No, that's not true: The image originated on an X account that says it posts "high quality AI videos and memes" to expose "dumb" people. According to Google's Gemini tool the image contained a SynthID watermark, indicating it was made with AI.…

Is a photo that shows Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein with young girls and boys authentic and part of the Department of Justice's publicly released Epstein files? No, that's not true: The image shows clear signs of being created by AI. The photo has not been released in the Department of Justice Epstein files as of the publication date of…

Did Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart host a "Freedom and Justice" TV show to discuss the death of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre that reached one billion views globally? No, that's not true: There is no evidence such a show was ever broadcast. The website and Facebook pages spreading the claim are part of a spam network based in Vietnam that…

Does a real photo of Zohran Mamdani as a child with his mother Nora Nair and Jeffrey Epstein prove the new mayor of New York City is Epstein's illegitimate child? No, that's not true: The image, which includes Ghislaine Maxwell, former President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, was made with an artificial intelligence tool. It originated on a parody account…

Did police find encrypted messages on Alex Pretti's phone that showed the ICU nurse was a "key player" in coordinating a plan to create the chaos that led to him being shot to death by federal agents in Minneapolis? No, that's not true: Although an article claims that revelation is "sending shockwaves through the public," there is no credible reporting…

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…

Is a video showing ICE agents chase 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 of its content is AI-generated. There is no reporting, including on Fox 9, the Minneapolis…

Did Stevie Nicks, Tom Brady, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Elon Musk, or dozens of other entertainers, sports stars, or media figures defend Donald Trump from accusations he's authoritarian and trying to cancel elections? No, that's not true: The identical story is told about at least 55 celebrities who purportedly said "This disorder is being used to scare Americans. To convince…

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…

Did Tom Brady and three dozen other sports and entertainment celebrities confirm that Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis, was a relative? No, that's not true: The claim was made about at least 36 different athletes and entertainers in posts published on dozens of fake Facebook fan pages aimed at American and European…

Did either Karoline Leavitt, Sunny Hostin, Whoopi Goldberg, or Joy Behar say that Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, or a dozen other major artists is "just a musician"? No, that's not true: The claim was made about at least 16 different entertainers in posts published on dozens of fake Facebook fan pages aimed at American and European…

Is a video showing a Somali man in court asking to be deported instead of having to serve a 30-year prison sentence for daycare fraud real? No, that's not true: The short clip was created by an artificial intelligence tool, according to an AI-generated content detector. The account that first posted the video is filled with similar AI slop and…

Does a viral image really show Usha Vance in plaid clothes matching the fabric of the couch she sits on? No, that's not true: According to a facial recognition tool, the picture widely shared after the announcement of Usha Vance's fourth pregnancy did not even show her. Additional analysis strongly suggested that the viral image was AI generated. The claim…

Did your favorite sports star "shock fans" or "shake" the league by "publicly" or "flatly" refusing to wear an LGBT Rainbow Armband because it would turn the game "into a political circus"? No, that's not true: The claim was made about at least 95 football, soccer, basketball, baseball, and hockey players in posts published on dozens of fake Facebook fan…

Is a video showing an ICE agent entering a classroom at California State University, San Bernardino, legitimate? No, that's not true: The clip was generated using AI. A Sora watermark appears several times, indicating it was created with the generative AI tool. There are no credible news reports that an ICE agent entered a California university classroom as part of…

Did Travis Kelce, Jelly Roll, Bruce Springsteen, Caitlin Clark and a 12 other celebrities say that President Trump was "a vicious old bastard draining America's soul after the Born-in-America Act"? No, that's not true: The claim that at least 17 different sports stars and entertainers made that identical statement was made up by a Vietnamese-based spam factory that uses artificial…