Deepfakes

Did President-elect Donald Trump say that if he was elected, he would personally have Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrested if Trudeau sets one foot in the United States? No, that's not true: This is an AI-generated voiceover that has been added to a video clip of Trump. The original TikTok video was marked with the hashtag "fake video." The…

Did Mike Tyson drape a Palestinian flag around his shoulders around the time of a boxing match? No, that's not true: Tyson's publicist confirmed that the photo of him appearing to wear the flag was "a fake." Online image analysis tools suggest the viral image may be the product of artificial intelligence. The photo appeared in a post (archived here)…

Does a photo show President Joe Biden sporting a red "Make America Great Again" baseball cap during his meeting with incoming President Donald Trump at the White House? No, that's not true: Media coverage of the meeting shows that the two men were wearing different clothing than what's seen in the photo. Online image-analysis tools found substantial evidence that the…

Did Sean "Diddy" Combs pay Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff $500,000 for a tip that alerted him to the police raids that were about to search his homes in Florida and California, according to a video with an article? No, that's not true: The federal government announced that "Russian influence actors" manufactured the video. The article was published…

Does an authentic video show former Minnesota high school student "Matthew Metro" alleging that Tim Walz sexually assaulted him? No, that's not true: According to multiple AI video and audio detection tools, the video circulating on social media of "Matthew Metro" was AI generated. There's no credible evidence or verified reports supporting the allegation that the Minnesota governor and Democratic…

Do viral images authentically capture the massive destruction caused by Hurricane Milton at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida? No, that's not true: Those pictures were generated by AI and first posted on a website with a satire label. On October 11, 2024, Disney announced it had reopened its theme parks. The claim appeared in a video (archived here)…

Is a dramatic photo of a tearful young girl in a boat clutching a puppy after Hurricane Helene real? No, that's not true: The AI detector TrueMedia found "substantial evidence" that the image was created using an AI image generator. There is also no evidence the photo appeared in any news coverage about the rescue efforts after the storm nor…

Did an authentic photo show former President Donald Trump wading through hurricane flood waters? No, that's not true: An AI-detection tool from True Media found substantial evidence that the image was generated with AI. Media coverage of Trump's visit to Valdosta, Georgia, on the same day the post was made does not show him wearing the same clothes as in…

Does a video show Kamala Harris and Tim Walz posing in front of a real "Revolutionary Communists of America" poster? No, that's not true: The poster in the video has been digitally altered as the original footage from a campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona shows. Harris and Walz were standing in front of a sign that read, "Kamala and the…

Does a photo shared on X truly show two heavily armed men waiting in line at a fast-food restaurant? No, that's not true: Several AI detectors found substantial evidence to suggest the image was fake. Garbled text and abnormalities in human features also indicated it was created using AI. The photo was posted on X on September 24, 2024, (archived…

Does a viral video prove that Britney Spears, Madonna, Beyonce and other celebrities have performed satanic rituals? No, that's not true: The video was made up of still images generated by AI, according to AI detectors. The images contained multiple distortions in the hands and legs of those stars the pictures supposedly portrayed. The claim, an old one, resurfaced in…

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…

Do two reels posted to Facebook authentically show clips of tornadoes that occurred in Dubai and Canada? No, that's not true: Experts told Lead Stories that the twisters shown in the clips were fake and 100 percent AI-generated content. There are prominent elements in the videos that indicate manipulation and editing have been used to create them. One claim originated…

Were University of Texas students who knelt during the national anthem "removed from scholarships" as a social media post with a link to an article in the comments said? No, that's not true: The photo appearing with the story depicts cheerleaders at Kennesaw State University, in Georgia. As of August 27, 2024 there was no public statement by the University…

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…

Does a video show Tim Walz, Kamala Harris' pick as her vice presidential running mate, dancing in a cowboy hat and with dollar bills stuck in his pants? No, that's not true: The video has been altered to add Walz's face onto the person dancing. The original video is of musician Alejandro Casas, who is known as El Divo 956,…

Does an authentic photo show five men dancing while waving an Israeli flag as New York's World Trade Center towers burn in the background on September 11, 2001? No, that's not true: This photo was created using AI. Portions of the image are distorted, and a massive fireball appears to be in the sky beside the Twin Towers, not on…

Did Taylor Swift endorse Donald Trump in August 2024? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Swift said she wanted people to vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election campaign. The image of Swift as Uncle Sam with the phrase "TAYLOR WANTS YOU TO VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP" appears to be AI generated. Swift endorsed Joe Biden…

Did Fox News broadcast a segment about online influencer MrBeast starting his own online casino "where everyone wins"? No, that's not true: The video contained signs of digital manipulation, and an AI-detection tool further confirmed that the segment was not authentic. A Fox News spokesperson denied that the network aired such a segment. Lead Stories found no traces of the…

Does a photograph shared to X in August 2024 genuinely show Pope Francis wearing a rainbow scarf? No, that's not true: One digital forensics website concluded that the photograph was "99.9% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content." Another indicated the photo was 96 percent "artificial." The image also contained several artifacts like weird fingers, inconsistent clothing and odd hair…