Deepfakes

Does a viral image authentically show the folding iPhone Duo released in September 2026 after three months of use? No, that's not true: Two online AI detectors found evidence of generative AI. Earlier versions of the image shared on social media did not document such pronounced damage from folding. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X…

Do real photos show a bear carrying an injured fox and an injured raccoon to the door of a wildlife center where it had once received care? No, that's not true: The images, designed to look like security camera footage, are AI-generated. The narrative paired with the fake images lacks verifiable details and originated from a Facebook page called StoryTime,…

Does a viral composite image show the real list of candidates running for office from the Reform UK party? No, that's not true: While some of the people on the list are real Reform UK affiliates, a closer manual examination showed that the collage displayed multiple inconsistencies strongly pointing to AI, including the alleged candidates who either shared the same…

Do real photos show former NFL star Clay Matthews with prominent muscles and a pronounced jawline? No, that's not true: The images are part of an ad campaign for Caesars Sportsbook, a gambling app. A video on the company's X account shows Matthews going through the transformation, including makeup and prosthetics, to turn him into the cartoonish character seen in…

Does Nike have an ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney with the slogan, "Buy the stock. Just do it."? No, that's not true: The fake ad circulating on social media features an AI-generated likeness of Sydney Sweeney. The meme surfaced after the finance news broke that Nike would no longer be included in the S&P 100 index after Sept. 21, 2026…

Is the image that President Donald Trump shared of a United States Space Force Service Dress Uniform Next Generation the official uniform for the military branch? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the image shows the new official uniform for the Space Force. New ceremonial dress uniforms were introduced by the Space Force in Aug. 2026 but…

Does a real video show Miley Cyrus saying that Dolly Parton left her entire fortune to her? No, that's not true: An online AI detection tool determined the clip was very likely AI-generated, assigning it a 99% confidence score. There is no evidence that Cyrus inherited Parton's fortune, and no credible news organizations reported it as of Sept. 9, 2026.…

Does a viral image authentically portray Russia's Rossotrudnichestvo agency head Igor Chaika? No, that's not true: the picture was likely altered using AI to make the Russian official look bigger than in the original. Chaika's face and the logo of the Russian government media organization did not match what was seen in the video recorded in the identical settings. The…

Have you seen viral videos showing a father crying at the hospital bedside of his unconscious young daughter asking viewers for prayers? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They do not show real people or situations but appear to be modeled after social media…

Did Donald Trump post an animated video where he is attacking Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with a hockey stick? No, that's not true: Trump did not post an animated video of him beating Carney with a hockey stick. Trump posted a static cartoon image on his Truth Social account wearing hockey gear and holding a stick while standing over…

Does a viral image actually prove that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz posed on camera with Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: The earliest versions of the picture contained an invisible watermark, pointing to Google AI. Case and document numbers visible on early versions of the image did not match any records in the U.S. Department of Justice's Epstein Library. The…

Does a real video show an American carrier on fire after an Iranian missile strike in the Sea of Oman in early September 2026? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that an Iranian missile strike set a U.S. carrier on fire, and no credible news organizations reported such an incident as of Sept. 8, 2026. The video has…

Does a video show a real incident where two erratically-driven golf carts cross into traffic near Naperville, Illinois? No, that's not true: The video has repeatedly been labeled as AI-generated across social media and shows clear signs of being AI-generated. Additionally, there are no credible reports of such an event occurring. The claim appeared in a post made on X…

Was a real photo posted on Donald Trump's Truth Social account, showing Robert De Niro posed with a "Trump Is My President" T-shirt? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated. The Hive Moderation Content Detection tool rated the image 99.5% likely to be AI-generated and the OpenAI Verify tool detected the SynthID watermark indicating the image was made with…

Does a real image show Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York wearing workout clothes in her kitchen? No, that's not true: The image is a manipulated screenshot from a video posted to her Instagram account, digitally altered to make her outfit appear as tight-fitting activewear. In the original video, Ocasio-Cortez is wearing a brown sleeveless dress with white polka dots.…

Does a real video, filmed secretly from behind a door, show Elon Musk observing a portal at SpaceX? No, that's not true: This video is linked to a creator who makes AI-generated videos and music. Although the portal video with Musk's likeness was posted without a disclaimer, one day earlier the same account published a similar video with an AI…

Is a photo that shows Ursula von der Leyen with Jeffrey Epstein real? No, that's not true: The OpenAI Verify tool detected a SynthID watermark in the image, indicating it was generated using OpenAI tools. The case and document numbers visible on the image do not match any records published in the Department of Justice Epstein files. The claim appeared…

Was the suspect in the September 2, 2026, Minneapolis mass shooting a transgender shooter, Samantha Hyde? No, that's not true: The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the suspect as 35-year-old Carlton Neal Johnson II. The circulating image of the suspected shooter is not authentic -- it displays multiple indicators of digital modification and appears to be a parody of…

Does a man nicknamed "Palm Beach Pete" have a girlfriend named "Lishgaine"? No, that's not true: "Palm Beach Pete," whose real name is Peter Simel, does not have a girlfriend named Lishgaine. "Palm Beach Lishgaine" is an AI character. "Lishgaine" is an anagram of Ghislaine, as in Ghislaine Maxwell, a business partner and confidant of Jeffrey Epstein, to whom "Palm…

Is this a real video of the woman who stabbed someone in NYC dancing with a pair of knives? No, that's not true: The clip is a digitally manipulated version of a video posted to Britney Spears' Instagram account in September 2023. Although the clip replaces Spears with a different person, the background, down to the little dogs running around…