Deepfakes

Did President Donald Trump post a video about "Dr. Trump and his Trump Derangement Syndrome patients" on an official social media account? Yes, that's true: The content appeared on his verified Instagram account. Although the video contains numerous signs of AI-generated imagery and audio, there is no evidence that it was posted by an unofficial or impersonator account. The claim…

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…

Did multiple people, ranging from anti-Trump protesters to a granny in pink, climb to the top of the Empire State Building on the same day, displaying different messages? No, that's not true: Those images and videos were AI-generated, according to online detection tools and visual analysis. News reports confirmed that only two people -- previously featured in the 2024 documentary…

Does a real video show a machete-wielding migrant yell, "This is the end of England!"? No, that's not true: This AI-generated video was made using a still frame from another video. Several glitches in the video point to it having been made with AI. This, coupled with both videos sharing the same thumbnail image, suggests one video was made using…

Did Dutch soccer coach Ronald Koeman go on a long, racist rant during a 2026 FIFA World Cup postgame press conference after his team lost to Morocco? No, that's not true: The video was posted by an account that self-describes as the "Number 1 AI football ⚽️ account on TikTok!" The video was tagged "Creator labeled as AI-generated." A transcript…

Does a real video show a military dog jumping a barrier after seeing his former handler at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this particular scene took place. The video is AI-generated, according to an online detection tool that gave it a 99% score. The claim appeared in a post and video…

Did OK! Magazine publish a report that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz booked an $8,000 OnlyFans private session with a transgender model during the Group of Seven summit? No, that's not true: A viral video with their branding was not actually published on the OK! Magazine website or on any of its official social media accounts. There are no legitimate news…

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 real video show a live transparent squid and the organs inside its body? No, that's not true: Google's Gemini detected SynthID signals, determining the video was made with Google AI. There is a type of squid known as a glass squid, which make up the family Cranchiidae and include about 60 species. While the video is fake, there…

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…

Does a viral video show a real robbery attempt of a pregnant woman on the New York City subway? No, that's not true: The video contains hallmark signs of AI. Three online detectors confirmed that the clip is a product of generative AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X by @princeayyo on June 29, 2026. The…

Did a real photo posted by President Trump show a golden eagle gifted to the White House for its 250th birthday, hanging from the columns in front of the balcony? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated; one online detection tool identified it as such because it "was generated or edited using Google AI," while another said it was…

Do real images show FIFA President Gianni Infantino attending two World Cup games that took place simultaneously in different cities? No, that's not true: The photos have been edited to give the appearance that he was present at two matches occurring at the same time. Instead, they show different games on different days. The claim appeared in a post and…

Is a video that shows a fan running onto a soccer field to hug Lionel Messi at the 2026 FIFA World Cup authentic? No, that's not true: An AI detection tool determined that the video was 51.7% "likely to be AI-generated." There are multiple glitches in the video that show it was made with AI. There are no credible news…

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…

Did Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland scare himself when he saw his reflection in a mirror as he was eating at a restaurant? No, that's not true: The video was digitally edited with a face swap program. The original video does not show Haaland but Chinese comic Jin Long performing a skit in his signature physical comedy style. The video…

Is this a real photo showing Pride rainbow flags on the field ahead of the Iran-Egypt World Cup game in Seattle on June 26, 2026? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated, an online detection tool identified it as such by detecting a SynthID watermark. There are no credible reports that Pride flags appeared on the field before the…

Are social media posts claiming that Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, or other celebrity women wore "probably the smallest bikini In the world" real? No, that's not true: The images used in the posts were created with artificial intelligence tools and distributed on a network of fake Facebook fan pages managed from North Macedonia. These clickbait posts link to blogs filled…

Does a real photo from 1903 show a "Bengali woman carrying a British trader" depicting "the height of British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent"? No, that's not true: The image is fake. OpenAI's verification tool detected the image has a SynthID watermark and was made with tools from OpenAI. There are also glitches characteristic of AI-generated images such as…

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…