Deepfakes

Is Target selling clothing with satanic imagery? No, that's not true: A search for clothes depicting satanism on Target's website did not result in the images seen in the Facebook post, or any relevant images that could back up this claim. A software developer from Pennsylvania confirmed to Lead Stories that he created the images seen in the Facebook post…

Did Elon Musk promote a brand of sea moss as a remedy to help a variety of health issues? No, that's not true: This video footage that appears to show Musk volunteering an endorsement during an interview is fake. The clip was taken from an appearance at the TED2022 conference, where Musk discussed purchasing Twitter and other topics but did…

Was there an explosion near the Pentagon on May 22, 2023? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo but a digitally fabricated image that shows a plume of smoke near a building that slightly resembles the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia. The building in the image is not the Pentagon,…

Did Elon Musk brag about firing "crybaby liberals"? No, that's not true: This video was made using AI, or artificial intelligence. The Instagram post where this claim originated seems to be an ad for an app that uses AI to make public figures say whatever the user wants. The claim appeared on Instagram (archived here) on May 4, 2023, with…

Did old, never-before-seen photos surface in May of 2023 of Donald Trump posing with young women on a private jet, and also partying with Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: Although there are authentic images of Donald Trump posing for pictures with young women and with Jeffrey Epstein, these three images surfaced on social media without any provenance or explanation…

Was former President Donald Trump photographed wearing a helicopter helmet and a military-style vest? No, that's not true: The image from social media is most likely AI-generated. The claim originated from a tweet (archived here) published on May 1, 2023. It contained what looked like a picture of Trump posted under the caption: This is what a President looks like.…

Did a photo recently surface that shows Jeffrey Epstein posing with four children on a tropical beach? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo but an image created with the AI program Midjourney. This image, and another in the same vein showing a likeness of Epstein posing with five children, were posted on Instagram by an account…

Is there a video clip of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking in English to Americans and saying that they are interfering with their own democracy? No, that's not true: The clip is a "deepfake," a form of artificial intelligence used to appear as if it represents an actual event. The clip was created as a part of a voting campaign…

Do photos shared on Facebook show giant, fantastical creatures that nobles hunted in the forests of Thailand over a century ago, during the reign of King Rama V? No, that's not true: These images are not real photos. They were generated by an artificial intelligence program, such as Midjourney, that uses text-based prompts to produce on request images in a…

Is this booking photograph of Donald Trump real? No, that's not true: This is a picture created using artificial intelligence. Media outlets including AP and CBS reported that former President Trump did not have a mug shot taken when he was processed and placed under arrest during his April 4, 2023, arraignment in the New York court system. The claim…

Did actor Morgan Freeman make a video criticizing President Joe Biden for talking about ice cream? No, that's not true: This is a deepfake of Freeman. Someone has put on a filter that looks like Freeman's face while also trying to speak like him. The TikTok account that originally posted this video had "Celebrity Impressionist" in the bio. The claim…

Does an image on social media show WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pale and disheveled as he awaits extradition from Britain to the United States on espionage charges? No, that's not true: The picture was created using an AI-based image generator. In a German newspaper interview, the person who posted the photo acknowledged creating it and gave his reasons behind sharing…

Do viral images of Russian President Vladimir Putin actually show him being arrested? No, that's not true: The "photos" were created by AI-based software, and, as of this writing, Putin is not under arrest, despite a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. The claim appeared in a post published on Facebook on March 26, 2023. It contained a video…

Did Pope Francis appear walking on the street wearing a high-fashion white puffer coat? No, that's not true: This image is one of a series of four AI-generated images which were posted on the subreddit forum r/midjourney, "an official subreddit for Midjourney related content." Midjourney is an artificial intelligence program that creates images from natural language prompts. The images were…

Do images circulating on social media show press photos of Anthony Fauci under arrest and in police custody? No, that's not true: Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has not been arrested. These are not photos of a real incident but are images generated by an artificial intelligence program. Jack Posobiec posted the…

Do these photos show former President Donald Trump being arrested by a group of New York City law enforcement officers? No, that's not true: At the time these images appeared online, on March 20, 2023, and March 21, 2023, Trump had not been indicted or arrested. These images were generated with an artificial intelligence program that produces images from text…

Did Sarah Ferguson, the host of the Australian daily current affairs news program "7.30," pose several testy and loaded questions to Bill Gates when she interviewed him, resulting in Gates finally declaring, "OK that's enough. This interview is over. Thank you"? No, that's not true: It's a deepfake video circulating on social media. Ferguson did have Gates as a guest…

Did a pilot capture a photo of a complete full-circle rainbow while flying 30,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean? No, that's not true: This image is not a real photograph -- it's a fabricated image. Several key features present in real rainbows are missing from this image. Lloyd J. Ferraro, the pilot who has been incorrectly credited for taking the…

Does a social media video show entrepreneur Elon Musk discussing imprisoned internet influencer Andrew Tate? No, that's not true: This appears to be a "deepfake" video of Musk, now the CEO of Twitter. The video uses publicly available footage from a TED Talk with Musk in April 2022. A transcript of Musk's remarks proves that he did not talk about…

Did President Joe Biden go on a transphobic rant live on national television? No, that's not true: A viral video mimicking his manner of speech had the authentic sound replaced with a made-up voice-over, probably utilizing a deep fake technology. The claim appeared in a video published on Instagram on February 5, 2023, under the title: Best Speech Ever The…