Entertainment

Does a real video show a man who helped a polar bear cub that could not walk until it could be released a year later? No, that's not true: This video was originally posted with a creator-added AI disclaimer label by an Instagram account that focuses on AI-generated videos. The same account published another video with a similar storyline the…

Did Denzel Washington say he "never met anyone braver, smarter or who cares more about America than Donald Trump"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the actor, director and producer said this. No established news outlets have reported that Washington ever said those words. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the @RedEagleUpdates account on…

Does a video show the man who fell to his death in Atlanta in October 2026 standing up on a Six Flags roller coaster? No, that's not true: The footage is from a November 2024 incident in Arizona where a man jumped off a roller coaster after realizing there was a problem with his harness. It does not show the…

Did "The Simpsons" predict that President Donald Trump would take a picture with a glowing orb? No, that's not true: The image is from a short posted to the official Facebook account of "The Simpsons" after the real picture of Trump was taken. This "prediction" has been debunked since 2017. The claim was made in a post (archived here) by…

Did "South Park" tease an episode featuring Susan Dell and did she rage in response? No, that's not true: The image of Dell appearing with the characters from the TV show is AI-generated and was made by a digital creator. Neither the show nor Dell had posted any messages about such an episode at the time of writing. The claim…

Have you seen viral videos showing astonishing "stunt running" up steep ramps, which sometimes end with impossible jumps? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence, probably as clickbait. The word "parkour" that appeared in many descriptions of such clips is a real athletic discipline, but…

Is a video that shows Princess Leonor of Spain wearing a yellow mini dress real? No, that's not true: An online detection tool rated the video as 99.9% likely generated by AI. The fake video appears to have been created by manipulating real footage filmed during a July 2024 event when the Spanish national football team met with the royal…

Is a video that shows a breast-feeding woman being told to cover up from a real flight? No, that's not true: The video was a skit performed by actors. The Facebook account where it was originally posted features dozens of other similar videos with a bio that notes they produce "silly skits to make you laugh." The claim appeared in…

Does a real video show a large ship completely engulfed by a massive wave crashing over the bow? No, that's not true: Two AI detection tools -- Hive Moderation and Sightengine -- determined the video was likely AI-generated, with Hive Moderation identifying ByteDance's Seedance2 as the probable source. Earlier copies of the video found online since at least March 2026…

Is a video that shows gymnasts forming a human pyramid in 10 seconds real? No, that's not true: The video carries an "AI content" label in certain areas of the world due to automated labeling rules and transparency displays. While the human pyramid in the video takes 10 seconds to build, the Guinness World Record for the tallest human pyramid…

Does a real video show an officer helping to free a baby bear stuck in a concrete highway median when the mother bear failed? No, that's not true: The video is AI-generated. The OpenAI Verify tool found a SynthID watermark indicating that the video was made with OpenAI tools. The video appeared in a post (archived here) by the @0ivankaTrump1…

Have you seen viral videos showing dramatic encounters with whales at sea, frequently presented with a boat for scale? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. While there are many real whale watching videos of whales breaching or swimming beneath the surface, the popular topic…

Does a real photo from 1965 show Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery, Robert Redford, Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale gathered for a meal overlooking the sea in Malibu, California? No, that's not true: This image originated from a Facebook account specializing in AI-generated nostalgic scenes of celebrities from years ago. The OpenAI Verify tool found a SynthID watermark in the image…

Does a video show the arrest of the man accused of inappropriately touching influencer Yoatzi Castro at Disneyland in 2026? No, that's not true: The footage used in the viral video was originally posted on Instagram in 2024. It does not show the man Castro accused of groping her at Disneyland in September 2026. The claim appeared in a video…

Was Oprah Winfrey's private jet on Jeffrey Epstein's island 11 times? No, that's not true: There is no proof that Winfrey's private plane was ever on the Caribbean island of convicted sex offender Epstein. Little St. James is only 75 acres and does not have a runway for Winfrey's private plane, or any planes, to land there. The claim appeared…

Does a real video show an airplane spinning wildly on a runway and hitting several other vehicles? No, that's not true: The video appeared on TikTok labeled as AI-generated content. Hive Moderation also determined the video was 73.1% likely to have been created with AI, and a visual analysis found workers appearing to be run over by the spinning plane…

Was Charli XCX sitting with a stone face and barely clapping while Taylor Swift was on stage at the 2026 MTV VMAs? No, that's not true: Video from the VMA X account shows Charli XCX with no expression and tapping her knee during a Nirvana award. The video posted on X by a self-described satire account was edited combining two…

Does a video show President Trump getting into a big fight with Secret Service agents? No, that's not true: The video shows the president talking with the PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp at the Presidents Cup golf tournament in September 2026. The man in the video is not a Secret Service agent. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Is a screenshot of a CNN article with the headline, "Cuckolding can be positive for some couples, study says" real? No, that's not true: The "cuckolding" article was originally published by CNN in 2018 and the original photo showed three white people. The image of a white couple and a Black man used on social media is not the original…

Is a photo of President Trump, President of China Xi Jinping, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos at the head table at the White House state dinner on Sept. 24, 2026, real? No, that's not true: The image is clearly labeled AI-generated. The head table did not include Bezos, and the outfits worn by the first ladies and the table settings…