Entertainment

Does a social-media video of a young woman knocking on a door in distress to seek shelter from a male stalker, who claims to be her husband, depict an actual event? No, that's not true: It's a staged skit. The video, which features actors, is part of a three-part horror story shot by a French content creator. The claim that…

Does a video on TikTok capture the moment of the F-35B crash in South Carolina on September 17, 2023? No, that's not true: the clip does not accurately portray the location. It was originally published by an account specializing in sharing "realistic" fragments from flight simulator video games. Its author confirmed to Lead Stories that the video was artificially generated.…

Does this video show that political commentator Tucker Carlson "broke in tears" talking about Antarctica? No, that's not true: This video does not show Carlson crying while talking about Antarctica. The Facebook video merely shows clips of Carlson speaking, but does not allow the original audio from these moments to be heard. The claim appeared on Facebook on September 6,…

Does this video show a military medical specialist examining a living alien in a laboratory setting at Area 51 in southern Nevada, or elsewhere, perhaps in New Mexico? No, that's not true: This video clip is not evidence of alien life. It is a short clip from an adult film titled "Roswell UFO" produced in the Czech Republic for horrorporn.com.…

Does this video show a real flight attendant and a "trans person" arguing over pronouns on a passenger aircraft? No, that's not true: This video was made by the comedian and content creator Jibrizy. The video is a clip from a longer Jibrizy scene, and the longer video ends with Jibrizy saying, "Hey guys, that was all a skit ...…

Does this video show a real, very angry mom removing a LGBT flag from a classroom? No, that's not true: This video was made by the comedian and content creator Jibrizy. The original full-length video posted on Facebook states that this is a skit in a disclaimer message at the end. The actors, including the woman who played the role…

Did singer Beyonce sing a rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the Black national anthem, instead of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a NFL game held in September 2023? No, that's not true: the claim appeared first on a website clearly marked as satire. Beyonce had not performed at any NFL games in 2023 at the time…

Did Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin all say they'll quit "immediately" if "The View" adds Candace Owens as a host? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a satirical website that has a history of fabricating content surrounding popular topics, and features a disclaimer that states, "Everything on this website is fiction." Lead Stories could not find…

Did Facebook or its parent company Meta announce a plan to charge all of the platform's users $4.99 a month for access? Will copying and pasting a post about the change allow people to "opt out" or "bypass the system"? No, none of that is true: Neither Facebook nor Meta made such an announcement as of this writing. Different variations…

Did actor James Woods warn the FBI about 9/11 a month before it happened? No, that's not true: Woods said in the same interview being used to make this claim that he "did not report this to the FBI before September 11" and denies the idea that he told the FBI about his suspicions and they did nothing: "That's completely…

Does this video show a real asteroid crashing into the moon, prompting an explosion following the collision? No, that's not true: Lead Stories determined through a reverse image search that the footage in question was first posted by a YouTube creator in February 2023 and was later shared by an account on Instagram that confirmed the clip was created using…

Did talk show host and podcaster Megyn Kelly say she "contracted Vaccine Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (VAIDS)" after getting the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine? No, that's not true: On "The Megyn Kelly Show" in early September 2023, she said, "I tested positive for an autoimmune issue at my annual physical." She never mentions VAIDS, which is not a real medical condition.…

Is this video showing a Jeep partially buried in the mud from the 2023 Burning Man gathering, and was that event "declared a national disaster"? No, that's not true: The online presence of the video predates the 2023 Burning Man gathering by at least a week, and there was no national disaster declaration stemming from Burning Man. The claim appeared…

Was a state of emergency declared due to an Ebola outbreak at Burning Man in Black Rock City, Nevada? No, that's not true: There were no reports of known or suspected Ebola cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency confirmed to Lead Stories on September 5, 2023. Burning Man representatives confirmed to Lead Stories that…

Did Fox News broadcast a report displaying an image of an Asian man suspected of fatally shooting a person with a chyron that reads, "Shooter described 'mostly white Asian male'"? No, that's not true: A Fox News spokesperson told Lead Stories that this image "was never broadcasted on Fox News and is not authentic." The claim appeared in an Instagram…

Did country singer Jason Aldean refuse a $1 million paycheck to sing the national anthem at the 2024 Super Bowl, saying, "I'll do it for free"? No, that's not true: This claim came from a satirical website. Google News' index of thousands of credible news sites did not confirm that Aldean had turned down the paycheck, had made such a…

Did conservative TV personality Candace Owens call professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe an "angry toddler" while debating Rapinoe on a segment of her show, "Candace"? No, that's not true: A representative of Rapinoe told Lead Stories this is "false information." Also, this claim appeared in an article on a satirical website known for publishing fabricated content. The claim appeared in…

Was the Obamas' personal chef writing a tell-all book before his "mysterious death"? No, that's not true: There is no proof shown in a video making the claim that Tafari Campbell was writing a book about the former president and first lady at the time of his death near their Martha's Vineyard home. The video purports to be from "Inside…

Does an image show a single man in China breaking up couples' seating arrangements in a movie theater on Valentine's Day? No, there's no evidence of that: The image actually shows the reopening of a movie theater in Beijing amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on August 16, 2023. The…

Have Latvia's "secret plans" to invade Russia recently been exposed? And does information from military archives confirm these plans? No, that's not true: The author of the claim later publicly referred to it as "obvious satire." The story originated from an entry (archived here) published on X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 10, 2023. The post stated: ‼️BREAKING: Recently…