Did Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr announce they are bringing The Beatles back to the U.S. with a reunion tour? No, that's not true: No announcement can be found anywhere in the news media, on the artists' websites, or with online ticketing websites. The post making the claim used an AI-generated image, which would not be expected in an official announcement. The post links to a sketchy website that may attempt to download malware to your device. Text at the bottom of that webpage acknowledges there has been no Beatles reunion announcement.
The claim originated in a post (archived here) published on Facebook by an account managed from Vietnam on June 4, 2025. The caption above the image read:
For the first time since 1970, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are bringing The Beatles back to the U.S. stage. For millions who grew up with their music, this is more than a concert -- it's a chance to relive the soundtrack of their youth. Emotional, historic, and unforgettable -- Beatlemania is alive again. Full tour details just announced!....FULL VIDEO BELOW 👇👇👇
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Jun 5 17:30:17 2025 UTC)
A clue that the claim was fake came with a look at the image of McCartney and Starr. Ringo has three arms, which would be helpful for a drummer, but not natural. Lead Stories used the Hive Moderation tool to test if the image was AI-generated. The result was positive, with 99.9% certainty.
The Facebook post provides few details, but it promises more to readers who click on a link pinned in the comment section.
When we clicked on the link -- which we suggest you do not do -- this first appeared.
A few seconds after the page loaded, visitors are asked to click a button to "confirm you are not a robot." Again, we advise that you not click.
When Lead Stories clicked, an automatic download of questionable software appeared to be starting. This is what appeared on the screen.
When we navigated back to the main page, we found an important acknowledgement near the bottom:
However, as of now, there has been no official confirmation from either Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr, nor from any representative affiliated with The Beatles' estate. Sources close to both artists have called the tour 'a hopeful rumor' and 'not currently on the table.'
The transparency section on the Facebook page revealed the account was created in August 2024 and is managed by someone in Vietnam.
