Did Paul McCartney give his private jet to a WW2 vet to help the 102-year-old American reunite with his wartime lover? No, that's not true: The text and supporting images in a story making the claim were generated by artificial intelligence tools. There is no documentation that the former Beatle lent his plane to an elderly veteran for a flight to find a European woman he met while serving in World War Two.
The story originated in a post (archived here) published on Facebook and in an online article (archived here) on June 13, 2025. The caption to the Facebook post read:
Paul McCartney gave up his private jet for a 102-year-old WWII vet to reunite with a wartime lover -- but what happened after became Paul's own birthday gift... Mr. Harold, a 102-year-old veteran, wanted to fly to France to meet his long-lost wartime love. Paul gave up his jet. A week later, Harold FaceTimed from Paris, inviting Paul to his 103rd birthday -- with a gift: a WWII map signed by Paul's own grandfather.
FULL STORY BELOW 👇👇👇
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Jun 19 14:54:34 2025 UTC)
The comment section of the post included a link to an article titled "Paul McCartney's Heartwarming Gesture to Help WWII Veteran Reunite with His Wartime Love." The opening paragraphs read:
In a story that beautifully blends compassion and generosity, legendary musician Paul McCartney recently gave up his private jet to help a 102-year-old World War II veteran, Mr. Harold, reunite with his long-lost wartime love in France. What followed this selfless act, however, would turn into an unexpected and deeply emotional birthday gift for Paul McCartney himself.
Mr. Harold, a 102-year-old veteran, had spent decades apart from his wartime sweetheart, a woman he met during his time in service. As years passed, the two lost contact, and Harold was left with nothing but cherished memories of their brief, yet profound, connection. But, at the age of 102, Harold had one last wish -- to find his beloved and see her once again. His dream was to fly to France, where she lived, and finally reunite with her after all these years.
When Paul McCartney, who is known for his deep humanitarian spirit, heard about Harold's wish, he didn't hesitate to take action. Realizing that Harold's advanced age and the emotional significance of his mission, Paul knew the reunion had to happen. Paul generously offered his private jet, giving up his own comfort and convenience to ensure Harold's dream could come true. A true gesture of kindness, McCartney's actions went beyond celebrity charity -- it was a deeply personal act of compassion, one that showed the power of human connection.
After traveling to France, Harold succeeded in his mission. A week later, the veteran made an emotional FaceTime call from Paris, where he had been joyfully reunited with his wartime love. It was a moment of triumph and nostalgia, filled with smiles and tears. However, what happened next was just as unexpected as the first gesture of generosity.
The article provides no sources for this information, which would be expected in legitimate journalism.
Lead Stories tested the full text with the GPTZero AI Detection tool, which concluded with high confidence that the text was 95% AI-generated.
Lead Stories found obvious clues that the images of McCartney and the veteran used for the Facebook post and in the article were obviously AI-generated. The hat worn by the veteran differed in each image, although the photos were supposedly of the same event.
The number of candles that were lit varies, which is another clue.
The Hive Moderation AI-generated content detection tool left no doubt that all of the images were 99.9% deepfakes.
Fake claims about McCartney and the Beatles are common on Facebook. Lead Stories previously debunked another AI-generated claim that McCartney and Ringo Starr had announced a joint tour.
