Politics

Did White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt write a post on X about the age of consent that, in part, said that "Mary was as young as 12 when she gave birth to Jesus"? No, that's not true: Her account didn't show such a post. No credible media organizations reported that Leavitt published what was attributed to her on social…

Does the viral picture of Jeffrey Epstein, Melania Trump and Donald Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller document a real-life scene and come from a "newly leaked" "Epstein file"? No, that's not true: It displays a barely visible satire label. The image is not a real photo: A missing finger on the hand of the supposed Melania Trump suggests…

Was ABC's talk show The View permanently cancelled, as of July 25, 2025? No, that's not true: There was no such public announcement. As of this writing, the show was going on its annual summer hiatus in advance of a new season, said two of the co-hosts. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on July 25,…

Does a viral clip show a fighter jet shooting down another one during July 2025 clashes between Thailand and Cambodia? No, that's not true: The video predates the violence that broke out in that region in late July of 2025. Earlier version of the clip have been online at least since mid-June 2025 and were described as footage from the…

Did Mel Gibson post a message on his X account vowing to expose pedophiles and human traffickers in Hollywood, including "Epstein's network and the Diddy connections"? No, that's not true: Gibson does not have an X.com account, or any social media accounts, his publicist told Lead Stories. The account that posted the message was created in 2024 and only has…

Did the self-styled "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Angeli-Chansley write "Fuck Donald Trump" on X in July 2025? Yes, that's true: Social media users shared screenshots of the post, which Angeli-Chansley published on July 23. Angeli-Chansley's X account was briefly deleted on July 24, before becoming available again. A screenshot of the post appeared in a July 23, 2025, post on X…

Did President Trump incorrectly identify Ferdinand Marcos as the current president of the Philippines in a July 22, 2025, Truth Social post? No, that's not true: Ferdinand Marcos Jr., better known as Bongbong, was sworn in as the Philippines' 17th president on June 30, 2022. A social media post calling Trump a "demented buffoon" for claiming he just met with…

Did Andrew Yang post on x that British musician Ozzy Osborne was "a true American original"? Yes, that's true: Yang, an entrepreneur who unsuccessfully ran for President of the United States in 2020 and the New York City mayorship a year later, did write that on X. The edit history of the post shows he later edited the post to…

Is a viral video of former President Barack Obama saying "Trump crossed my bottom line" authentic? No, that's not true: The video is an obvious fake, with an extra-large gap between Obama's front teeth and lip movements that don't match the words being spoken. No Obama video statement about the situation were found on credible news sites, nor on Obama's…

Did Stephen Colbert and Rachel Maddow announce a new show together, after CBS cancelled "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" in July 2025? No, that's not true: Maddow's blog called the story "false news". The rumor was published on a relatively obscure blog and reposted on Facebook. The fake story appeared in a July 20, 2025, blog post (archived here)…

Did Jerome Powell write a July 22, 2025, letter informing President Donald Trump of his resignation as Chairman of the Federal Reserve? No, that's not true: A widely-shared screenshot of such a letter was in fact a fake, most likely produced using AI. Powell had not resigned as of July 23. The fake letter appeared in a July 22, 2025,…

Did a viral video showing a female soccer player shouting "Free Palestine" and lifting her shirt to reveal a Palestinian flag originate from actual news sources? No, that's not true: It appeared on a TikTok account that published AI generated content in the past. The footage contained several details hinting at an AI origin such as odd lettering, players melting…

Did U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi say that the Epstein file is "too graphic to release" and did Fox News air a report about that supposed comment? No, none of that is true: The image with the purported quote originated from a self-described satire page. The picture contained multiple comically misspelled words, including the channel's name. The claim appeared in…

Does a viral video really document Donald Trump pointing at minor girls as they walk by him and Ghislaine Maxwell? No, that's not true: A leading deepfake expert says the video used "motionizing" software, which is widely available, to turn authentic photos into video of something that did not happen. The original version of the cropped photo used to create…

Did Barron Trump announce, as a social media post claims, that he's dating Sasha Obama and that she "will be his one and only wife"? No, that's not true: The TikTok video says the announcement put Barron's father, President Donald Trump, in the hospital, a made-up event corroborated by no credible information sources. A president disappearing from his announced-in-advance schedule…

Does a viral image match the description of the birthday note Donald Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein as given in a July 17, 2025 Wall Street Journal story? No, that's not true: Several elements in the image do not match the description in the article, such as the location of the text relative to the drawing and missing elements in…

Did politician Matt Gaetz post on X about "momentary lapses of judgement from decades ago" in relation to "prepubescent girls" and the "Epstein files"? No, that's not true: A viral screenshot of such a post originated on a Reddit subforum ironically named "TOTALLYREALTWEETS". It was posted by a user whose bio read "fake tweet writer" and the text in the…

Does a viral video really show an American B-2 bomber "surprised at high altitude" by enemy Su-34 and Su-35 jets from Russia? No, that's not true: The video originated on a TikTok channel that publishes video game footage. Despite this several social media posts presented the footage as real. The video appeared in a post on TikTok (archived here) where…

Does this image show a letter with a drawing described in the Wall Street Journal as being made by President Donald Trump for Jeffrey Epstein's birthday? No, that's not true: The image was published by an account on X that described it as an "artist's recreation". The Journal's original article did not contain a depiction of the image and none…

Was a viral picture of Donald Trump kissing a young female model authentic? No, that's not true: A comparison with the original photos from a Guardian article shows that the image was digitally manufactured. The details of the background and the outfit of another woman present in the frame didn't match authentic stills. The claim appeared in a post (archived…