Society

Did Japan issue a blanket ban on all Israeli tourists, as of September 2026? No, that's not true: No government pages or media reports confirmed the online rumor. While there were some isolated instances of hotels employees invoking "war crimes" and attempting to deny accommodation to Israeli citizens, Lead Stories found no evidence that it affected large groups of Israeli…

Does a real photo show President Donald Trump, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and others toasting at a black-tie event? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated, according to analysis from online detection tools. Searches of the image did not generate credible results. The claim appeared in a…

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 viral image prove that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska hold Israeli citizenship? No, that's not true: The composite image shared on social media was likely created by AI, online tools showed. Lead Stories found multiple inconsistencies also pointing to that conclusion. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook where it was…

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…

Did the New York Post publish an article about a student who was targeted by an antisemitic attack, vandalizing her dorm door? No, that's not true: The fabricated screenshot used preexisting photos to craft a fake screenshot of a New York Post article that was never published. The image of the spraypainted door was taken from a 2021 incident at…

Do videos falsely attributed to the New York Times show actors Alyssa Milano, Sean Astin and Rachael Harris supporting the "All Democrats Are Criminals" movement? No, that's not true: The videos use clips from Cameo accounts and add completely fabricated sound and captions. They are not real New York Times videos. The claim appeared in three videos included in a…

Do videos falsely attributed to the New York Times show actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Eric Braeden, Annie Potts and Patrick Fabian supporting the "All Democrats Are Criminals" movement? No, that's not true: Braeden's rep told Lead Stories the claim is false. The videos use clips from Cameo accounts and MTV News and add completely fabricated sound and captions. The claim appeared…

Did a real news broadcast show Vice President JD Vance in Ohio breaking sad news while flanked by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio? No, that's not true: The short video clip is AI-generated and there was no such announcement made by Vance. These clickbait posts on Facebook offer a link in the first comment, but the…

Does a new Epstein files release show Donald Trump visited Epstein Island 345 times? No, that's not true: The Department of Justice's Epstein Library -- the only publicly searchable database of Epstein files, last updated on Sept. 11, 2026 -- contains no record of Trump visiting Epstein Island hundreds of times. Lead Stories also found no credible news coverage of…

Did Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville say "many airline pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community"? Yes, that's true: The Alabama senator made the remarks about pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers being part of the 'furry community' during a speech on the U.S. Senate floor on Sept. 22, 2026. Video on the C-SPAN2…

Does a real map show that as far back as 1688 "Lac America" was the established name of the body of water between the U.S. and Canada? No, that's not true: The name of the lake in the 1688 map drawn by Pierre Raffeix has been altered with AI tools. The words in the original map title and lake label…

Does a video falsely attributed to the Washington Post show Billie Eilish received $120 million from the Democratic Party? No, that's not true: The video uses clips from Eilish's real December 2024 Vanity Fair interview and adds completely fabricated captions. The Washington Post never reported that Eilish received such an amount from the Democratic Party. The claim appeared in a…

Does a video falsely attributed to the New York Times really show Taylor Swift agreeing to support Democrats and gender reassignment surgeries for children in exchange for $500 million? No, that's not true: The video uses clips from Swift's real April 2026 New York Times interview and adds completely fabricated captions. The New York Times never reported that Swift agreed…

Did ABC, CNN and CBS each report about specific political criticisms against Democrats from Fred Durst, Krist Novoselic and Damon Albarn before the U.S. midterm elections? No, that's not true: A collection of similarly-styled videos deceptively display logos of national media outlets while presenting false claims about things famous people have said. Searches of the outlets' own websites and Google…

Have you seen viral videos showing automatic haircut machines? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and found that many were created using artificial intelligence. These videos do not show real people or situations. Instead, they exploit the novelty of such machines to drive engagement on social media. This article is part of a series of stories…

Did Fred Savage, the well-known actor from The Wonder Years, die at the age of 50? No, that's not true: The viral social media post cited Fox News as a source but no such report exists by Fox News. There is no evidence that Savage had died as of the time of publication. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Have two real photos been paired to compare the appearance of Melania Trump and Caitlyn Jenner? No, that's not true: The image representing Caitlyn Jenner in the viral composite image is fake, containing an invisible watermark indicating it was made with OpenAI tools. The photo of Melania Trump is real, taken on Jan. 21, 2025, at the National Cathedral. The…