Is "Tech world on fire" over news that Elon Musk bought Facebook in order to "delete it"? No, that's not true: Meta (which owns Facebook) had not, as of this writing, announced or documented a sale, as is required of publicly traded companies. Lead Stories found no credible news reports of an impending sale to Musk. The site that generated…
Is a video of fresh produce being artificially painted in China real? No, that's not true: The clip originated from an account that labels its content as AI-generated. The video contained multiple inconsistencies strongly pointing to AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram, where it was published on December 2, 2025. The caption read: chemical. This…
Was Megan Hollis, a waitress in Cleveland, Ohio, arrested for flipping a table after customers left a $5 tip on a $304 bill? No, that's not true: This is not a real story or a real mugshot. The post circulating on social media originated from an Instagram account that warns "This page features satire and parody stories that are exaggerated,…
Is a video claiming that "all of our food is 3D-printed" or contains bioengineered ingredients to be taken seriously? No, that's not true: A TikTok video sent out a confusing message conflating bioengineered food and 3D-printed foods. Both are real things but they don't mean the same thing. The TikTok creator who made the claims as she reviewed food products…
Was "Irish Christian teacher Enoch Burke" sentenced to life in prison for transphobia and "refusing to use a transgender student's pronouns"? No, that's not true: The sentencing judge explicitly stated that the decision is about the repeated contempt of court for repeatedly ignoring an order to not trespas on school property. The same judge said that Burke "does not have…
Is a video of an Iraqi woman saying in Swedish that she used the Swedish welfare system "to the max" real? Yes, it is: Tara Sabah Mohammed Saleh said she was being sarcastic during a TikTok Live stream in reaction to racist social media comments that told her "to go home." A Swedish news report called her a pro-Palestinian activist…
Did a real Domino's delivery rider in Japan carry a pepperoni pizza in an insulated backpack to the top of Mount Fuji? No, that's not true: An AI-generated photo and story circulating on social media are not real, but they are based on something that did happen and went viral with real photos. Umanami Futoshi is a Japanese office worker…
Was a Catholic nun fatally stabbed in Croatia by an "unnamed migrant man" in late November 2025? No, that's not true: Sister Marija Tatjana Zrno is alive. Police concluded she stabbed herself and they were investigating her for filing a false crime report. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on December 1, 2025. It read:…
Did the U.S. Coast Guard report that drugs were found on just 21% of the suspected drug-trafficking vessels stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard in the 13 months before airstrikes, while the rest -- 79% -- did nothing wrong? No, that's not true: Social media posts making the 21% claim reversed the numbers shared by Sen. Rand Paul, who was…
Does a viral video show a real scene where lightning struck a fishing lake and caused a massive spout of water and many fish to fly high into the air? No, that's not true: This video was posted by a TikTok account which posts AI-generated videos with no disclaimer. Many of the videos feature unlikely scenarios involving wild animals --…
Did Ariana Grande or Cynthia Erivo say they are in a "non-demi-curious semi-binary" relationship? No, that's not true: The viral rumor originated from a page that described itself as satire. In part, the disclaimer said that it's where "truth goes to die". The claim originated from a post (archived here) published on Facebook on November 18, 2025. It opened: Cynthia…
Did AOC show up in a town named "Barron, Delaware" to bail out Hunter Biden with a $250,000 bond related to an arrest for narcotics and disorderly conduct charges? No, that's not true: The story originated in a meme from a satirical Facebook page that originally carried a disclaimer. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into…
Did Ohio Democrat Amy Acton spread a fake video of Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy advocating year-round school, as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Four days into the controversy over year-round school, the Ramaswamy campaign had not publicly stated the video was fake and declined to answer questions from Lead Stories. The Columbus Dispatch quoted an un-named…
Does a video show the final verdict being handed down in the trial of Decarlos Brown for the killing of Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed while riding a train in Charlotte, North Carolina? No, that's not true: This video montage was originally posted on Instagram with a caption suggesting that it was a hypothetical outcome, "This an idea of…
Did Disney World announce it is closing permanently at the end of 2025? No, that's not true: The rumor originated from a satire website. As of this writing, no credible news outlet has reported that Disney World is scheduled to shut down for good. The claim appeared in a reel (archived here) published on Facebook on November 21, 2025. The…
Did Elon Musk acquire Donald Trump's Truth Social for $10 billion in November 2025? No, that's not true: A message purporting to be from Donald Trump's Truth Social account was fake. The person who posted a fake screenshot of the fake message wrote that they did so to entertain themselves. There are no news reports of Musk buying Truth Social…
Does a viral video of Israeli soldiers setting an American flag on fire show a real-life event? No, that's not true: The clip was likely created using AI, probably Sora, whose watermark appeared to have been covered by an emoji of a skull. The flag ends up undamaged despite being set alight, the type of glitch that is characteristic of…
Did a FedEx delivery driver comfort an eight-year-old boy wearing Spiderman pajamas while they waited for police to arrive because the boy's parents were involved in a domestic disturbance? No, that's not true: The video was likely AI-generated. It was posted by a page which publishes similarly fictional engagement bait tales. The video was published as a reel (archived here)…
Does a video show the real story of a man who helped a mother wolf get veterinary help after she was shot with an arrow, and who cared for her wolf puppies while she recovered? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. It originated from a TikTok channel which has published over ten different AI-generated videos featuring a man…
Did Netflix announce it is releasing a documentary about the life of former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg titled "Pete: A Spectacular Life"? No, that's not true: Neither the company nor media organizations said anything about that. The website that spread the claim appeared to be connected to an overseas network that capitalizes on people's engagement provoked by fake…
Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
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