Technology

Is a viral video of a girl crying in front of the camera because she didn't realize Apple Pay used "real American Dollars from your credit card" and not "Apple Dollars" real? No, that's not true: The video was a skit by comedian Tina Vlamis. Her TikTok channel features several other, similar comedy videos. The video (archived here) was published…

Did the UK enact mandatory ID checks at supermarket entrances before people can shop for "basic essentials like bread or milk", starting September 12, 2025? No, that's not true: A UK government spokesperson told Lead Stories that the rumor is "completely false". No credible media organizations reported what social media posts labeled "breaking news". The claim appeared in a video…

Did Dolly Parton, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson and Blake Shelton announce a joint tour in 2026 called "One Last Ride" as several social media posts declared? No, that's not true: There is no mention of such a joint tour on any of the six country stars' social media pages. No credible news outlet has reported what…

Does a blue pulse moving from east to west on a Doppler radar map show some sort of "storm pumping" weather modification or HAARP activity? No, that's not true: The radar reflectivity time lapse animation shows that radar signals have picked up the presence of millions of birds in flight who began their southward migration after the sun set. As…

Does a viral video show a real instance of a delivery drone dropping a car battery through the windshield of a parked car? No, that's not true: An auto repair business created the video as an April Fool's Day marketing stunt. The video has been on the repair shop's YouTube channel since 2015. Few, if any, civilian drones available in…

Did Finland test "the world's first engine-less superconducting maglev cargo pipeline, capable of moving cargo at over 500 km/h using no engines, wheels or tracks", as a social media post claimed? No, that's not true: As of August 28, 2025, no media organizations reported on the purported test in Oulu, Finland. The organization that was described as having developed the…

Does a viral image authentically show soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and his fiancee Georgina Rodriguez married and at their wedding? No, that's not true: The image contained glitches and discrepancies typical of AI generated images and at least one detection tool found evidence of deepfake content. The couple announced their engagement via social media on August 11, 2025 and have…

Will the earth experience "colder weather than ever before" during the "aphelion phenomenon" in August, 2025, as its elliptical orbit takes it to its most distant-from-the-Sun position of the year, as multiple social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Earth's distance from the Sun changes daily and at aphelion, the Earth's distance from the Sun is only about 3%…

Did X.com suspend user privileges of the "Press" account for California Governor Gavin Newsom? No, that's not true: The photo offered as proof was a screenshot of @GovNewsomPress, a fake account. The authentic press account for the governor of California, @GovPressOffice, was not suspended. The claim was made in an August 15, 2025 X post (archived here) on the @americapapabear…

Does a viral social media video show a Ford electric car malfunctioning, with its steering locked and accelerator to the floor? No, that's not true: Lead Stories used geolocation techniques to find the scene of the accident and obtain a police report that a malfunction did not cause the wreck. California Highway Patrol said the driver was arrested for driving…

Did Tesla remotely deactivate rapper Big Huey's Cybertruck in August 2025? No, that's not true: The company denies it. The screen message, reading "return to dealer", is clear evidence of a hoax, since Teslas are not sold through dealerships. The "cease and desist letter" accompanying the purported deactivation showed an incorrect current title for Tesla's legal counsel. The claim appeared…

Does a video marked "Real Footage" show a bloody attack by a dolphin on a marine park trainer named Jessica Radcliffe? No, that's not true: The video caption and title both say the footage is real, but the account that published it describes its content as "Realistic AI visuals | Viral edits". Several glitches in the scene, such as people…

Did a viral image show a real CNN report about tech billionaire Elon Musk being hospitalized on August 4, 2025? No, that's not true: Searches across Google and CNN produced zero confirmation that the network ever published such an article on its website. The account that spread the image on social media identified itself as a troll account. The claim…

Do Canadian researchers propose to mass-vaccinate people with crop duster-style spraying of the populace, as a social media post implies? No, that's not true: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) have paid researchers to develop a needle-free inhaler to inoculate people one at a time against the virus that causes COVID-19. The post that pushes the crop duster idea…

Does an authentic video capture actress Sydney Sweeney breaking her silence about the controversy over her American Eagle "good jeans" ad? No, that's not true: The video contains a last-frame disclaimer that it is "Unreal." The video was first posted to an X account that routinely releases deepfake/AI-generated videos that show prominent people commenting on current events in shocking or…

Is the viral video of "Titan" the giant dog authentic? No, that's not true: The creator of the original TikTok video clip labeled it "AI-generated" when posting it on July 27, 2025. Subsequent re-posts and lower-resolution copies did not keep the label and attempted to pass it off as real video of a real dog. The video of the gargantuan…

Did the most recent, July 2025 version of the 2023 U.K. Online Safety Act prohibit "all criticism" of unauthorized immigration on social media? No, that's not true: According to the full text of the law, what is considered an offense is assisting illegal immigration and human trafficking. Social media posts offering people smuggling services would be against the law, not…

Did a Georgia man named Julian Brown invent the process for turning waste plastic into useful fuel? No, that's not true: Brown's Naturejab system harnesses solar-powered microwaves to heat a pyrolysis reactor. That is a well-understood chemical process in which heated plastics generate usable gas and oil that has been studied and refined worldwide for decades. The claim appeared in…

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…

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…