Technology

Does a video captured by a New Jersey resident show a drone spraying something in the sky? No, that's not true: The video showed a commercial Boeing 777 jetliner gradually descending as it nears the end of a transatlantic flight from London to Baltimore. Lead Stories cross-referenced the timestamp and location tag from the original video with flight and weather…

Does an authentic video show a weapon being fired at a drone in New Jersey in mid-December 2024? No, that's not true: The earliest version of the video shared on social media doesn't include gunfire or video effects. Robert Earl White, who originally published the clip, clarified in a follow-up post: "Yes, the gunfire is fake in this video ..."…

Does a video shared to Instagram authentically show a car-sized drone or flying object flying over the Las Vegas Strip? No, that's not true: The original video was posted to TikTok with a caption stating, "This video was created digitally." The profile that initially published the video is self-described as "Mixed reality. Definitely not CIA." The claim appeared in a…

Is a video that shows UFOs or drones in Maryland in December 2024 authentic? No, that's not true: The creator of the video admitted he "made a fake UFO video with AI." The original video is listed on the creator's account on TikTok under the tab "AI creations" and is set to music from the TV show "The X-Files." The…

Are the drones reportedly seen over New Jersey and New York being used to track nuclear material in the country? No, that's not true: The National Nuclear Security Administration's emergency team told Lead Stories it doesn't use drones to detect nuclear or radiological materials. In a joint statement on December 16, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Federal Aviation…

Did the Pentagon say in early December 2024 that drones reportedly flying over a New Jersey military installation were "not of earthly origin," as was implied by a post on Instagram? No, that's not true: A Pentagon spokesperson told Lead Stories that the agency never described the drones as "not from earthly origin." A meme shared to Instagram included a…

Does nicotine eliminate brain tumors? No, that's not true: A brain cancer expert from the University of Nebraska Medical Center said nicotine doesn't help and may actually reduce a person's chances of recovering from brain tumors or cancer. Nicotine is harmful, addictive and can raise the risk of certain cancers. The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here)…

Does a video shared to X in early December 2024 authentically show a drone flying over New Jersey? No, that's not true: The original poster described the video as having been "created digitally." It was shared online after unexplained "possible drones" were reported in New Jersey in late 2024. The claim appeared in a video posted on X on December…

Did Tesla CEO Elon Musk announce that his company had developed an aluminum-ion battery with 15-minute charging? No, that's not true: There is no evidence on the company's website or Musk's social media platforms of any such announcement as of December 6, 2024. In fact, Tesla continues to manufacture and refine its 4680 lithium-ion batteries at a plant near Corpus…

Does a video montage show how factories in India make artificial rice out of recycled plastic? No, that's not true: These videos are real, but what the factories are making has been misrepresented. Some video clips show plastic being recycled to make plastic pellets for use in other plastic products -- but not in food. Other video clips show the…

Have 83 deaths been caused or attributed to fires caused by spontaneous Tesla explosions, as implied in a meme? No, that's not true: The figures in the meme come from an online database that compiles news reports and government data but does not verify or confirm these reports. According to that database, 83 deaths involved a Tesla car fire, but…

Did Elon Musk announce a Tesla phone model called "Pi" as of November 26, 2024? No, that's not true: There was no such announcement on either the Tesla website or Tesla's official X profile when this fact check was written. The image shared in a post reporting the "breaking" announcement included digitally manipulated images. The claim appeared in a post…

Is there no way to avoid that January 19, 2025, is TikTok's last day of operation in the United States, as implied in a "BREAKING" post on Threads? No, that's not true: On the day the post appeared, there was no breaking news about enforcement of a federal law forcing the sale of TikTok to non-Chinese ownership. The bill signed…

Did Comcast announce in November 2024 that it was selling MSNBC? No, that's not true: According to the corporation's press release and other news reports, Comcast only announced moving some of its assets, including MSNBC, into a separate independent publicly traded entity. No credible media organization confirmed the rumor about the sale of MSNBC, with that rumor being elevated by…

Did Elon Musk announce in November 2024 that Tesla was launching a $10,000 home to provide more affordable housing? No, that's not true: The Tesla CEO made no such announcement on the company website nor through his account on X. Similar claims of a "Tesla House" go back years, though there has been no such announcement. This claim appeared in…

Did Elon Musk state that X accounts that called him "fat" or "The First Lady" would be "suspended without warning"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Musk ever made such a post. There are still posts calling him those phrases on the platform. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads on November 20, 2024.…

Did billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman post on Bluesky that he suggests acquiring that platform to shut it down to "prevent further fracturing of the town square"? No, that's not true: The viral image showed a fake post from a suspended account. Ackman's representative confirmed to Lead Stories that the billionaire didn't write the post attributed to him and…

Did Tesla CEO Elon Musk publicly announce plans to introduce a car with a water-powered engine in November 2024? No, that's not true: There is no record that Musk or Tesla formally introduced this concept, such as trustworthy media reports. An online AI detector tool found that images published in a post about the supposed announcement were almost certainly fakes…

Did tech billionaire Elon Musk unveil a "UFO fighter jet" named Ethereon in mid-November 2024? No, that's not true: Neither Musk, nor his company SpaceX, nor credible news organizations said anything about the development of such a spacecraft. The photos of Musk at the launch pad in the posts spreading the rumor were AI-manufactured. The claim appeared in a post…

Did Elon Musk's satellite-based high-speed internet system Starlink play any role in counting or uploading votes in the U.S. election that could have allowed for potential vote manipulation or cheating? No, that's not true: Election security experts told Lead Stories that there's no evidence of vote tampering involving Starlink. U.S. voting systems are managed by county and state offices on…