Just Because It's Trending Doesn't Mean It's True — Fact checking at the speed of likes since 2015

Does a real image show Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York wearing workout clothes in her kitchen? No, that's not true: The image is a manipulated screenshot from a video posted to her Instagram account, digitally altered to make her outfit appear as tight-fitting activewear. In the original video, Ocasio-Cortez is wearing a brown sleeveless dress with white polka dots.…

Did a story about House Speaker Mike Johnson moving Texas representative Jasmine Crockett's office into a filing room with no windows come from a real news website? No, that's not true: The rumor was first published by a known trollery network that adds satire labels to each of its pages. No credible media organizations reported the supposed story. The claim…

Does a video from the Epstein files show a group of people, including one who is pregnant, chained inside dog kennel cages? No, that's not true: This footage originated from a 2025 Horror production by the YouTube channel Life of Luxury. Each file in the U.S. Department of Justice's Epstein Library has a number which can be used to verify…

Did Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York say, "Under capitalism, man oppresses man, under socialism, it's the other way round"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Ocasio-Cortez ever made such a statement. No credible reports from news organizations or other reliable sources support the claim. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the @atensnut account…

Does a real video, filmed secretly from behind a door, show Elon Musk observing a portal at SpaceX? No, that's not true: This video is linked to a creator who makes AI-generated videos and music. Although the portal video with Musk's likeness was posted without a disclaimer, one day earlier the same account published a similar video with an AI…

Did President Donald Trump die on Sept. 3, 2026? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the president of the United States had died as of early September, and no credible reports from news organizations or government officials support the claim. Trump's official social media accounts also showed activity during this period, further indicating that the claim was…

Did Donald Trump write "too many non-working holidays in America" on his social media account ahead of Labor Day 2026? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found that the president made the post on June 19, 2025. While Trump did write those words, he posted them more than a year before September 2026. The claim…

Is a photo that shows Ursula von der Leyen with Jeffrey Epstein real? No, that's not true: The OpenAI Verify tool detected a SynthID watermark in the image, indicating it was generated using OpenAI tools. The case and document numbers visible on the image do not match any records published in the Department of Justice Epstein files. The claim appeared…

Was the suspect in the September 2, 2026, Minneapolis mass shooting a transgender shooter, Samantha Hyde? No, that's not true: The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the suspect as 35-year-old Carlton Neal Johnson II. The circulating image of the suspected shooter is not authentic -- it displays multiple indicators of digital modification and appears to be a parody of…

Did Denzel Washington make some disparaging remarks about Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after having a conversation with her? No, that's not true: There is no record of Washington saying these things about Ocasio-Cortez. The almost verbatim quotes were originally falsely attributed to Sylvester Stallone, but came from a source which has clear satire disclaimers. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Does a man nicknamed "Palm Beach Pete" have a girlfriend named "Lishgaine"? No, that's not true: "Palm Beach Pete," whose real name is Peter Simel, does not have a girlfriend named Lishgaine. "Palm Beach Lishgaine" is an AI character. "Lishgaine" is an anagram of Ghislaine, as in Ghislaine Maxwell, a business partner and confidant of Jeffrey Epstein, to whom "Palm…

Does a video show a bullet "jumping in and out" of the body of Times Square stabbing suspect after she was shot by NYPD officers? No, that's not true: The shiny object in the video has been identified by a weapons training expert as a barbed probe from a Taser 7 cartridge. At a press conference, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch…

Does a viral video show men handling real guns outside a mosque in Dublin, Ireland? No, that's not true: Law enforcement denied that the objects were real weapons. The statement issued by the police said that the objects in question were replicas used for a recreational activity. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @TheFlareNews…

Is this a real video of the woman who stabbed someone in NYC dancing with a pair of knives? No, that's not true: The clip is a digitally manipulated version of a video posted to Britney Spears' Instagram account in September 2023. Although the clip replaces Spears with a different person, the background, down to the little dogs running around…

Did singer Billie Eilish lose $800,000 in belongings after leaving her Tribeca penthouse unlocked for three days to prove that "Mamdani's New York" is safe? No, that's not true: The rumor originated from a known trollery network that adds satire labels to each of its pages. No credible media organizations reported anything remotely similar to the online speculation about a…

Does a collection of video clips show scenes from Florida's Operation Statewide Shield, an August 2026 sweep which located 163 missing children? No, that's not true: Some videos circulating on social media use old clips from other situations, such as a 2018 car accident in Texas, to falsely represent the news out of Florida. Some of these same clips have…

Does a viral image show a real U.K. Ministry of Defence letter signed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham ordering British military veterans to deploy to Ukraine? No, that's not true: No credible media organizations reported on such an order. The letter contained multiple inconsistencies and appears to have originated from a self-described satire account. The claim appeared in a post…

Does a real video show Evelyn tearfully saying goodbye to her dog Snowbell at Meadow Creek Animal Services in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: An online detection tool rated the clip as 100% likely to be AI-generated, and the original version of the video includes a disclaimer stating that it was created with AI for entertainment and storytelling purposes.…

Did President Donald Trump really make a post threatening to close the 9/11 Memorial in New York because he wasn't allowed to speak at the annual remembrance ceremony? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found no record of such a post. There are also no credible reports that he ever made the online statement or…

Did President Donald Trump post an AI-generated video along with the caption about Kharg Island being "blown to smithereens" on Truth Social? Yes, that's true: The post was published on Trump's official Truth Social account on Aug. 30, 2026. There are no reports indicating that the video or such an attack are real. The claim appeared in a post (archived…