Did the plane that crashed in Palm Beach County, Fla., on Nov. 1, 2026, have Bad Bunny on board? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no matching reports from established news outlets that Bad Bunny was aboard the Learjet that went down in Greenacres, Fla. Established news outlets reported the names of all nine victims, none of whom was…
Is the U.S. Midterm Election held on a Wednesday in 2026, as the official account of the FBI's New Haven branch posted? No, that's not true: According to 2 U.S.C. 7, elections are to be held "the Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November, in every even numbered year". In 2026 that date falls on Tuesday, November 3rd. The…
Does a video show Elon Musk's helicopter blocking traffic on a busy road just to get some food? No, that's not true: The video shows a medical helicopter at the scene of a traffic accident involving a concrete truck which tipped over on its side in Southaven, Mississippi, on Oct 31, 2026. Traffic camera footage, Flightradar24 data, and bystander photos…
Does an image show Sen. Chris Murphy in the hospital following a stroke? No, that's not true: The account that posted the image describes itself as a parody account, and Lead Stories found no matching reports from established news outlets confirming the claim. Although Murphy was hospitalized following a health emergency, the pixelated image is not of him; it shows…
Did Brazil enact a "food embargo" on Europe? No, that's not true: The website of the Brazilian government said nothing about it. No established media organizations published any reports about it, either: there were only stories related to the disruption of Brazilian exports going to Europe in September 2026. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X where…
Do photos show a pickup truck carrying ballots "southbound on the 215 and Clinton Keith" in Menifee, California? No, that's not true: The U.S. Postal Service said, "There is no evidence that the items being transported were in Postal Service custody," and the Riverside County, California, Registrar of Voters told Lead Stories that it does not transport ballots in the…
Is there a person named "Anna Blackwell" who is in the U.S. Army and has traveled with President Donald Trump's entourage? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated, as are several other images posted on the account in question. "Blackwell" appears to be based on the AI persona "Jessica Foster," an Instagram account that no longer exists. The claim…
Did Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed say, "Your daughters are going to see male genitalia anyway, so who cares if they see it in their locker room," during his appearance on CBS' "60 Minutes"? No, that's not true: El-Sayed never mentioned male genitalia during the interview. He was asked about the rights of parents to control what is taught in…
Is a photo that shows Malia Obama kissing a girl real? No, that's not true: Hive Moderation determined the image was 99.9% likely to be AI-generated. The post came from an account known for satirical content. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the @sa10nee account on X on Nov. 1, 2026. It read: Malia Obama was spotted…
Was the crashed Learjet in Florida piloted by Emily Shelton, who posted on Facebook about flying Lenny Kravitz? No, that's not true: Shelton, who is famous for performing an emergency landing on I-10 in Florida, posted a denial to her TikTok account after the crash. There is no evidence she or Kravitz were on the jet that crashed in Palm…
Does a real, sharp photo that went viral on social media actually show the Learjet that crashed in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2026? No, that's not true: The image, which shows the plane with a missing wing, a deformed engine without its cowling and a bent tail, appears to have been edited using AI tools from OpenAI. A…
Did President Donald Trump help "an old woman" walk home after a rally in Iowa on Oct. 22, 2026? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Trump left the airport rally location by car. Hive Moderation determined the image attached to the story was 99.9% likely to be AI-generated. The story was posted on an account known for…
Was Gadi Eisenkot declared the new prime minister of Israel, as of Oct. 30, 2026, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu in this role as a result of the 2026 legislative election? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no credible reports confirming such a change in established Hebrew- or English-language news outlets. As of this writing, the PM's Office government page didn't…
Did the German digital news outlet FOCUS Online report about an "Eco Sanitation Act" that will limit Germans to three flushes a day and five minute showers by 2027? No, that's not true: Online searches show FOCUS Online has not reported about this topic. The video posted on X with a FOCUS Online logo in the corner appears to be…
Did James Talarico, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas in the 2026 midterm campaign, say that the U.S. should have a "welcome mat" on the southern border? Yes, he did, but that was not a full quote of his words: Talarico said the border should have a "giant welcome mat," and then he added that it should have "a…
Did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threaten Spain in 2026 by saying, "There could be sudden power outages and train accidents"? No, that's not true: The video is a copy of an April 10, 2026, statement in which Netanyahu said he would not "allow any country to wage a diplomatic war against us without paying an immediate price," but he…
Does a video show a Trump supporter who was stabbed outside a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Oct. 28, 2026? No, that's not true: A Chillicothe Police spokesperson said "there was no stabbing". During a fight an officer broke up, the clip on the officer's pocketknife caught in a person's shirt, but the knife never opened. Lead Stories found no…
Did analyst Pat McAfee say he would join ESPN's College GameDay by Zoom due to security concerns? No, that's not true: The claim originated from a parody account. Lead Stories found no matching reports from established news outlets confirming the claim and no evidence that McAfee made the statement. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the @No3sports…
Does a real video show philanthropist Susan Dell wearing a red dress and dancing at an outdoor patio gathering? No, that's not true: The video is AI-generated and was posted with AI disclaimers on Instagram on Oct. 16, 2026. Content detection tools also flagged the video: Hive Moderation rated it 87.5% likely AI-generated, and Sightengine's reading reached as high as…
Does a video show a C-17 Globemaster aircraft making a real-life emergency landing in a field? No, that's not true: Two online tools confirmed that it was AI-generated. The earliest known post of the video disclosed that the dramatic scene was created with AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X by @SaiyidYasir on Oct. 28, 2026.…
