Does a viral clip show a real Hitler lookalike at a soccer match in Argentina? No, that's not true: The video showed characteristic AI generation artifacts. An online AI detector concluded the video had a 94% probability of being AI-generated. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @MyLordBebo on May 21, 2026. It opened: Bro…
Is a video of Fox News guest retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward circulating on social media real and taken from the original broadcast? Yes, that's true: Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, appeared on Fox News on May 19, 2026, to provide expert analysis on the war with Iran. The videos and images circulating on social media…
Does a real video show Trump touching and kissing the belly of a man in the middle of an announcement in the Oval Office? No, that's not true: This video has been digitally altered using AI. The video shows the grouping of people who were actually present in the Oval Office, but the scene with the man's belly is fake.…
Could a man who claimed in a viral video that he had a stack of unclaimed ballots mailed to voters who had moved use them to vote for Spencer Pratt for mayor of Los Angeles as he claimed? No, that's not true: The ballots appeared to be for a precinct in West Hollywood, which is a separate city from Los…
Does a real video show a Tesla Cybertruck carrying solar panels? No, that's not true: The clip is a digital creation, not authentic footage. Cybertrucks, like other electric vehicles, are not designed to be charged while in motion. An AI detection tool concluded that "the video is likely to be AI-generated" after analyzing its content. The claim appeared in a…
Does a viral image actually show a real-life judge hugging an 88-year-old Vietnam veteran who was about to lose his home? No, that's not true: The image contained characteristic AI generation artifacts. Four online AI detectors ruled the image was highly unlikely to be an authentic photo. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @feelgoodtale…
Is there a controversial game called Plantation Simulator available to buy on Steam, where players motivate Black workers by whipping them? Yes, that's true: Plantation Simulator was released on Steam on May 12, 2026. The developer describes the game's content this way: "In this game, you will be whipping black people to keep your farm productive, If you whip your…
Does a reputable poll show President Donald Trump has 99% support in Israel? No, that's not true: There is no publicly available poll showing Donald Trump with 99% support in Israel. When Trump made that claim, he did not identify any poll supporting the figure, and Lead Stories was unable to find one either. The claim appeared in a video…
Did police find a male prostitute dead in the Indiana home of Mike Pence? No, that's not true: There is no news reporting of an incident such as this. This false news story originated from a Facebook page that lists its category as "comedian". The story has spread to other social media platforms without the comedy disclaimer. The story originated…
Did news website CivilNet.am actually report that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had been diagnosed with HIV in 2010? No, that's not true: No such report could be found on the organization's website. Its representative confirmed to Lead Stories that CivilNet.am did not report the alleged story. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @SprinterPress…
Did the Department of Justice issue a warrant to seize Sen. Adam Schiff's financial records or suspend his passport over alleged U.S. House January 6 Committee cash grifts? No, that's not true: The story originated on a Facebook page known for its satirical content, which carries the warning "Nothing on this page is real." The original image supporting the claim…
Did Rep. Thomas Massie lose by 10,280 votes in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District Republican primary in May 2026, while candidate Ed Gallrein received 10,854 mail-in votes? And did Massie receive 50,301 votes out of 66,874 total votes in the 2022 primary, compared with 47,539 out of 105,361 total votes in 2026? Yes, those tallies are all true: Election results from…
Does a viral video really show fans filming Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. in the restroom? No, that's not true: Facial recognition software says it's a different person. The video features a lookalike who has spent nearly four years impersonating the soccer player. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published by @Nowfootball on X on May 20, 2026.…
Did Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter and chairman of Block, join the AI company Anthropic? No, that's not true: There have been no news announcements that Dorsey has joined Anthropic. After the true announcement that Andrej Karpathy, the co-founder of OpenAI, was joining Anthropic, a trend of copycat joke announcements popped up on social media. Among the copycat posts…
Did "Biden body double" AJ Barron flip and cut a deal to testify about acting on behalf of the then-sitting president? No, that's not true: The tale originated from America's Last Line of Defense (ALLOD), a network of satire sites. Lead Stories found no record of anyone named AJ Barron publicly claiming to be a Biden body double. The claim…
Are social media posts wishing Pink a happy birthday and showing the musician wearing an anti-Trump T-shirt real? No, that's not true: The images were generated by artificial intelligence tools and distributed by a spam operation managed from Vietnam. The posts, which link to a website that sells T-shirts, falsely claim Pink's birthday is in May, but the singer was…
Is the story of a Memphis man arrested for scratching off every scratch-off ticket at a Germantown Exxon station real? No, that's not true: Lead Stories did not find any records corroborating the tale, which originated on social media platforms. Two AI detection tools concluded the text was AI-generated. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published by @Soaringeagle45…
Does a real photo show former first daughter Sasha Obama wearing a MAGA hat? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that she was ever photographed wearing a MAGA hat. Evidence shows the image is an altered version of a photograph first published online by a celebrity news agency on July 22, 2025. It also shows signs of…
Is a post by Rep. Jack Kimble warning that members of Congress don't even make "$200k per year in Congress despite working nearly 140 days" from a real member of Congress? No, that's not true: The Rep. Jack Kimble account on X.com is a parody account. However, the replies to these posts indicate people are often tricked by the messages…
Is a viral image of a banner about Jimmy Savile a real photo from the May 16, 2026, anti-immigration rally in London? No, that's not true: Lead Stories didn't find credible news organizations that published the image as part of their rally coverage. Three online AI detectors said the picture was likely generated by AI. The claim appeared in a…
