Fact Check

Does a video show street vendors in Paris selling merchandise that came from looted Paris shops? No, that's not true: The video shows street vendors in Madrid, Spain, and was published on X on Oct. 11, 2026, with a caption critical of the Madrid vendors. This timing predates the Oct. 17, 2026, violent escalation of the Paris demonstrations, which began…

Does a real video show a man claiming to be a former student of Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico? No, that's not true: Zyon Lewis, the man supposedly depicted in the video, told Lead Stories in a phone interview that it was not him. An online tool also concluded that the videos were more than 99% likely to be AI-generated…

Is a video that shows a Tesla Roadster flying off the roof of a building in the middle of a city real? No, that's not true: An online tool determined the video was AI-generated. The footage does not match the video released of the Tesla Roadster flying car at SpaceX's McGregor, Texas test site. The video appeared in a post…

Does a real video show people grabbing floating iPhones from the sea after a missile attack sank a ship near the Strait of Hormuz? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the ships that were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz in mid-October 2026 were carrying iPhones. An online tool determined that the video was AI-generated. The video…

Does a viral video show the Palestinian flag hanging from the Tower of Pisa in Italy during October 2026 protests? No, that's not true: The footage predated 2026 rallies and looting incidents by almost three years. The video started circulating on social media in mid-November 2023. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X by @theseed59788459 on Oct.…

Does a real photo show Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of a whiteboard plan involving "SPAIN"? No, that's not true: An online tool concluded that the image was generated using OpenAI tools. Lead Stories found no matching reports from established news outlets and no evidence that such a real photo was publicly available. The claim appeared in a…

Does a flyer mailed to Texas homes come from the "Texas Transgender Student Union"? No, that's not true: The flyers refer readers to the Transgender Education Network of Texas, which said the mailers "were not authored, authorized, approved, or distributed by [them] ... and not affiliated" with the organization. Three other organizations named in the flyers also denied involvement. We…

Did a video of the burning Eiffel Tower actually show Paris in October 2026? No, that's not true: As of publication, webcams in the French capital live-streamed footage of the unharmed landmark. Two online AI detectors determined that the viral clip of the tower being destroyed was generated by AI. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here)…

Does real security camera footage capture the moment a large bull shark made a splash in a Cape Coral canal as a pet dog barked? No, that's not true: This video appeared on Instagram with an AI label applied by Meta, and on TikTok and Facebook the video was labeled with an AI disclaimer by the content creator. The Hive…

Did Denzel Washington say he "never met anyone braver, smarter or who cares more about America than Donald Trump"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the actor, director and producer said this. No established news outlets have reported that Washington ever said those words. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the @RedEagleUpdates account on…

Does a real image show an elderly couple wearing only underwear standing near masked rioters, after they were apparently robbed of their clothing and possessions? No, that's not true: Images circulating on social media were made with OpenAI tools and contain a SynthID watermark. The unverified story about the attack on this couple in Place de la République in Paris…

Is an image of an Indiana Hoosiers fan who looks like Charlie Kirk at the football game held against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Oct. 17, 2026, real? No, that's not true: Footage from the Fox broadcast shows a person with a mustache and curly hair, not Kirk. Online tools determined that the Kirk lookalike image was highly likely to…

Is there a real video showing President Donald Trump in a mysterious cave with unidentified blond giants and unidentified personnel? No, that's not true: AI detectors determined the video was highly likely to be AI-generated, and news searches returned no matching reports from established outlets. Lead Stories previously found that similar images of Trump with tall blond figures were also…

Did authorities name Sedgwick County Deputy Sheriff Rachel Taylor as a suspect in the fatal car ramming at the Stryker Sports Complex? No, that's not true: The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office called the claim false and said Taylor was not the driver of the vehicle. No established news outlets have reported that Taylor was a suspect, and there is no…

Does a real video show a Palestinian and Jordanian flag on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in October 2026? No, that's not true: An online tool concluded that the video was 99.1% likely to be AI-generated and a visual inspection showed people in the video appear out of proportion to the tower's actual size. Lead Stories found no…

Did the official White House account publish a sauna picture of Donald Trump surrounded by five bare-chested men? No, that's not true: Neither the White House account nor archived copies of it showed such a post. What looked like a screenshot originated from a page that was previously identified by Lead Stories as a source of satirical content. The claim…

Is a video of an AI agent representing a job candidate during an interview by an AI recruiter real? No, that's not true: The video showing the chaos of two AI agents talking to each other during the interview was staged as a parody, according to the content creator. In an email to Lead Stories he said: "They're staged, but…

Does an image shared on social media show the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting suspect in Bend, Oregon? No, that's not true: It is a photo of an unrelated person named Hadyn Dollery, whose image was taken from a Virginia sheriff's office website. Law enforcement identified the real suspect the following day as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II. The claim…

Have you seen viral videos showing Walmart receipts compared, one old and one new? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such images recently and has found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They do not show real store receipts and they exaggerate how much prices have gone up in the past two decades. This article is…

Did President Donald Trump post a Truth Social message that included: 'What part of "LEAVE THE REFINERIES ALONE!" did Volodymyr Zelenskyy not understand?' No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found no record of the post. No established news outlets reported that his account shared the message at the time of publication. The claim appeared in…