Fact Check

Does a viral video authentically show several cruise ships dumping raw sewage into the sea using huge pipes? No, that's not true: According to several AI detection tools the video was generated using artificial intelligence. It also contains several tell-tale signs of AI generation such as elements that blend into each other and bizarre features on the pipelines themselves. An…

Did Antifa hang a Jeffrey Epstein banner next to Donald Trump's banner on the Department of Agriculture building in Washington? No, that's not true: Epstein's image was added with digital manipulation of a real photo of the front of the Agriculture Department headquarters next to the National Mall. The account that first shared the image said in another post that…

Does a viral image confirm that the Ukrainian government issued new rules prohibiting taking pictures of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from certain angles? No, that's not true: Talking to Lead Stories, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States referred to the image as "fake". The "rules" were self-contradictory and lacked any specific identifying information tying it to…

Did CNN broadcast a graphic touting Pakistan's supposed military success against India, including a caption that read "Pakistan Strikes India's Air Defense"? No, that's not true: A CNN spokesperson told Lead Stories it was a "fabricated image". India has denied Pakistan's claims of having inflicted significant damage on their S-400 air defense system. The fake CNN graphic was presented as…

Does House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries not want to discuss a $1.2 million luxury apartment the Mexican government gifted him in 2022? No, that's not true: The rumor was launched by a Facebook page that profits from political satire. The fake claim came amid backlash against President Donald Trump's decision to accept the gift of a 747 from the government…

Do white strands in the flesh of ripe tomatoes mean "Something weird is happening with American food"? No, that's not true: those are sprouting seeds. Gardening and farming experts at the University of Connecticut say the tomatoes are still perfectly safe to eat. Called "Vivipary", the internal sprouting happens in certain varieties of tomatoes, peppers, apple, pears, and some citrus.…

Did a video shared widely in May 2025 authentically show President Donald Trump describing the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio as "the largest environmental terror attack in world history" and "an inside job"? No, that's not true: Trump never made such remarks. The clip in question contained fake audio and edited mouth movements, both likely the products of…

Does an image authentically show (presumably) Palestinian women and children crying on demand for a cameraman wearing a green on white headband with Arabic lettering on it? No, that's not true: The scene, which also contained rubble and a boom microphone, was AI-generated according to at least two detection tools. It also contained telltale signs of AI such as weird…

Did a Dollar General Store post a sign saying a self-checkout station was closed "Due to Niggers"? No, that's not true: The actual sign shared on X by Jack Posobiec on May 15, 2025, read "Due to Dishonesty," but hours later another account posted a digitally-altered image that replaced "Dishonesty" with the N-word. The sign photo was originally published on…

Is there evidence that music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs divulged, in testimony, that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries attended "Communist Party Freak Off" parties, as a social media post claimed? No, that's not true: The post appeared while Combs was on trial in federal court in Manhattan on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. But Combs had not testified at…

Does a viral bodycam video authentically show a cop pulling over a black judge and then the police officer "lives to regret it?" No, that's not true: The video originated from a channel that publishes re-enactments using the same actors repeatedly in supposedly unrelated roles and situations. While the YouTube channel's description claims to "bring you real, unfiltered bodycam footage,"…

Did authentic photos shared in May 2025 show President Donald Trump covered in blood after being "shot again while exiting the White House"? No, that's not true: We found no source or corroboration for the two images in question, which appear to have been created using AI. No news reports existed on the supposed shooting of Trump, which would have…

Does U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer "drive to work every day" in a Rolls Royce he received as a gift from the British government? No, that's not true: That rumor originated on a Facebook page that describes its content as satirical. The fake "Rolls Royce" claim came amid backlash against President Donald Trump's decision to accept the gift of a jet…

Did Al Gore receive a $90 million custom Gulfstream jet from the Sultan of Kuwait? No, that's not true: The story appeared on a site that is clearly labeled as satirical. It is run by a man known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. The story appeared as an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times on May…

Does a viral video show a crowd of passengers streaming off a ferry that has landed in Germany? No, that's not true: It's just a re-post of an old video, with a label mis-identifying the location. Nothing in the post provides verification of the claim that it shows Germany, while an earlier post of the exact same video identifies it…

Does a viral video prove U.S. President Donald Trump refused to drink coffee in Saudi Arabia in May 2025? A longer version of the viral clip showed him gazing around while holding the untouched coffee cup, as other reception participants, including the host, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, took one or more sips. Yet, the footage does not offer…

Does a viral post show an Australian man being arrested for trying to take AU$5,000 from his bank account at a Commonwealth Bank branch in a suburb of Sydney? No, that's not true: Police records show the man was arrested for behaving offensively in public, not for any financial crime. He was also charged with hindering officers who tried to…

Does an authentic video show U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. he's "declaring war on fat, gay kids, not the kids themselves but whatever is making them so fat, gay, and pathetic?" No, that's not true: A disclaimer saying the video is "a deepfake, quite obviously" appears in the last second of the 55-second clip. The…

Did a letter shared in May 2025 authentically show that Pakistan's Air Force had fired Air Vice Marshall Aurangzeb Ahmed, for supposedly "failing to protect" a nuclear facility? No, that's not true: The fake letter originated on an X account which describes its content as "political satire". The image of the letter also had the word "satire" in the top…

Did Sam Smith and Pamela Anderson trade insults in May 2025, after Anderson's appearance at that year's Met Gala in New York City? No, that's not true: An account of a "bitter feud" between them was no more than a fabrication. The original source, Wakefield News, describes its output as satirical in nature. The exchange of insults was presented as…