Old footage of Iran seizing a British-flagged tanker in July 2019 has been circulating online with misleading captions claiming Iran has captured a US ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Here are the latest articles published by U.S. fact-checking sites:
FactCheck.org→ The U.S. Treasury Didn’t Declare the Country ‘Insolvent’
Q: I read this on FB. Is it true? The U.S. Treasury just declared the U.S government is insolvent. A: No. That’s the conclusion of an opinion piece that cited a Treasury report showing the government’s liabilities outweigh its as
New York Times→ Fact-Checking Republicans’ Misleading Claims About Mail-In Ballots and Fraudulent Voting
President Trump, his administration and G.O.P. lawmakers have claimed widespread issues with mailed ballots and fraudulent voting, but the evidence doesn’t support them.
PolitiFact→ How AI, an old video and road closures fueled Easter weekend rumors about President Trump’s health
How rumors about Trump’s health spread over Easter weekend
PolitiFact→ Trump's press conference: Fact-checking what he said on Iran’s air defenses, his bin Laden warning
Fact-checking Trump’s April 6 Iran press conference
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Donald Trump Did NOT Post That C-130 Crash Meant Eight New Air Force Vacancies
Did viral posts share a real Trump Truth Social screenshot about a C-130 crash producing eight Air Force vacancies? No, that's not true: Trump did not post this message, according to Lead Stories' searches of his Truth Social account. No
PolitiFact→ Social Media – These photos of F-15 airmen being rescued from Iran aren’t real; they are AI-generated
Photos show rescues of U.S. F-15 airmen from Iran in April 2026.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump Did NOT Say He "Graduated Top Of My Class In The Navy Seals"
Did Donald Trump post a profanity-laced "unhinged" rant on his Truth Social, claiming he "graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals," along with other false statements? No, that's not true: The message does not appear on Trump's Truth S
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: President Trump Did NOT Post ‘Tuesday I Will Be Vaporizing An Entire Nation Of ANIMALS’
Did Donald Trump post on Truth Social that he would be "vaporizing an entire nation of ANIMALS" on Tuesday? No, that's not true: There is no evidence such a post was published on Trump's account. The profile description of the account tha
PolitiFact→ Following Trump’s Iran social media post, could the 25th Amendment be invoked against him?
Why it’s unlikely 25th Amendment will be used against Trump
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Texas Televangelist Did NOT Send His Congregation His Grindr Account In An Easter E-Card — It’s From Comedy Account
Did a Texas televangelist send his congregation his Grindr account in an Easter morning e-card in April 2026? No, that's not true: The story originated in a post on X by a satirical account and was subsequently reshared on Facebook withou
PolitiFact→ Not just oil: How the Strait of Hormuz blockage affects US consumers, from fertilizer to helium
How could commodity shortages beyond oil hit home?
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show American F-15 Pilot Captured By Iran In April 2026 — It’s from Iraq In 1991
Does a video show American F-15 pilot Col. David Eberly after he was captured by Iran in April 2026? No, that's not true: The video shared on social media in the days after an American F-15 fighter jet was shot down during a mission over
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Image Shows ‘Captured’ American In Iran Wearing Authentic U.S. Military Uniform
Does a photo show a "captured" American in Iran wearing an authentic U.S. military uniform? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated, and online detection tools indicate it is fake, including a SynthID watermark indicating it was cr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show A Real Wedding Day Incident When A Groom Slapped The Bride — They Are Actors On Set
Does a video show a real wedding day conflict where a groom suddenly slapped his bride? No, that's not true: The people in this video clip are actors in a soap opera produced in Uzbekistan. The exact video clip published on X does not app
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show American F-15 Crew Member After Rescue From Iran — It’s AI-Generated
Is an image of a smiling man in a combat uniform holding an American flag a real photo of a U.S. F-15 crew member after his rescue from Iran? No, that's not true: An AI content detection tool determined the image was AI-generated. The fak
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: President Trump’s Easter Morning Truth Social Post Saying ‘Open The F–kin Strait, You Crazy Bastards’ Is Real
Did President Donald Trump post a warning on his Truth Social account on Easter morning, April 5, 2026, that the United States would soon attack Iran's power plants and bridges and demanding that Iran "Open the Fuckin' Strait"? Yes, that'
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Spammy ‘A Positive Update’ Facebook Posts About Dozens Of Celebrities NOT Real Health Update
Did dozens of celebrities suddenly all post a "positive update" on Facebook after a recent medical procedure or treatment? No, that's not true: The posts, often accompanied by images of the celebrity in question and a quote about "pushing
FactCheck.org→ Trump Fumbles the Facts with Farmers
In a speech to what he called “the single largest gathering of American farmers that the White House has … ever had,” President Donald Trump distorted the facts on the estate tax, soybean exports and more. Trump falsely claimed t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fake Video Shows Crewmembers Parachuting After Ejecting From U.S. F-15 Fighter Jet Over Iran — It’s AI Generated
Does a real video show two crewmembers parachuting to the ground after ejecting from a damaged U.S. F-15 fighter jet over Iran? No, that's not true: A content detection tool determined with 99.9 percent confidence that the video was AI ge
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New York Times DID Publish Headline Saying ‘A North American Treaty Organization Without America?’ — Should Be Atlantic, Not American
Did The New York Times publish a headline saying "A North American Treaty Organization Without America?" Yes, that's true: The mistake appeared in the April 3, 2026, print edition of the paper. Instead of saying "North American Treaty Org
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of Burning Tower Buildings Is NOT From Iranian Strikes In Tel Aviv — Hong Kong In 2025
Does a video show burning tower buildings in Tel Aviv following Iranian strikes in April 2026? No, that's not true: The video shows a deadly fire in Hong Kong in November 2025. The footage is not related to the Middle East conflict. The
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Edited Video Shows Cyclist Finding Hidden Valley Ranch Logo In Real Life — NOT Real
Does a video show a cyclist finding the Hidden Valley Ranch logo in real life? No, that's not true: While the clip of a man exploring a tranquil valley in Northern California is real, the logo derived from it is fake, and the landscape on
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Former U.S. Army Chief Of Staff Gen. Randy George Has NOT Been Detained On Suspicion Of Treason — It’s A Joke
Was former U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George detained on suspicion of treason? No, that's not true: The claim was posted by a self-described parody website and it offered no supporting evidence of truth. The Pentagon did confirm
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Edited To Overemphasize Height Difference Between Taylor Swift And Sabrina Carpenter
Does an unaltered photo show the true height difference between Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter? No, that's not true: The photo of Swift and Carpenter together in New York City has been digitally edited. The edit did not alter the size
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Inflatable Jesus Video Does NOT Show Real Event
Does a viral video of an inflatable Jesus doll floating in traffic capture a real-life event? No, that's not true: The clip was generated by AI. It was initially posted on social media by an account with a satire label. The claim appeared
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Of Crashed Helicopter Is NOT From Iran — It Predated 2026 Escalation
Does a viral image actually show a U.S. Army helicopter that crashed in Iran on April 3, 2026? No, that's not true: The picture was online more than a year earlier. It was published in Honduras in March 2025. The claim appeared in a post
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fake Video Does NOT Show Actual Images of Iran Shooting Down U.S. F-15 Fighter Jet
Is this real footage of an American F-15 fighter jet being shot down by Iran? No, that's not true: The clip appears to come from a military simulation video game, and the same video was posted online about a month before the reported shoo
PolitiFact→ Bruce Blakeman – Nassau tops ‘safest county’ rankings, but Blakeman’s claim is misleading.
As Nassau County Executive, I hired 600 new law enforcement officers and made Nassau the safest county in America.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Gavin Newsom Did NOT Have A $100 Million Lawsuit Against ANYBODY Completely Collapse After Whistleblower Testimony — AI Spam From Vietnam
Did a $100 million lawsuit filed by Gavin Newsom against Nick Shirley, Willie Nelson and a dozen other celebrities collapse after whistleblower testimony? No, that's not true: The story that California's governor filed a defamation lawsui
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking Trump’s Prime-Time Address on Iran
A month after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, President Donald Trump addressed the nation in a prime-time speech on April 1, saying the military operation was “getting very close” to completing its mission. Trump repeated
PolitiFact→ Does a bullet analysis clear Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer? What an ‘inconclusive’ result means
What to know about bullet analysis in Charlie Kirk killing
PolitiFact→ President Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi: How she helped his agenda, and shaded the truth
Trump fires Bondi. How we fact-checked her AG tenure.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: TIME Magazine Did NOT Publish ‘Hey Donald, From NATO’ Cover With World Leaders Showing Middle Fingers To Trump
Does a viral image of world leaders showing their middle fingers as an act of apparent disagreement with U.S. President Donald Trump show a real 2026 TIME Magazine cover? No, that's not true: The magazine's website did not contain such a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Leak of Anthropic’s "Claude Code" Source Code Was NOT An April Fools’ Prank
Did Anthropic stage a leak of Claude's code as an April Fools' prank, an "exercise in controlled chaos"? No, that's not true: There was a leak of part of the source code for "Claude Code," Anthropic's AI-powered coding assistant. There is
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: AI Photo Shows Bald Eagle Landing On Artemis II At Launch Pad Just Before Liftoff — NOT Real
Does a real photo show that a bald eagle landed on top of the Artemis II rocket on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, just before liftoff? No, that's not true: The bird is an AI creation, about three times larger tha
FactCheck.org→ Happy International Fact-Checking Day
April 2 is International Fact-Checking Day, purposefully set the day after April Fools’ Day (when mistruths are encouraged). The day was launched in 2016 by the International Fact-Checking Network, which calls it “a global celebration of t
PolitiFact→ Seth Moulton – Is it a war crime to bomb civilian infrastructure, as Donald Trump has threatened?
"Bombing civilian power infrastructure is a war crime.”
Full Fact→ ‘Eid Mubarak’ chocolate box is not being sold by Cadbury
Claims that Cadbury is selling a chocolate box saying ‘Eid Mubarak’ are misleading. Although such a product is sold on eBay by an independent seller, it is not produced by Cadbury.
PolitiFact→ In uncertain times, fact-checkers are working with special urgency
Verifying high-stakes claims in high-stakes times