Does a real photo show then-President George W. Bush, then-Vice President Dick Cheney, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Osama bin Laden sitting together? No, that's not true: The image is an edited version of a photo taken at
Here are the latest articles published by U.S. fact-checking sites:
FactCheck.org→ Talarico’s Campaign-Trail Absence Sparks False Rumor
Q: Claims about James Talarico being hospitalized in a mental health facility. Is this true? A: No. An Ohio mental health center rebutted false online rumors that Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, had been there as a pati
FactCheck.org→ Trump Officials Mislead About Electrical Grid Reliability
In partially repealing a Biden-era regulation that limited carbon emissions from power plants, Trump administration officials have misleadingly cast the prior administration’s policy as a threat to grid reliability. Experts say that’s unfounded.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Nobel Peace Prize Committee Member Did NOT Write Post About Rejecting Trump’s Bid — Author Is A Self-Described Satirist
Was a post about how the Nobel Peace Prize committee rejected Trump's bid written by a Nobel committee member? No, that's not true: The author, Peter Girnus, is not listed among the five members of the 2026 Norwegian Nobel Committee. He i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Task & Purpose’ Did NOT Publish Article About ‘Sarah Miller’ As ‘First Executioner’ In Nidal Hasan Case
Did 'Task & Purpose' publish an article implying that 'Sarah Miller' was appointed the 'first executioner' in the Nidal Hasan's case? No, that's not true: Neither the outlet's website nor its social media accounts contained such a sto
Full Fact→ How does the employment rate under Labour compare to the Conservative years?
Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden’s claim that the current employment rate is higher than in “every year but one” under the Conservatives isn’t correct, according to ONS data.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Is NOT Real Time-Stamped Surveillance Camera Footage From James Talarico’s House — It Is Digitally Fabricated
Is time-stamped surveillance camera footage from James Talarico's house real? No, that's not true: The image is AI-generated, according to analysis by online detection tools. One tool assessed the image as 99.9% "Likely to be AI-generated
Full Fact→ Viral clip edited to misrepresent Obama’s views on democratic ideals
A viral video splices together clips to change the meaning of a real speech made by former American President Barack Obama.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Jared Kushner Bought .si Domain Names Recently — His Company Denies
Is there evidence Jared Kushner, a businessman, U.S. special envoy for peace and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was one of the people who recently bought .si domain names? No, that's not true: there is no evidence that Kushner recen
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Image Of U.S. Troops Shooting ‘Reptilians’ Is NOT Real Photo
Does a viral picture actually document a real-life event during which U.S. servicemembers shot "reptilians"? No, that's not true: Three online tools said that the image was AI-generated. Available government sources do not support the ide
FactCheck.org→ Republican Ads Distort the Facts in Claiming Democratic Support for ‘Sex Changes’ for Kids
In several congressional races, Republican ads are claiming that Democratic candidates support “sex changes” for children or support taxpayer money being used for such surgeries. But the allegations of support for those claims are flawed.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump’s Truth Social Account Did NOT Post 503 ‘Service Unavailable’ Error From Yandex — It Appeared On A Political Humor Account
Did President Donald Trump's Truth Social account post a 503 "Service Unavailable" error referencing Yandex? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found no record of the post, and no established news outlets report
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘The Simpsons’ Did NOT Predict Trump Touching Glowing Orb — Animation Was Made After That Happened
Did "The Simpsons" predict that President Donald Trump would take a picture with a glowing orb? No, that's not true: The image is from a short posted to the official Facebook account of "The Simpsons" after the real picture of Trump was t
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Images Show AOC In Bunny Outfit, Blue Low-Cut Dress — They Were Made With AI
Do real photos show Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wearing a bunny costume or an off-the-shoulder cocktail dress? No, that's not true: Hive Moderation found all of the images highly likely to be AI-generated. Searches with Google Lens did
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘South Park’ Did NOT Tease A Susan Dell Episode And She Did NOT Rage In Response
Did "South Park" tease an episode featuring Susan Dell and did she rage in response? No, that's not true: The image of Dell appearing with the characters from the TV show is AI-generated and was made by a digital creator. Neither the show
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Epstein Files Email Ending In ‘Love Ya’ Was NOT Written By Marco Rubio
Was an email to Jeffrey Epstein in the Epstein files ending in "Love ya" written by Marco Rubio? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Rubio wrote the email, whose "From" field and signature section are redacted. No authentic pho
Full Fact→ Clip of Bill Gates discussing water shortages and ‘mass mortality event’ is a deepfake
A viral video uses AI to falsely claim Bill Gates said one billion people will die by 2027 due to water shortages.
Lead Stories→ What We Know About A Claim That A Recording Proves Texas Senate Candidate James Talarico Was Treated At Ohio Mental Health Facility
Does a recording released on social media prove Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was treated at an Ohio mental health facility? Here is what we know: The facility released a statement saying that Talarico "has never received treatmen
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Video Shows Missile Striking Saudia Airliner At Airport In Riyadh — Real Photos Show Only Aftermath
Does a real video show the moment a Houthi missile hit a Saudia airliner parked near an airport terminal in Riyadh? No, that's not true: A Saudia airliner really was destroyed in attacks at the King Khalid International Airport on Oct. 8,
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Muslim Passenger Being Removed After Threatening To Blow Up Nashville-Fort Lauderdale Flight In October 2026
Does a video show a Muslim passenger being removed from a Southwest Airlines plane after threatening to blow up a Nashville-to-Fort Lauderdale flight in early October 2026? No, that's not true: The video is from more than seven months ear
Lead Stories→ Prebunk: Stunt Running Videos Took An Off-Ramp From Reality — Don’t Jump To Gravity-Defying Conclusions
Have you seen viral videos showing astonishing "stunt running" up steep ramps, which sometimes end with impossible jumps? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and has found that many of them were created using artific
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Video Shows Princess Leonor Of Spain Wearing Yellow Mini Dress — It’s AI-Generated
Is a video that shows Princess Leonor of Spain wearing a yellow mini dress real? No, that's not true: An online detection tool rated the video as 99.9% likely generated by AI. The fake video appears to have been created by manipulating re
Full Fact→ No evidence the PM is setting up an ‘Emergency Register’ of civilians fit to fight in a war
While the Liberal Democrats have proposed establishing a ‘Civil Volunteer Reserve’, this is not government policy, and in any event does not appear to involve registering people to fight.
Full Fact→ Early pandemic staged funeral procession video wrongly linked to Gaza
A ‘corpse’ that leaps up and runs as sirens sound was part of a staged funeral procession filmed in 2020, reportedly in Jordan.
Full Fact→ Video of 2020 market fire in UAE reshared as strike on Israel
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Video Shows Woman Rescuing White Baby Reindeer — It’s AI
Does a video show a real instance of a woman rescuing a white baby reindeer on the side of the road? No, that's not true: The account that first shared the video labeled it as AI content, and Meta flagged it as well. A visual analysis fou
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Iranian Officials Did NOT Promise To Release Audio Of Trump Begging Them To Open Strait Of Hormuz So Gas Prices Lower Before Midterms — Satire Post
Did Iranian officials say they would release audio of President Donald Trump begging them to open the Strait of Hormuz so gas prices will go down before the midterms? No, that's not true: This story originated from The Halfway Post, an ac
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bellingcat Did NOT Publish Report Stating That Germany’s Merz Takes Quarter Of Every Ukraine Financial Aid Package
Did Bellingcat produce an investigation and video stating that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was receiving 25% of each financial aid package going to Ukraine? No, that's not true: The organization's website showed no such report. Lead
FactCheck.org→ Republican Ads Attack El-Sayed for Past Comments, Positions on Policing and Prisons
Multiple ads airing in Michigan attack Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for past statements he made, or positions he held, about policing and prisons. But the ads either omit context or exaggerate his past policy proposals. El-Sayed a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Flávio Bolsonaro Telling A Masonic Lodge He Would Give Brazil To ‘Greater Israel’ And Satan
Does a video show Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro telling a Masonic lodge he would give Brazil to "Greater Israel" and Satan? No, that's not true: The man in the video is not Flávio Bolsonaro. Instead, it is his father
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of Breast-Feeding Flight Passenger Is NOT On A Real Flight — It Is A Skit
Is a video that shows a breast-feeding woman being told to cover up from a real flight? No, that's not true: The video was a skit performed by actors. The Facebook account where it was originally posted features dozens of other similar vi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Protests in Greece in 2026 — It Is A Mass Rally From 2025
Does a video show a mass rally in Greece in 2026? No, that's not true: The footage is more than a year old -- it was published on X and aired on Italian TV on Feb. 28, 2025, at a demonstration marking the second anniversary of a deadly tr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of Young Men Dancing With Guns Was NOT Recorded At Student Protests in France
Does a video show young men dressed in black dancing with guns at student protests in France in October 2026? No, that's not true: They were filming a video for the French rap group 8ZT, which can be seen on the group's TikTok channel and
FactCheck.org→ Misleading GOP Attacks Over Taxes on Tips, Overtime, Social Security
In congressional races around the country, Democrats find themselves under attack in political ads for allegedly opposing the popular tax cuts for tips, overtime and older Americans that were part of Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Video Shows A Ship Swamped By A Massive Wave — It Is AI-Generated
Does a real video show a large ship completely engulfed by a massive wave crashing over the bow? No, that's not true: Two AI detection tools -- Hive Moderation and Sightengine -- determined the video was likely AI-generated, with Hive Mod
Full Fact→ Old video of Israeli basketball player on plane shared with false claims it shows Flydubai attack aftermath
The footage has been online for over a year and is completely unrelated to the recent Dubai to Tel Aviv flight.
Full Fact→ The Conservatives – not Labour – extended the Energy Profits Levy to 2028
Kemi Badenoch’s new party booklet says Labour extended the Energy Profits Levy to 2028 and 2029, but a Conservative government made the first of those extensions, and announced the second.
Full Fact→ Video of Australian Prime Minister collapsing face-first off stage is AI-generated
A clip of Anthony Albanese has been altered with AI tools to show him falling off a stage.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Video Depicts Excavation of Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat — It Is AI-Generated
Does a real video filmed from a helicopter show the excavation of Noah's Ark near the top of Mount Ararat? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. The OpenAI Verify tool found a SynthID watermark indicating that the video was mad
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump Did NOT Post A Truth Social Message Claiming He Spoke To God About A Golden Throne, An Ocean Filled With Blood And Armageddon
Did President Donald Trump post a Truth Social message claiming he spoke to God about a golden throne, an ocean of blood, and Armageddon? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found no record of such a post. At the