Privacy concerns take precedence in the rush to regulate AI. Continue reading The States’ Approach to Artificial Intelligence, Explained »
Publication: Technology
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Designation ‘L17-A’ Found On Streetlight In South Australia Does NOT Reveal Conspiracy To Alter Human DNA
Does a number code printed on a streetlight match that of a ribosomal protein and does this show that mRNA from the COVID-19 vaccines can be activated using optogenetic technology if a vaccinated person is exposed to the light from the st
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Real Experience Of Implanted Microchip In Use — It’s Science Fiction Production
Does a video show a real situation where a person has an implanted microchip in her arm that allows her to buy goods and open her home door lock, then the implant stops working and she is stuck without money or access to her apartment? No
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Tweet That ‘The World Is Flat’ in 2022
Did Elon Musk write that "the world is flat" on Twitter in April 2022? No, that's not true: The viral image of the supposed entry appears to have been digitally altered. Archived versions of Musk's account do not contain such a tweet. The
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Person’s Race Is NOT Encoded In Their Social Security Number
Does a person's Social Security number reveal information about their race? No, that's not true: This rumor is based on fears that personal information encoded in a Social Security number could result in racial discrimination. This concer
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Of Smoke Near Pentagon Is NOT Real Photo
Was there an explosion near the Pentagon on May 22, 2023? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo but a digitally fabricated image that shows a plume of smoke near a building that slightly resembles the Pentagon, the headquarters of
The Dispatch→ The Rise and Fall of Your First Smartphone
Jay Baruchel and Matt Johnson in 'BlackBerry.' (Photo: Courtesy of IFC Films)A review of ‘BlackBerry.’Continue reading The Rise and Fall of Your First Smartphone »
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Vaccinated People Do NOT Emit Bluetooth Signals
Do vaccinated people emit Bluetooth signals? No, that's not true: There is no indication that the chip required to use this technology can be injected into a human body through a needle as of this writing. The claim's main argument derive
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Typical Tesla Supercharger Station Line — Queue Reportedly Happened Over Thanksgiving 2019
Does a video that shows a long queue for charging Tesla vehicles indicate some sort of government failure? No, that's misleading: The earliest version of this video was reportedly shot over Thanksgiving in 2019. Charging station locations
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image of White Woman With ‘Tail’ Is NOT Proof for Theory
Is a photograph of what appears to be a woman with a tail an authentic record of a real appendage, providing support for claims about the origins of white people? No, that's not true: The image was digitally edited and is a work of art. I
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Brag About Firing ‘Crybaby Liberals’ — It’s AI Video
Did Elon Musk brag about firing "crybaby liberals"? No, that's not true: This video was made using AI, or artificial intelligence. The Instagram post where this claim originated seems to be an ad for an app that uses AI to make public fig
Logically→ No, the U.K. government isn’t giving free iPhone 13 Pro Max phones to those on certain benefits
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Robot Did NOT Attack Worker — It’s Sci-Fi CGI
Did security footage capture the moment when an "angry" warehouse robot attacked a human worker? No, that's not true: This is a short science fiction film made by a film company in Georgia with CGI. The company, Sozo Bear Films, emailed L
Lead Stories→ Plag-AI-rism: How Lead Stories Used ChatGPT To Find A False Story about Tucker Carlson … That Was ‘Plagiarised’ With ChatGPT
So you've probably read all those warnings from pundits, academics and researchers about how generative AI tools like ChatGPT are going to impact disinformation and fact checking. And you may have even seen some recent examples of a deep-
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Disease-Related Patents Do NOT Prove Those Diseases Were Man-Made
Do patents related to the diseases AIDS, SARS, Zika and Ebola prove that they were man-made? No, that's not true: Three of the patents cited are associated with those diseases but they are not for the creation or invention of them. There
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Prove Space Station Footage Was Shot In ‘Hollywood Basement’
Do jumpy cuts in the asparagus-eating video recorded by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield while in the zero-gravity environment in 2013 prove it was shot in a "Hollywood basement," outer space does not exist and Earth is flat? No, that's
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Excess Cyanocobalamin Does NOT Make Anxiety, Depression Worse — It’s Manmade Vitamin B12
Does cyanocobalamin, a man-made form of vitamin B12, cause or aggravate anxiety and depression if too much of it remains in the body? No, that's not true: The human body has a difficult time absorbing B12, no matter what form it comes in.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Posts With Pictures Of Lost ‘Sweet Girl’ Are Bait-And-Switch Scam
Do social media posts about people "desperately trying to find the parents" of a lost "sweet girl" show a real-life call for help? No, that's not true: Entries with identical wording appeared in many places in the United States; as they g
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Eastern Diamond Rattlesnake’ Is NOT Being Found In Several US Locations — They’re Scam Posts
Is a "deadly Eastern diamond rattlesnake" actually being found in several locations across the United States that are not known as native habitats for these snakes? No, that's not true: Social media posts that make the claim are repurposi
The Dispatch→ Concerns Over Unfettered AI Development
The home page of the artificial intelligence OpenAI website, displaying its chatGPT robot in March 2023. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)Plus: Screenwriters go on strike.Continue reading Concerns Over Unfettered AI Development »
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: RESTRICT Act COULD Impose $1M Fine, 20-Year Prison Term For TikTok Access If App Is Banned — But Attorneys Say Prosecution Unlikely
Under the RESTRICT Act, would a person be fined up to $1 million and imprisoned for a minimum of 20 years for accessing content on TikTok if it's banned in the United States in the future? Yes, that's partially true: However, none of the
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Of Trump Wearing Helmet, Military-Style Vest Is NOT Authentic
Was former President Donald Trump photographed wearing a helicopter helmet and a military-style vest? No, that's not true: The image from social media is most likely AI-generated. The claim originated from a tweet (archived here) publishe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Did NOT Use A Different Hand To Sign Documents — Image Is Reversed
Does an image showing President Joe Biden using two different hands to sign documents prove that a "body double" is being used for him? No, that's not true: The picture showing him signing with his left hand -- Biden is right-handed and s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Moscow Aerial Video NOT Captured By Ukrainian Drones In April 2023
Does a video authentically show footage captured by a Ukrainian drone flying over Moscow in April 2023? No, that's not true: The video shared on Twitter was originally posted to YouTube in 2015 by AirPano, a virtual reality production stu
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NASA Did NOT Announce Massive Unidentified Flying Object Between Earth And Sun
Did NASA announce the discovery of a massive unidentified flying object (UFO) spotted between the Earth and the sun and did this result in the closure of six solar observatories to hide something from the public? No, that's not true: This
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Robot Did NOT Commit Suicide — It Fell During Trade Show Demo
Did a robot that experienced "wage slavery" for 15 minutes commit suicide after determining that was the logical choice rather than to continue working? No, that's not true: The video was posted by Agility Robotics, celebrating the 99-per
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Images Of Jeffrey Epstein With Children On Beach Are NOT Real Photos — AI Generated
Did a photo recently surface that shows Jeffrey Epstein posing with four children on a tropical beach? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo but an image created with the AI program Midjourney. This image, and another in the same
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO ‘Dimensional Gateway’ In Antarctica — These Photos Were Edited
Did scientists find a "dimensional gateway" in Antarctica? No, that's not true: The evidence of the portals are computer-generated imagery, or CGI. Multiple photos used as background for these "dimensional gateway" photos are from stock i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Radio Wave, Mobile Phone Technology Do NOT Cause Influenza, COVID Outbreaks
Does a social media video prove that the advent of radio wave and mobile phone technology ushered in flu, COVID and other viral outbreaks from the 1900s on? No, that's not true: The emergence of these viruses is a natural process and not
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Images Of ‘Mysterious Animals’ Are NOT From Reign Of Thai King Rama V — They Are AI-Generated
Do photos shared on Facebook show giant, fantastical creatures that nobles hunted in the forests of Thailand over a century ago, during the reign of King Rama V? No, that's not true: These images are not real photos. They were generated b
Logically→ AI-generated image falsely shared as real face of the model for the Statue of Liberty
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show ‘GWEN’ Tower That Downloads Brainwaves
Does a homemade video on social media show a "GWEN" tower that is designed to download brainwaves? No, that's not true: The Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) system was discontinued in 1994 and it was not designed to or capable of down
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video By Bitcoin Mining Company Riot Platforms Does NOT Prove Zero Carbon Emissions
Does a video put out by a Bitcoin mining company prove that their operation produces zero carbon emissions? No, that's not true: The video only demonstrates that a facility filled with computers doesn't produce smog like a factory might.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Joke Video Of ‘Cloud Factory’ At Chicago Ingredion Plant NOT Real
Does a video shared to social media in April 2023 authentically show a "cloud factory" in Chicago that makes rain to "control the climate"? No, that's not true: The video was posted to TikTok on April 1, 2023 -- April Fools' Day -- and fe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Man’s Search For Birth Mom NOT Real — It’s Ruse To Get Shares, Harvest Personal Information
Does a man born in a specific town need help spreading a post about his search to find his birth mother who played the organ at a Nazarene church? No, that's not true: This false narrative is yet another instance of a spammer's ruse to tr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: CNN Did NOT Cut Off Benjamin Watson Because He Spoke About Jesus During Brooke Baldwin Interview
Did CNN cut Benjamin Watson off in mid-sentence during an interview because the NFL star started talking about Jesus? No, that's not true: Watson, who was at the time a tight end for the New Orleans Saints, was interviewed via satellite f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Found Dog’ Posts Are NOT Legit Effort To Find Owner — It’s A Ruse To Get Shares And Harvest Personal Info
Was a dog picked up on the road in some town and is she "really depressed and not eating," and will sharing the post help to locate the owner of this "sweet girl"? No, that's not true: This found dog post is one of many narratives that ar
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump ‘Mug Shot’ Is NOT Real — It Was Made Using AI
Is this booking photograph of Donald Trump real? No, that's not true: This is a picture created using artificial intelligence. Media outlets including AP and CBS reported that former President Trump did not have a mug shot taken when he w
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Surveillance Footage Does NOT Show Nashville School Shooter Wearing Different Shoes And Pants
Does police body camera footage from the March 27, 2023, mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, show that the active shooter had changed clothes and shoes sometime during the incident? No, that's not true: Two still
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Social Media Image NOT Photo Of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange — It’s AI-Generated Deepfake
Does an image on social media show WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pale and disheveled as he awaits extradition from Britain to the United States on espionage charges? No, that's not true: The picture was created using an AI-based image