Does a satellite image show fires currently burning in the Middle East? No, that's not true: This satellite image dates back to April 1991. It does not show anything currently burning in the Middle East, but shows oil well fires burning i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Celebrities Did NOT Warn About Trump Seeking Third Term On Nicolle Wallace’s Podcast ‘The Best People’ — Just De Niro
Did a long list of celebrities all say "He will never leave, we have to make him leave, it's up to us to get rid of him" about President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: Actor Robert De Niro was the only celeb who did this, appearing on
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 173 American Delta Force Soldiers Were NOT Captured In Iran — Photos Are AI
Do pictures shared on social media show 173 American Delta Force soldiers captured in Iran after a failed U.S. air operation in Tehran? No, that's not true: One image, purportedly showing soldiers parachuting near helicopters, was rated 1
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: AI-Generated Images Of Trump And Epstein With Young Girls Went Viral Months After They Were Published In A Clickbait TikTok
Did real never-before-seen images of Trump and Epstein together with young girls originate from a Department of Justice release of Epstein files? No, that's not true: The images are AI-generated and originated from a video published in No
PolitiFact→ Is a new military draft coming after Karoline Leavitt's comments? Why it's unlikely
Is a military draft coming? Unlikely, despite online claims
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Videos Do NOT Show U.S. Military Saying ‘God Bless America And God Bless All Of You’
Do videos actually show real U.S. military members saying 'God Bless America and God bless all of you"? No, that's not true: An online AI video detection tool flagged the video as 99.5% likely to be AI-generated. A separate analysis ident
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Purporting To Show Iddo Netanyahu’s House Fire PREDATES The 2026 U.S.-Israel Attack On Iran
Does a viral clip show the house fire that killed Iddo Netanyahu, brother of the Israeli prime minister? No, that's not true: That footage was uploaded online weeks before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. The clip revie
Full Fact→ Fake image of Iranian children’s funeral shared online by MP
In the aftermath of a missile strike on a school that Iran said killed hundreds of people, a fake image of a funeral has been shared online, including by the Your Party MP Zarah Sultana.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trump Did NOT Post ‘Mojtaba Khamenei Are You Ready To Meet Your Father?’
Did President Donald Trump post, "Mojtaba Khamenei are you ready to meet your father?" No, that's not true: The fake post did not come from the president's official Truth Social account. While Trump has called Mojtaba Khamenei -- Iran's n
Full Fact→ Grok wrongly claims footage of Glasgow fire shows blaze in Tel Aviv
X’s AI chatbot also said a real photo of the fire was fake and made with AI.
Full Fact→ Post about Toby Carvery giveaway is fake
A post supposedly written by Jack Foreman, claiming to be Toby Carvery’s CEO, says the chain is giving away a free roast for two. But this isn’t a genuine offer.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Joke Post Said Epstein Photo With ‘Why We Fight’ Caption Inserted In ‘Manual For Warfighters’ By Army Prankster — Not Real
Did an Army prankster insert a photo of Jeffrey Epstein captioned "WHY WE FIGHT" into a "Manual for Warfighters" published by Pete Hegseth? No, that's not true: That story came from a satirical account on X that posts comedy content. Ther
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Showing Iranian ‘Inflatable Building’ Originated On Parody Account — Likely AI Generated
Did a video supposedly showing Iranians pumping air into an inflatable building to trick Americans into wasting ammunition originate from a serious news source? No, that's not true: The video, which had several glitches typical of AI-gene
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Peyton Manning, Dolly Parton, Denzel Washington Or Your Favorite Celebrity Did NOT Donate Millions To Support Funeral For Four U.S. Servicemen Killed In Kuwait — Foreign Clickbait
Did Kevin Costner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jared Goff or any celebrities donate millions of dollars to support the funeral arrangements for four of the six U.S. servicemembers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait? No, that's not true: The false
PolitiFact→ What did Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Trump's DHS secretary pick, say about the ‘smell’ of war?
What Sen. Markwayne Mullin said about the ‘smell’ of war
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Barron Trump Bought $30 Million In Oil 2 Days Before Iran War Started
Did Barron Trump buy $30 million in oil two days before the war in Iran started? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Barron made such a purchase two days before President Donald Trump launched the U.S. attack on Iran. No credib
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show a Real Child Crying Out For Daddy Beside A Flag-Draped Casket On The Tarmac — Scene Made With AI
Does a real video show a young boy crying out for his daddy when he saw the flag-draped casket on the tarmac? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. It originated from a Facebook page which has posted reels of exclusively AI-gen
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dennis Rodman Did NOT Fly To Tehran To Negotiate Peace, Iran Did NOT Agree To Meeting
Did Dennis Rodman fly to Tehran to negotiate peace, and did Iran agree to a meeting? No, that's not true: An online AI image detection tool rated the image as 100% likely to be AI-generated, and a separate analysis detected a SynthID wate
PolitiFact→ Trump said US has a ‘virtually unlimited supply’ of munitions to fight Iran ‘forever.’ Is that true?
During war with Iran, does the US face a munitions shortage?
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Real American B-2 Bomber Shot Down, Being Paraded Through Streets In Iran
Does a video show a real American B-2 bomber after being shot down and being paraded through the streets in Iran? No, that's not true: An online AI images detection tool flagged the video as 100% likely to be AI-generated. A separate anal
Full Fact→ AI images, old videos and false viral claims: what to watch out for when checking posts about the Middle East on social media
In the last week we’ve seen a surge of misinformation relating to the war with Iran—we’ve fact checked 10 viral posts, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
PolitiFact→ Social Media – Iran did not release a list of U.S. targets, despite social media claims
Iran released a list of U.S. cities it will target.
PolitiFact→ What are peptides, and are they safe?
What are peptides, and are they safe?
PolitiFact→ Well Informed: A consumer’s guide to using TrumpRx
A consumer’s guide to using TrumpRx for drug discounts
Full Fact→ David Lammy incorrectly claims Cyprus is ‘a NATO country’
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy wrongly claimed on BBC Breakfast that Cyprus is “part of NATO”.
Full Fact→ NYC mayor not banned from UK
A series of videos shared on social media falsely claim that Zohran Mamdani said the UK has “lost its moral compass”, prompting Keir Starmer to ban him from the UK.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Post Does NOT Prove Mark Zuckerberg Was Subpoenaed Over Payments From ‘Horizon Bridge’ to Epstein-Linked ‘Butterfly Foundation
Does a post about Mark Zuckerberg's supposed subpoena accurately reflect recent reporting on the Jeffrey Epstein front company, Butterfly Foundation, named in the Tehran files? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no news articles abou
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Epstein Files Do NOT Reveal ‘Cannibal’ Ellen DeGeneres Ate Anne Heche After Murdering Her
Do the Epstein files reveal that "cannibal" Ellen DeGeneres ate Anne Heche after murdering her? No, that's not true: The only mention of Heche in the Department of Justice (DOJ) Epstein files is from a newspaper headline in the sidebar of
PolitiFact→ Ashley Moody – No, Joe Biden didn’t reverse US policy to deport felony criminals. That’s False.
The Biden administration "reversed" a policy of deporting people in the country illegally who have committed felonies.
PolitiFact→ President Donald Trump fires Kristi Noem as DHS secretary. A look back at her falsehoods
Looking back at DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s falsehoods
PolitiFact→ Has the US government found 145,000 ‘lost’ migrant children? Fact-checking Kristi Noem
Fact-checking Kristi Noem on migrant children
FactCheck.org→ Biden Makes Flawed Comparisons with Trump
During a speech in South Carolina on Feb. 27, Joe Biden touted his record as president while criticizing his successor, President Donald Trump. But during his remarks, Biden made a number of false, misleading or exaggerated claims. The former pres
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show A Real Fire On Board U.S. Destroyer Or Aircraft Carrier
Does a video show a real fire on board a U.S. destroyer or aircraft carrier? No, that's not true: An online AI image detection tool rated the image as 100% likely to be AI-generated. A separate analysis found it has several hallmarks of A
PolitiFact→ Donald Trump – Trump wrong that a 2015 Obama-era deal gave Iran the right to nuclear weapons
The 2015 Iran nuclear agreement “gave (Iran) the right to have top-of-the-line nuclear weapons.”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show U.S. Destroyer ‘Attacked By Iranian Missiles’ Near Cyprus — It’s 2017 Damage From Ship Collision Near Japan
Does a video show an American destroyer that was damaged by Iranian missiles in Cypriot territory in the Mediterranean? No, that's not true: This footage is from 2017 and the damage pictured is not from a missile attack. The video clip sh
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show Real Israeli Pilot Named ‘Halach Boome’ Who Took Out Ayatollah Khamenei
Does a photo show "Halach Boome," a real pilot from the Israeli Air Force who took out Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? No, that's not true: An online detection tool rated the image as 100% likely to be AI-generated, and it c
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Video Purportedly From The Epstein Files Claims To Show Trump With Blindfolded Children
Is a video of Donald Trump with blindfolded children that claims to have come "out of the Epstein files" real? No, that's not true: There is no record of an image or video showing President Trump with blindfolded children with Jeffrey Eps
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Fake Video Does NOT Show Supersonic Iranian Rockets Really Striking The Tel Aviv Marina — AI-Generated
Does a real video show Iranian rockets coming in at a tremendous speed, exploding targets near the Tel Aviv marina? No, that's not true: This video is fake and bears many of the hallmarks of AI-generated imagery. The video is represented
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FAKE Video Purported To Show Real-Life ‘Moment Iran Destroyed U.S. Navy Fleet In Bahrain’
Does a video actually show the moment "when Iran destroyed the US Navy fleet in Bahrain"? No, that's not true: The viral clip, which purported to show that, originated from an account that disclosed it was AI-generated. It also contained
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show Damage To The Deck Of The USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier
Does a photo show damage to the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the American ship was damaged during Operation Epic Fury against Iran. The image actually shows repair crews