Politics

Was Fox News host Brett Baier correct when he declared Chicago has "the highest murder rate of all the big cities" during an interview with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker? Yes, if you compare US cities with official populations over 1 million. Pritzker asserted Chicago ranks below 30th, but did not provide a citation for that number. Lead Stories found that…

Does a video show authentic clips of world leaders speaking frankly about controversial narratives? No, that's not true: The video clip was posted with disclaimers in the caption and in the video itself clearly stating it is AI-generated. It was produced and published by RT, a state-controlled network funded by the Russian government. The video appears in a post (archived…

Was a plaque quoting President Franklin D. Roosevelt about "a house owned by all the American people" torn down by the demolition of the East Wing of the White House? No, that's not true: The FDR quote is engraved into a stone wall at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. Tourists can find it in the first section of the "Second…

Did White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt describe the ballroom construction at the White House as President Trump's "main priority"? Yes, she did, but social media posts took the quote out of context. When Leavitt said "the ballroom is really the President's main priority", she was not addressing the overall state of affairs in the country or abroad. Leavitt was…

Is this real dash cam video showing a truck driver cooking curry at 90 mph just before crashing into other vehicles and killing three people on California's I-10? No, that's not true: The California Highway Patrol, which investigated the accident and released the original dash cam video, had not seen the "cam 2" version, according to a CHP spokesman. The…

Does a viral video really show a mother of six's rant about her "food stamps" and housing benefits being cut from $4,300 per month to $19 per month? No, that's not true: The woman appearing in the video has previously said she posts the rants as satire and they are not real. That dollar amount greatly exaggerates what is available…

Did Disney offer a $60 million deal to dozens of celebrities to produce a documentary about Charlie Kirk, which they all turned down, including the widow of the late conservative activist, Erika Kirk? No, that's not true: None of that is real. The posts were an example of copypasta, which is a batch of text copied and pasted repeatedly on…

Is a video of an ICE agent deporting his own mother authentic? No, that's not true: The account that posted the video clearly labeled it "AI-generated parody - not real footage." The video shows signs it was produced by generative AI, such as scrambled symbols instead of clear letters on an officer's vest. The story appeared in an October 17,…

Does a photo show Pam Bondi with Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: The image being widely shared across social platforms with the claim it shows the future Attorney General Bondi with Trump and Epstein is real, but the blonde woman is Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve, according to the photo agency that owns the photograph. The Getty…

Did Burkina Faso reverse its September 2025 ban on LGBTQ+ conduct, as of October 21, 2025? No, that's not true: There were no national or international news reports about that. The purported "unbanning" was not mentioned on relevant government websites in Burkina Faso, either. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on October 20, 2025. It…

Was Adam Sandler announced as the headliner of the Turning Point USA Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: No evidence accompanied the claim that the Hollywood star was announced as the headliner for Turning Point USA 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. The TPUSA website does not have any information about any performers for the show as of publication…

Does a picture widely shared on social media authentically show partial demolition of the East Wing of the White House in October 2025? Yes, it does: The photo was first published by the Washington Post.. The image showed no signs of generative AI or other inconsistencies characteristic of recycled unrelated visuals. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published…

Was Pete Hegseth sued for $50 or $60 million along with a television network after an "on-air clash" with Robert Irwin or someone else? No, that's not true: A network of spam pages on Facebook put out dozens and dozens of variations of the same story, sometimes with a slightly different dollar amount, in which the clash was variously with…

Did the Civil Guard and Army enter the chambers of the Congress of Deputies of Spain to arrest lawmakers? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. Some versions of the video are published with a watermark labeling them as created by the Sora AI video-maker and disclaimer. Other versions have digital stickers added to obscure the Sora watermark A…

Does a picture show a Columbian fishing boat filled with cocaine before it was destroyed in the Caribbean Sea by the U.S. Naval Task Force in October 2025? No, that's not true: The photo is from a 2024 drug bust by Spanish forces that occurred 500 miles south of the Canary Islands. The story was reported in the news and…

Did Donald Trump make an all-caps post on Truth Social which said, "I'M NOT INCOMPITENT!!!!"? No, that's not true: A fake screenshot resurfaced on social media in Oct. 2025. The satirical screenshot had already circulated as early as June 2025. There is no record of this post originating from the verified account of Donald Trump. An early example of the…

Is there a viral video clip in which Ivanka Trump calls Jasmine Crockett "ghetto trash" and did CeeDee Lamb or another athlete then calm things down with a quote about "tearing other people down"? No, that's not true: The story contained several verifiably false details and was promoted by a Facebook page managed from Poland, Vietnam and Brazil. Searches of…

Did MSNBC air old 2017 footage of a large crowd in Boston Common and misrepresent it as live footage of the Oct.2025 No Kings protest? No, that's not true: The footage shows the October 18, 2025 No Kings protest as it was taking place. The 2017 protest mentioned on social media took place in a different area of the Boston…

Is a viral story about Johnny Depp saying "I don't know who that is" about Charlie Kirk and the reactions to it real? No, that's not true: The article, which also has Depp saying he doesn't follow "men who shout for a living", originated on a Facebook pages and site run from Vietnam. There are no actual news reports of…

Did Alexander Turbanov, an Israeli man who was held prisoner by Hamas, make a statement sympathizing with his captors upon his release? No, that's not true: This made-up quote went viral on Feb. 15, 2025 and resurfaced in Oct. 2025. The man in question is not named Turbanov, his name is Alexander Troufanov. The quote attributed to Troufanov was posted…