Did Pop Base post on its social media account that "President Trump has died at the age of 80"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the entertainment- and news-themed X account ever made such a post. There are also no credible reports that the president of the United States was dead as of Sept. 3, 2026. The…
Did Donald Trump write "too many non-working holidays in America" on his social media account ahead of Labor Day 2026? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found that the president made the post on June 19, 2025. While Trump did write those words, he posted them more than a year before September 2026. The claim…
Is a photo that shows Ursula von der Leyen with Jeffrey Epstein real? No, that's not true: The OpenAI Verify tool detected a SynthID watermark in the image, indicating it was generated using OpenAI tools. The case and document numbers visible on the image do not match any records published in the Department of Justice Epstein files. The claim appeared…
Was the suspect in the September 2, 2026, Minneapolis mass shooting a transgender shooter, Samantha Hyde? No, that's not true: The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the suspect as 35-year-old Carlton Neal Johnson II. The circulating image of the suspected shooter is not authentic -- it displays multiple indicators of digital modification and appears to be a parody of…
Did Denzel Washington make some disparaging remarks about Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after having a conversation with her? No, that's not true: There is no record of Washington saying these things about Ocasio-Cortez. The almost verbatim quotes were originally falsely attributed to Sylvester Stallone, but came from a source which has clear satire disclaimers. The claim appeared in a post (archived…
Does a man nicknamed "Palm Beach Pete" have a girlfriend named "Lishgaine"? No, that's not true: "Palm Beach Pete," whose real name is Peter Simel, does not have a girlfriend named Lishgaine. "Palm Beach Lishgaine" is an AI character. "Lishgaine" is an anagram of Ghislaine, as in Ghislaine Maxwell, a business partner and confidant of Jeffrey Epstein, to whom "Palm…
Did singer Billie Eilish lose $800,000 in belongings after leaving her Tribeca penthouse unlocked for three days to prove that "Mamdani's New York" is safe? No, that's not true: The rumor originated from a known trollery network that adds satire labels to each of its pages. No credible media organizations reported anything remotely similar to the online speculation about a…
Does a viral image show a real U.K. Ministry of Defence letter signed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham ordering British military veterans to deploy to Ukraine? No, that's not true: No credible media organizations reported on such an order. The letter contained multiple inconsistencies and appears to have originated from a self-described satire account. The claim appeared in a post…
Did President Donald Trump really make a post threatening to close the 9/11 Memorial in New York because he wasn't allowed to speak at the annual remembrance ceremony? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found no record of such a post. There are also no credible reports that he ever made the online statement or…
Did President Donald Trump post an AI-generated video along with the caption about Kharg Island being "blown to smithereens" on Truth Social? Yes, that's true: The post was published on Trump's official Truth Social account on Aug. 30, 2026. There are no reports indicating that the video or such an attack are real. The claim appeared in a post (archived…
Did Donald Trump make a post on Truth Social announcing plans for the Melania Canal to bypass the Welland Canal for direct access to Lake America? No, that's not true: Donald Trump never made this post. The fake screenshot has satire watermarks from the account 'Mrs. Putin' as well as intentional clues such as the backwards verification check and fake…
Does a video of a sobbing 23-year-old actually show a real Ukrainian conscript begging for help because he does not want to die on the battlefield? No, that's not true: The video has been online since 2025. The crying man was created by AI, most likely by using the likeness of a Russia-based streamer. The claim appeared in a post…
Did President Donald Trump post an AI-generated image of a six-fingered sailor enjoying a heaping tray of food, with the caption "Our military eats the best!" on Truth Social? No, that's not true: Trump never made this post. An early copy of the fake screenshot was posted on the 4chan board Politically Incorrect on Aug. 30, 2026, and was reposted…
Were three men responsible for kidnapping 163 missing children in Florida? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Michael Prescott, Jayden Harwood, and Robert Allison were responsible for the disappearances of all the children recovered during Operation Statewide Shield. The three men cited in the claim were charged with crimes involving individual victims, not all 163 children. The…
Did Fox News publish or broadcast a report alleging that Canada refuses permission to ships crossing the Welland Canal if they list "Lake America" in their documents? No, that's not true: A Fox News representative denied the claim. As of Aug. 31, 2026, neither the Fox News website nor Google News showed any news articles about anything remotely similar to…
Does a video show people throwing rocks at a dog in England's Lake District? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the clip shows a scene from the Lake District, and the video originated on a tourism account in Pakistan. It was posted there before being shared with claims that it showed an incident in England, but there…
Did an official letter from the London Borough of Bexley ask locals to keep their daughters and dogs indoors? No, that's not true: The fake letter, which included the borough's coat of arms, was distributed to homes in Bexley. In a notice on the borough website, Bexley Council said the letter was not from the Council and referred it to…
Did Donald Trump's Truth Social account post an image of the president walking on water and holding a Bible with the caption, "Pastor. President. Protector."? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found no record of the post, and there are also no credible reports that he ever shared such an image. The image originated on…
Did U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio say that he would not protect actor Tom Hanks from the supposed Greek "impropriety" investigation? No, that's not true: The story is entirely fictitious. It originated from a network of self-described satire websites that place multiple disclaimers on their content to say that nothing they publish is real. The claim appeared in a…
Does a real photo show a person dressed as Spider-Man winding up to punch Jake Lang? Yes, that's true: This is a real photo taken by photojournalist Chris Juhn on Aug. 22, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. This photo, and several more from a series showing the incident, were posted to Juhn's Bluesky and Facebook accounts. The photo appeared in a…
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