Politics

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…

Does a real photo show Hakeem Jeffries eating with Jeffrey Epstein? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the House Democratic leader ever ate with or met Epstein. The image is AI-generated, according to two online detection tools, with one saying, "Most or all of this image was edited or generated with Google AI," and the other saying…

Did architect Leonhard Gall submit plans to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in 1935 for a ballroom next to the Chancellery, with an air-raid shelter and a bunker underneath? Yes, that's true: Gall did submit plans for a large reception hall that could be used as a ballroom, and an air-raid shelter called the Vorbunker was built beneath it. The deeper…

Did Italian newspaper La Repubblica publish an article saying that one of the 2027 French presidential candidates, Édouard Philippe, acquired a villa for 15 million euros? No, that's not true: The newspaper denied it. Lead Stories found no credible sources confirming the claim. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by the @Elissamaiss account on August…

Is there a real video of Rep. Nancy Mace dancing and grimacing in a sexy black dress? No, that's not true: The original video was posted by a comedian on Instagram. The video has been doctored to add Mace's face and arm tattoos to the footage. The claim appeared in an Aug. 20, 2026, video posted on X account @SpencerHakimian…