Politics

Is a photograph of Elsa Thora, a blonde woman, aboard a ship during a military operation authentic? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo. Google's Gemini detected a SynthID watermark embedded in the image indicating that all or part of it was created or edited with Google AI. The image was posted on January 7, 2026, on…

Did a "Lucas Mamdani", brother to New York City's mayor, buy properties with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to financially benefit from new city policies on affordable housing? No, that's not true: Lead Stories did not find evidence to support the existence of any sibling of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The claim originated from a page with a satire label that was…

Was "Steve Grove" identified as the ICE Agent who shot Renee Good in Minneapolis? No, that's not true: The agent's name has not been publicly released by official sources, but the Minnesota Star Tribune has identified the involved ICE agent as Jonathan Ross. Some social media posts are not only using the wrong name, but AI-generated images spun from video…

Does the photo circulating on social media show Renee Nicole Good, the woman shot and killed by ICE in Minneapolis Jan. 7, 2025? No, that's not true: This is not a picture of Good, but another woman who attended Old Dominion University at the same time. Both women were awarded poetry prizes in 2020 and their photos appeared separately in…

Does this viral video clip show Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saying Renee Good had the right to drive away from ICE officers just before one of them shot and killed her on a Minneapolis street? No, that's not true: The clip is real, but was lifted from a June, 2025 appearance on "The Rubin Report" podcast, six months before Good…

Did Barbra Streisand, British politician Nigel Farage and Kevin Costner each say "Our country would be safer without Somali immigrants -- starting with Ilhan Omar!"? No, that's not true: Nearly identical stories featuring those and other famous people were published by a network of foreign websites and Facebook pages. There were no news articles about such an event and the…

Do these viral videos show the U.S. seizing oil tankers linked to Venezuela on January 7, 2026? No, that's not true: Those clips are unrelated to the U.S. pursuit of the tankers "Bella-1" and "Sophia". The clips can be found in posts that predate the capture of the ships. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) on…

Did South Park do an episode featuring Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the "Quality Learing Center"? No, that's not true: The original video clearly states it was "made with AI." South Park has not aired any episodes since news broke Dec. 26, 2025, about a Minnesota child care center with a misspelled sign. The claim appeared in a January 6,…

Did a federal Judge say the Treasury Department can take back $15 million of USAID money granted to companies owned by Sen. Adam Schiff? No, that's not true: This post originated from a website that produces satire content designed to fool conservatives. The post originally had a visible satire disclaimer but it has been reposted elsewhere with the disclaimer blurred…

Does a viral screenshot of a headline claiming Michael Byrd "pocketed" $190 million in HHS funds for an "unaccredited" daycare in Maryland show the current state of the article? No, that's not true: The Gateway Pundit website made several changes to the headline and the article over time, now pointing out $190 million is the total of all Federal child…

Does a viral post accurately summarize Zohran Mamdani's words from a podcast recorded more than five years before he was sworn in as New York City mayor? No, that's not true: The quote was shortened, and it changed its meaning. A longer, more elaborate fragment of his speech shows that he suggested that it shouldn't be the police, but specially…

Did Johnny Depp, Eminem, Cher, Paul McCartney or any other celebrity tell Donald Trump "You're tearing families apart ... Shame on you" at a live town hall meeting on immigration? No, that's not true: Nearly identical stories mentioning those and more than 40 other celebrities were published by a network of foreign websites and Facebook pages. There were no news…

Does a viral image show an "official photo" of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro after he was captured by the U.S.? No, that's not true: Lead Stories didn't find any evidence that the picture originated from government websites or elected officials. The image showed two unusual rows of windows in the background, a pattern that did not appear in photographs of any…

Did a blonde woman take a selfie showing a handcuffed Nicolás Maduro in the back seat of a car? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo. Google's Gemini detected a SynthID watermark embedded in the image indicating that all or part of it was created or edited with Google AI. The AI-generated image appeared in a post…

Does a video show real footage of a U.K. member of Parliament asking why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not been captured the same way the United States captured Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela? No, that's not true: The clip was generated using artificial intelligence. Early versions of the video included a watermark indicating a specific generative AI tool. There…

Does a viral Craigslist post prove that owners of a Minnesota daycare accused of fraud attempted to hire child actors to imitate legitimate operations? No, that's lacking enough evidence to prove it's true: Anyone could have published an anonymous post on Craigslist. The scenario - a day care center spending $90,000 on actors, doesn't appear to be likely due to…

Does a viral image show a real news report saying that U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' office "tried to tip off" Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro before his capture? No, that's not true: No such report could be found. Neither CBS News, nor any other media outlet published news of such a leak. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did Republican representative Jack Kimble make a post about other countries potentially invading the U.S. "if we ever had" a "highly corrupt leader" as President? No, that's not true: The post was satire from an account on X that pretends to be a non-existent Republican politician. A screenshot of the post that went viral did not identify the account as…

Does a viral image show Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro captured? No, that's not true: An authentic photo was digitally altered to swap Maduro's head onto the body of a captive. The image originally showed Ukrainian-born pro-Russian businessman and politician Victor Medvedchuk. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on January 3, 2026. It read: 😁The White House…

Does a viral video show missiles raining down from the clouds on Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026? No, that's not true: A viral video making the rounds does not show the actual attacks that took place on that date. It is an old video from 2025 that was described at the time as missiles from Iran impacting Tel Aviv.…