Lead Stories

Deceptive Cut Does a video that shows political commentator Hasan Piker saying America should resume lynching Black people again reveal he is a racist? No, that's missing context: The racist comments were not made by Piker. The deceptively edited clips are of Piker criticizing someone else's racist comments, not making the argument himself. The claim appeared in an Aug. 11, 2026, video posted on the X account @ScottJenningsKY (archived here).

No Such Report Did Euronews report that a "Ukrainian gunman" shot and killed three NATO soldiers during the August 2026 military drill held in Latvia? No, that's not true: There is no such report on the news organization's website nor its social media accounts. Also, the Latvian army issued a statement explicitly denying this. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) on X by @ROYALMRBADNEWS on Aug. 13, 2026.

AI Ms. Rachel Does a real video show Abdul El-Sayed and Ms. Rachel talking to kids about Israeli "colonizers"? No, that's not true: An AI detection tool concluded that the video showing the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan was generated using artificial intelligence, assigning it a 100% confidence score.

No Exit Talk Did Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham say she was considering retirement after her controversy with DiJonai Carrington of the Chicago Sky? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Cunningham ever publicly stated that she was considering retirement. The claim is not supported by any official announcement from the team or by information on the Fever's website. The claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @FeverUpdate account on X on Aug. 13, 2026.

SA Rodent Does a video show a migrant eating a rat in Europe? No, that's not true: The video does show a person eating a rodent, but it was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2024. It does not show a migrant in Ceuta, Spain, as claimed in social media posts during the 2026 migrant influx in the Spanish enclave, an autonomous city on the north coast of Africa that borders Morocco. The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) by the Turning Point UK account (@TPointUK) on X on Aug.

Made With AI Does a real video show a helicopter landing upside down and then flopping over in a field while bystanders watch in the distance? No, that's not true: The Hive Moderation content detection tool determined the video was 95.2% likely to be AI-generated. After a visual inspection, Lead Stories found several AI characteristic glitches in both visual continuity and human behavior within the video. The video appeared in a post (archived here) published by the @msiziworld account on X on Aug.

Satire Label Did American actor Sylvester Stallone say talking to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was "like listening to a high school girl"? No, that's not true: The claim originated from a page with a satire label that specifies everything on it is fictional. No credible media outlets reported the nonexistent story. The claim appeared in an article (archived here and here) published on X on Aug. 12, 2026, by @ConstitustionX.

Digital Birds Does a real photo show athletes wearing medals flipping the bird at President Donald Trump's back during the Patriot Games on Aug. 11, 2026, in Geneva, Ohio? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Trump was ever flipped off by the young athletes sitting behind him during the event. The image contains visual inconsistencies commonly associated with AI-generated content. The claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @Gianl1974 account on X on Aug. 13, 2026.

Edited AOC Does a real image show Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in a revealing sports bra? No, that's not true: The image is a manipulated screenshot from a video posted to her Instagram account, digitally altered to make the sports bra appear more revealing than it actually is. In the original video, Ocasio-Cortez is wearing a high-neck, full-coverage sports bra. The claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @Czar_Of_Silly account on X on Aug. 12, 2026.

It's A Skit Does a real video show a landlord forcibly evicting a tenant while new tenants are already waiting on the doorstep? No, that's not true: The video is scripted entertainment content by a production company. The production watermark has been blurred out on the video posted on X, hiding the entertainment origin of the video. The claim appeared in a video posted on Aug. 11, 2026, by X account @ejigah599 (archived here). It opened: Landlord forced her way into my home😡 .