The daily check-in

Trending, checked.

Twice a day we pull the posts going viral on TikTok, Instagram, X and Facebook and run them through the record. Each entry is a published verdict — what we found, why, and the sources behind it.

540 checks

Is Zack Polanski the only Jewish leader of a political party?

X · ~1.5K likes within an hour of posting; quoted in the Guardian PMQs live blog after Burnham called the Greens' motion antisemitic

Misleading

The video is authentic broadcast footage of the House of Commons (PMQs). The caption quotes statements Zack Polanski did publicly post on 28 March 2026 (that he is the only Jewish political party leader and that he experiences antisemitism), but the caption mixes those verifiable statements with subjective or inflammatory accusations and is paired with unrelated Commons footage — a misleading juxtaposition.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Was a time-stamped image taken outside James Talarico’s home on October 8, 2026?

X · 728 likes, 1,039 replies; tied to the Talarico whereabouts story in the Texas Senate race

False

The image circulating on X claiming to be a time-stamped surveillance photo of James Talarico outside his Austin-area residence on Oct. 8, 2026 is not authentic: fact-checkers report it is digitally fabricated/likely AI-generated. The Talarico campaign did provide time-stamped low-resolution security images showing a male figure at the property Oct. 1–8, 2026, but the specific posted photo is fabricated and was presented as genuine.

PoliticsTechnologyView details→

Did Britain outgrow France and Germany since Brexit?

X · ~2.9K likes, 253 replies; part of the live row over the Burnham government Brexit reset

True But

The video appears to be authentic footage of a public interview repurposed with political captioning. The caption’s core numeric claim — that the UK has grown faster than France and Germany since Brexit — is supported by a parliamentary citation of cumulative growth figures for the 2021–present period, but the statement omits method details (exact dates, real vs per-capita growth, and other analyses that reach different conclusions), so it is partly true but lacking important context.

EconomyPoliticsView details→

Is the UK military preparing for an Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands?

X · ~12.9K likes, 519 replies on the post; IBTimes UK coverage amid Falklands oil dispute with Argentina

True But

Reporting from multiple outlets attributing to The Times confirms that British paratroopers and local reservists conducted a six-day Falklands exercise in early October 2026 modelled on the 1982 recapture; the post's framing that the UK is "preparing for Argentina to invade" is an exaggeration.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Did federal agents search Ilhan Omar's home for financial disclosures?

X · Trump Truth Social post 13 Oct; Fournier repost ~9.6K likes; Fox News, Gateway Pundit, WND, PJ Media coverage

True But

The video is an authentic Fox News segment in which Jeanine Pirro (identified as the U.S. Attorney for D.C.) says her office is examining Rep. Ilhan Omar's financial disclosures. Federal agents did search a D.C. residence associated with Omar on Oct. 12, 2026; reporting of a large jump (to as high as $30 million in disclosure ranges) and a later much smaller reported range is accurate but simplified by the post's caption.

PoliticsEconomyView details→

Did President Trump call Katie Zacharia an attorney?

X · atrupar post ~6.7K likes; C-SPAN clip of "Where did you pass the bar exam?" exchange; covered by MEAWW, Daily Beast, Mediaite

True

Independent reporting and a state-by-state search (reported by Popular Information and corroborated by mainstream outlets) found no record that Katie Zacharia has passed a bar exam or been admitted to practice law in any U.S. state or D.C., while both she and President Trump have publicly described her as an attorney.

PoliticsView details→

What did Tomasz Siemoniak say about ABW and bot activity?

X · 6,964 likes; Siemoniak replied with a denial; covered by Onet, Interia, Rzeczpospolita and Brussels Signal

True But

Mentzen's post mixes accurate reporting and partisan inference. It is correct that Siemoniak told a government briefing that ABW saw a sharp drop in bot activity and that a widely shared chart used in the public debate was identified as AI-generated or mislabelled. However, there is no clear public evidence that Siemoniak personally 'found' that fake graphic online and intentionally presented that exact image to the government as ABW's own material.

PoliticsTechnologyView details→

Did Boris Johnson say there was no evidence of interference in the 2016 referendum?

X · 14,460 likes; Express and AOL follow-ups; MI5 chief comment 13 Oct

True But

Johnson's post restates his long-standing position — he and government ministers have publicly said they had seen 'no evidence of successful interference' in the 2016 referendum, and Johnson told a 2017 committee he had 'not seen — not a sausage' of evidence. That official position is documented, but independent reviewers have documented influence attempts and called for more assessment, and the exact private briefing Johnson describes is not publicly documented.

PoliticsView details→

Is this a real photo of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bin Laden?

X · 1,954 likes; Lead Stories fact-check 13 Oct · resurfaced

False

The posted image is a doctored composite. The authentic photo is a September 12, 2001 Pentagon meeting picture; the viral version has been edited to insert Osama bin Laden and is false.

PoliticsView details→

Is Peter Girnus a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee?

X · 39,460 likes

False

The post falsely claims the author is a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Official committee membership lists and a Lead Stories fact-check show Peter Girnus is not a committee member; the account describes itself as a satirist.

PoliticsView details→

Is Barbera Thornhill joining the State Department as Ambassador-at-Large?

X · Primary 13,378 likes; top reply asking 'This is a real picture?' has 34,152 likes; Google Trends IE 'barbera thornhill' 200+; Raw Story, AOL, Yahoo coverage

True

The post correctly welcomes Barbera Thornhill as Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Official U.S. Senate records (nomination PN961-9) show Thornhill was confirmed on August 7, 2026; the attached portrait appears to be an authentic official-style photo.

PoliticsTechnologyView details→

Did Iran's IRGC claim control over the Strait of Hormuz?

X · 4,056 likes; embedded in the Fox News live blog

Can't Verify

CENTCOM's fact-check graphic accurately describes an IRGC naval commander making a claim that the Strait of Hormuz is under IRGC control and warning US warships they would be sunk; CENTCOM's public rebuttal that Iran does not control the strait is supported by multiple independent reports, though shipping volumes remain reduced and the security situation is contested.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Did Homeland Security Investigations execute a search warrant at Ilhan Omar's home?

X · 10,482 likes; embedded by MEAWW; NY Post reported the underlying email record

True But

Major news outlets and a DOJ statement confirm that Homeland Security Investigations executed a court-authorized search warrant at Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington-area residence on Oct. 12, 2026 as part of an ongoing criminal probe. Documents circulated by critics indicate Omar's congressional staff requested a correction of her listed birth year from 1981 to 1982 in May 2019; that administrative change is supported by library correspondence cited in filings but does not by itself prove any problem with Omar's citizenship.

PoliticsView details→

Did Hemedti issue a new statement about Egyptian aggression?

X · rmcsudan1 'تصريح حميدتي حول العدوان المصري اليوم': 1,339 likes and 838 replies; sudanmixtv 198 likes; alfamansou 223 likes (syndication, 13 Oct). Debunks by Misbar (13 Oct 16:23+03), CNN Arabic (12 Oct) and Akher Al-Akhbar (13 Oct) · resurfaced

Misleading

The video is authentic footage of a speech by RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) but it is not new — verification by multiple outlets dates the clip to October 2025. The post’s caption that this is ‘Hemedti’s statement about Egyptian aggression today’ is misleading because the footage is older and being reused to imply a current, newly made threat.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

What did Trump say about Democrats and the Supreme Court?

X · GuntherEagleman clip post 579 likes/100 replies (syndication 13 Oct); rally remarks covered by CBS Austin (Sinclair), Mediaite, The Hill and PJ Media

True But

The video is authentic footage of President Trump speaking at a Youngstown, Ohio rally on Oct. 12, 2026, and he did say "They want to have 23 people on the Supreme Court" and warned the crowd about Democrats 'opening the border.' Those utterances are accurately quoted. However, the post's framing — that Democrats will definitively do these things if they win — is a partisan assertion and is unproven or exaggerated.

PoliticsView details→

Did Nick Sortor amplify a false claim about James Talarico?

X · ChristopherHale post 10,529 likes/306 replies (syndication 13 Oct); Derrick Evans post also cited as widely circulated; Hindustan Times explainer 13 Oct

True But

The post correctly identifies Nick Sortor as one of the influencers who amplified a false claim about James Talarico and accurately highlights that Sortor has an active in‑state warrant/absconded probation status and prior DUI-related convictions. Some phrasing in the caption overstates or conflates charges (e.g., charging vs conviction for 'harassing a police officer' or 'stalking a woman'), so details require caveats.

PoliticsOtherView details→

Did Saudi Aircraft Strike the Faj Attan Area and Cause Massive Destruction?

X · abdalmlk30 had 3,253 likes and 2,530 replies; JamalCheaib (posted 12 Oct 07:09Z) had 3,213 likes and 795 replies (syndication, checked 13 Oct) · resurfaced

True But

The video shows a real explosion consistent with the well-documented April 20, 2015 Faj Attan blast in Sanaa. The post's core claim — that a large strike caused massive destruction and civilian casualties — is supported by multiple credible sources, but specific assertions that the munition was an "internationally banned bomb" and the precise casualty and displacement figures cited are disputed or unverified by independent international investigation.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Did Charlie Kirk say children should watch public executions as an initiation?

Facebook · Snopes says readers asked about this and other Facebook posts (13 Oct); it resurfaced alongside Hegseth's plan to livestream the Fort Hood shooter's execution · resurfaced

True But

The caption accurately attributes a line from a February 15, 2024 Thoughtcrime panel in which Charlie Kirk says "I think at a certain age, it's an initiation" while discussing televised/public executions; fact-checkers note some viral rephrasings added embellishments, but the quoted phrase is supported by contemporaneous transcripts.

PoliticsView details→

What caused the vacant seats at Trump's Youngstown rally?

X · RR47 post 3,783 likes/163 replies (syndication, 14:45Z, about 90 min after posting); WaPo reporter Emily Davies' photos of empty sections 3,467 likes; Kaitlan Collins/CNN segment; Daily Beast, Raw Story, WaPo and WFMJ coverage

Can't Verify

The post correctly points to coverage of empty seats at Donald Trump's Oct. 12, 2026 Youngstown rally, but its claim that the emptiness was caused by 'gigantic press risers' blocking views is unsupported by independent reporting or available photos — the causal explanation appears unverified and potentially misleading.

PoliticsView details→

Is South Africa's White population projected to fall to 2% by 2066?

Instagram · Briefly News (13 Oct): Visegrad 24's Instagram post of 12 Oct drew over 800 comments; projection by 'The Common Sense' from Stats SA 2025 mid-year estimates · resurfaced

True But

The post's present-day figures (White ≈7%, Black African ≈82%) match Statistics South Africa's 2025 mid-year estimates. The claim that 'an analysis by The Common Sense' projects the White share falling to ~2% by 2066 is supported by secondary reporting attributing that projection to The Common Sense, but the long-range number is a model result produced by that outlet (not an official Stats SA projection) and should be treated as a scenario-based projection rather than a certain outcome.

PoliticsView details→

Did the French Navy board the oil tanker DF Peak south of Réunion?

X · Macron post 12,042 likes / 1,942 replies (syndication, 13 Oct); Google Trends DE 'schattenflotte' 1000+, UA 'задержание' 2000+; Kyiv Independent, TASS 12-13 Oct

True

Authentic footage and Emmanuel Macron's X post accurately report that on 12 October 2026 the French Navy boarded the oil tanker DF Peak roughly 450 nautical miles south of La Re9union; multiple reputable outlets confirm the operation and the vessel's suspected links to the 'shadow fleet'.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Did Ken Paxton party in Dubai with indicted fugitives?

X · electionsjoe 28,995 likes; DemocraticWins 7,459 likes; HQNewsNow 2,266 likes; StevenTDennis 2,359 likes (syndication 13 Oct); Mediaite, Daily Beast, IBTimes UK and MEAWW coverage

True

The Wall Street Journal published and reviewed video showing Ken Paxton at a New Year’s Eve/Jan. 1, 2025 gathering in Dubai alongside his girlfriend and two American men who had been indicted on federal health-care-fraud/embezzlement charges. Major outlets reporting on the WSJ story corroborate the video's existence and the identities described.

PoliticsView details→

Did Russia attack Ukraine with over 100 weapons on October 12-13, 2026?

X · Zelensky post 11,338 likes / 743 replies (syndication, 13 Oct); Kyiv Independent investigation 13 Oct; PL Google Trends 'andrij sybiha' (Ukraine without Western intel?)

True

The video appears to be authentic official rescue-service footage from Kharkiv of damage after an overnight Russian aerial barrage on Oct. 12–13, 2026. President Zelenskyy's caption that Russia used more than 100 strike weapons (jet-powered drones, loitering munitions and ballistic missiles) that night, and that many were intercepted though not all, is corroborated by multiple reputable news reports.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Did Denzel Washington really endorse Donald Trump?

X · Red Eagle Updates post: 23.5K likes, 2.7K replies (syndication, 2026-10-13). Trump shared a screenshot on Truth Social 12 Oct 11:24Z (13-15K likes per Forbes/HuffPost). Picked up by CNN, WaPo, Newsweek, Forbes, HuffPost, TheWrap, Mediaite, Mirror US and CTV. · resurfaced

False

The image attributes a praise-and-endorsement quote to Denzel Washington that he did not say. The quote is fabricated; the actor's representative denied it and reputable fact-checkers and news outlets have debunked the attribution.

PoliticsCelebrityView details→