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 Trump reportedly planning to restart war with Iran after the election?

X · 14,821 likes / 2,802 replies (X syndication, 30 Oct); Daily Beast and IBTimes ('A Democratic Senator Said he Was Briefed on the Plan to Resume Attacks Against Iran') coverage 29 Oct

True But

The video is genuine footage of Senator Chris Murphy speaking at a Middle East Institute event on 28 October 2026, and his remarks are accurately quoted. His claim that the administration is reportedly preparing to restart strikes on Iran after the 3 November midterms is corroborated by Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN and AP-sourced reporting, though officials say no final decision has been made and his 'insane' characterisation is opinion.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Did Zia Yusuf call Alastair Campbell a war criminal to his face on Question Time?

X · 7,638 likes / 647 replies within about 5h (X syndication, 30 Oct); 'Zia Yusuf', '#bbcqt' and 'Fiona Bruce' trending on X UK (trends24, 30 Oct); Express, GB News, Mirror and AOL coverage 29-30 Oct; Campbell replied (1,385 likes)

True But

The video is genuine BBC Question Time footage from the 29 October 2026 Warwick edition: Zia Yusuf did call Alastair Campbell a 'war criminal' to his face over Iraq, and Campbell did push back. Yusuf's core factual points on the 45-minute dossier claim, the absence of WMD stockpiles and roughly 180 UK military deaths check out, but the 600,000 Iraqi civilian death figure is a contested high-end estimate and the war criminal label is political opinion.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Did Bernie Moreno say Abdul El-Sayed can't be a senator because he doesn't understand Jesus came for our salvation?

X · Acyn clip 967 likes / 952 replies; Chris Hayes quote 2,381 likes; covered by Mediaite, Raw Story (Scarborough segment on MS NOW), CNN live blog, JoeMyGod on 29 Oct

Misleading

The clip is genuine footage of Sen. Bernie Moreno speaking at a Chillicothe, Ohio rally on 28 October 2026, and the caption accurately summarises his remarks about Abdul El-Sayed. The substance of what Moreno said is misleading, because it implies Christian belief is a qualification for the Senate, which the Constitution's Article VI expressly forbids.

PoliticsView details→

Did a Cleveland 19 newscast report that four former staffers accused Sherrod Brown of sexual assault?

X · Spreader post 1,421 likes (29 Oct check); Lead Stories debunk 28 Oct; Fast Company and IBTimes UK (28-29 Oct) report it as a Storm-1516-style Russian fake with the former intern denying it; Ohio Senate race rated toss-up days before 3 Nov

False

This is a doctored Cleveland 19 news clip: real station footage with an AI-generated voiceover and faked graphics inventing sexual-assault allegations against Sherrod Brown. The station says it never reported any such story, one named accuser calls the claim 'completely made up', and NewsGuard and the AP attribute the fake to the Russian operation Storm-1516.

PoliticsView details→

Did Trump shut down a paid protester screaming about Epstein at his Ohio rally?

X · Sortor post 7,671 likes; heckler Robby Roadsteamer's own uncut video 49,058 likes; HQNewsNow clip 26,273 likes (29 Oct check); TMZ: Trump claimed $250 payment with no evidence; heckler (Robert Potylo) disputes, per HuffPost

Misleading

The rally video is genuine footage from Trump's 28 October 2026 Chillicothe, Ohio rally, where he did berate an Epstein heckler and defend throwing Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago. But the post's framing of a 'paid protester' is unsubstantiated — the heckler was identified as activist and comedian Robert Potylo — and Trump's claim that Epstein 'never came up with me' is contradicted by flight logs.

PoliticsView details→

Was a Trump supporter stabbed outside Trump's rally in Ohio?

X · Bowyer post 2,832 likes; Derek Myers video 2,645 likes / 373 replies (29 Oct check); pushed by Gateway Pundit, LifeZette, 100PercentFedUp; Chillicothe police told Newsweek and TMZ 'there was no stabbing' (officer's pocketknife clip caught in a shirt during a fight)

False

The video is genuine footage of a scuffle outside Trump's Chillicothe, Ohio rally on 28 October 2026, but the caption's claim that an anti-Trump protester stabbed a Trump supporter is false — police say the apparent knife was an officer's closed pocketknife whose clip snagged on a man's shirt, and no one was stabbed or arrested.

CrimePoliticsView details→

Did Trump pass three cognitive tests and say Obama couldn't have?

X · Acyn clip 937 likes / 541 replies (29 Oct check); HuffPost write-up 29 Oct

Misleading

The video is genuine footage of Trump at his 28 October 2026 rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, and the caption quotes him accurately. His claims inside the clip — that a dementia screening test proves a 'very high IQ', that no other president took one, and that Obama could not have passed — are misleading or unsupported.

PoliticsHealthView details→

Did Jarosław Kaczyński announce that Poland should start negotiations on leaving the EU?

X · Tusk post 14,203 likes / 2,031 replies; Kaczyński rebuttal 'Tusk jak zwykle kłamie' 2,873 likes / 821 replies; Defence Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz 1,323 likes (check.py 29 Oct); Konkret24 explainer 29 Oct 15:07

True But

The post is genuine and its core claim is well supported: at Krynica Forum 2026 Jarosław Kaczyński did say Poland should, as a hard and risky fallback, start negotiations on the conditions for leaving the EU. Tusk's wording strips out that conditional framing, which Kaczyński himself disputed while insisting he wants EU reform rather than exit.

PoliticsView details→

Did Flávio Bolsonaro's letter prove Brazil's election was stolen?

X · 238,832 likes and 34,379 replies on the X post per syndication API (29 Oct 14:46Z). Covered by Metrópoles, Jovem Pan, Poder360, Gazeta do Povo, Congresso em Foco, ND Mais and Lupa. The TSE issued a rebuttal. Greenwald reports the first version, with 'true president-elect', was deleted and re-posted

False

The image is a genuine copy of the letter Flávio Bolsonaro posted on 28 October 2026 after flying to the United States, but the letter's central claim — that Brazil's presidential election was stolen through a Supreme Court voting-hours extension — is false and unsupported, contradicted by the electoral court's certified results and its own arithmetic.

PoliticsView details→

Does a viral clip show that Trump's 27 October 2026 Corpus Christi, Texas rally drew only a small crowd that could not fill a high-school gym?

X · JoJoFromJerz quote-post 5,807 likes; ImBreckWorsham 3,952; AriDrennen 2,912; Acyn original clip 1,721 likes; NBC's Garrett Haake on the small Chillicothe venue 3,546; Daily Beast, Mediaite, Raw Story 28 Oct

Misleading

The video is authentic C-SPAN footage of Trump's 27 October 2026 rally in Corpus Christi, but the caption's claim that the crowd 'can't even fill a high school gymnasium' is misleading — the venue was an industrial warehouse, not a gym, and local reporting says it was a crowded room of about 2,000 with capacity reached inside and an overflow screen outside.

PoliticsView details→

Did Mary Peltola's campaign commit 'election fraud' by recruiting a second Dan Sullivan to run for Alaska's Senate seat, as Trump claimed on 28 October when he said she should not be allowed to run?

X · atrupar 1,284 likes; Fox's Bill Melugin post on DOJ 'aggressive criminal investigation' 4,448 likes; NYT report 28 Oct on spoiler recruitment; Daily Beast, Raw Story, Fox News, Mediaite, Radio-Canada, Washington Examiner coverage 28 Oct

True But

The screenshot is a genuine capture of a Trump Truth Social post from 28 October 2026, and the quote is confirmed word-for-word by multiple news outlets. The substance is mixed: the New York Times did report that Peltola aides and DSCC staffers helped recruit a second Dan Sullivan, which they deny, but labelling it 'election fraud' and 'perjury' is an unproven allegation and such ballot-stacking is generally legal.

PoliticsView details→

Does a viral video show Eritrean migrants rioting in The Hague, Netherlands, in late October 2026?

X · 3,221 likes on @MarioBojic; @MAGAStorm47 668 likes ('Massive riots have started in The Hague... broke into the Opera House'); Portuguese repost @canalsergio2 251 likes; Misbar fact-check 28 Oct · resurfaced

Misleading

The video is genuine footage of the February 2024 Eritrean community riots at The Hague's Opera Zalencentrum, but the post presents it as current unrest in October 2026 — a claim two independent fact-checks have already debunked.

CrimePoliticsView details→

Does a viral video show Benjamin Netanyahu being violently attacked in Tel Aviv after the 27 October 2026 election, leaving him severely injured and needing to be flown to the United States?

X · 9,361 likes on the X post (check.py syndication, 29 Oct ~02:45Z) within ~9h; Lead Stories fact-check 28 Oct

False

The clip is real but wholly unrelated footage: it shows the 2013 attempt on Bulgarian politician Ahmed Dogan in Sofia, not an attack on Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. The 'breaking' claim of his severe injury and evacuation to the United States is fabricated.

PoliticsConflictView details→

Was activist Thomas 'Young Bob' Moffitt arrested in London simply for saying 'Paki' instead of 'Pakistani', as Libs of TikTok claimed?

X · Libs of TikTok post 25,754 likes (check.py 29 Oct); counter-post by @I_amMukhtar 4,523 likes; X trending topics 'Young Bob Arrested for Paki at London Protest, Case Dropped' (per WebSearch); The Daily Britain 27 Oct

Can't Verify

The footage of British activist Thomas Moffitt being led away by police is genuine, and his arrest in Westminster on 25 October 2026 over an allegation he used the slur 'Paki' is reported. But the post overstates the case: no charge has been confirmed, the circumstances are disputed, and a single contested arrest does not show that 'the UK has no free speech'.

CrimePoliticsView details→

Did dozens of Pennsylvania election workers say then-Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar ordered them to destroy more than 100,000 Trump ballots in the 2020 election?

X · 7,785 likes (syndication, 29 Oct); Lead Stories fact check 28 Oct

False

The photo is a genuine 2020 image of Philadelphia ballot counting, but the caption's claim that dozens of Pennsylvania election workers have exposed an ordered scheme to destroy Trump ballots is a fabricated story debunked by Lead Stories. Biden's 2020 Pennsylvania win stands, so the post's 'proof' is false.

PoliticsView details→

Does a viral video show the US military preparing to launch a nuclear strike on Iran?

X · 3,073 likes on @AmericaSpoof (syndication, 29 Oct); Turkish version by @Mustafakurnaz 1,490 likes; copied by other accounts (Mr_J_F_K_Jr, Qdigital12); Misbar fact-check 28 Oct

Misleading

The footage is genuine but not American: it is Russian Yars intercontinental missile launchers on a February 2024 parade march to Alabino, relabelled as US forces poised to strike Iran. No evidence supports the claim of US nuclear-strike preparations or an attack on 29 October 2026.

ConflictPoliticsView details→

Does SNL plan to let Barack Obama host an entire 'Weekend Update' segment to roast Donald Trump?

X · 6,940 likes within ~12h (syndication 28 Oct); MEAWW fact-check 28 Oct

False

The post is a fabricated joke from a self-described satire account, not news: NBC had already announced Inde Navarrette and Gracie Abrams for the 31 October 2026 SNL episode, and no Obama-hosted Weekend Update segment was ever planned.

PoliticsCelebrityView details→

Do leaked Epstein files photos show Beyonce with Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein on a boat?

X · 14,675 likes (syndication 28 Oct); Lead Stories fact-check 27 Oct

False

The two images are AI-generated composites passed off as leaked Epstein-file photographs showing Trump, Epstein and Beyoncé together on a private jet. No such images exist in any official Epstein release, and Beyoncé has no documented connection to the case.

CelebrityPoliticsView details→

Did RFK Jr. claim that Arabs 'don't produce science', 'don't win the Nobel Prize' and 'don't produce literature' — and is that true?

X · 15,510 likes on BulwarkClips clip (syndication, 28 Oct 14:30Z); MEAWW fact-check 28 Oct; Daily Beast/others coverage

False

The video is genuine C-SPAN/Spectrum News footage of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. making the quoted remarks at a Michigan GOP campaign event on 26 October 2026, but the substance of what he says — that Arabs produce no science or literature and win no Nobel, Fields or Wolf prizes — is false.

PoliticsScienceView details→

Did Chancellor John Healey announce in the 28 October 2026 Budget a £100 cash payment, paid directly into bank accounts, for 20 million households in council tax bands A to D?

X · 3,145 likes on X ~2h after posting (syndication, 28 Oct 14:40Z); Standard live blog headline '£100 energy payment for millions'

True

Authentic Commons footage of Chancellor John Healey's Budget statement on 28 October 2026, in which he did announce a £100 winter energy payment for 20 million households in council tax bands A to D as part of a £2.6bn scheme.

EconomyPoliticsView details→

Does a video shared by Ted Cruz show Hasan Piker calling for Black people to be lynched, or was the clip distorted?

X · Piker's 28 Oct 01:37Z quote-post of Cruz: 42,605 likes; Cruz post 3,342 likes; Piker filed $72.5M defamation suit vs Scott Jennings 27 Oct (Mediaite, Daily Beast, MEAWW) · resurfaced

False

Senator Ted Cruz's post repeats a claim that Hasan Piker called for Black people to be lynched, which rests on a deceptively edited clip that Snopes rated misleading — in the unedited stream Piker was sarcastically quoting someone else's position. The post itself is text only, so there is no media to assess.

PoliticsView details→

Did Flávio Bolsonaro and his family cross from Brazil into Argentina at the Tancredo Neves bridge (Misiones) on the night of 27 October and then leave on a private flight, as Argentina's migration agency announced?

X · 45,463 likes, 2,858 replies on X in ~10h (syndication, 28 Oct 14:40Z); Google Trends BR 'santiago caputo' item headlined 'Trump government will grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro after his flight from Brazil'; g1 'Mais lidas' item: Flávio's flight left Ecuador for Miami, says Argentine government

True

The post is a verbatim official statement from Argentina's National Directorate of Migration, and its details — the four named travellers, the 22:50 crossing at the Tancredo Neves bridge and the 23:30 private flight to Guayaquil — are independently confirmed by AP, AFP, Agência Brasil, Folha and O Globo.

PoliticsView details→

Did another person die in ICE custody making it the 28th death this year?

X · 25,736 likes on X (syndication); JudiciaryDems 452 likes; Twitchy pickup

True But

The tweet is correct that another person died in ICE custody (death confirmed by ICE and multiple news outlets on Oct. 23, 2026). The numeric claim that it was the "28th known death this year" is partially accurate but subject to timing and counting-method differences—some trackers and outlets reported 28 while others reported 29 around Oct. 26–27, 2026.

PoliticsView details→

Did three Democratic female candidates for Congress get hit by cars recently?

X · 19,657 likes on X (syndication); CalltoActivism Peltola crash post 8,242 likes; Twitchy pickup notes proposed Community Note (Kaptur crash was 2 Aug)

Misleading

Partly true: Mary Peltola was recently injured in a car crash and an Ohio Democratic congresswoman (Marcy Kaptur) was injured in a hit-and-run in August 2026, but there is no reliable evidence that a Tennessee Democratic congressional candidate was struck in the same recent window. Presenting all three as having been hit 'over the past few days' is misleading.

PoliticsCrimeView details→