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.
35 checks
X · 44,069 likes on clip (syndication); PolitiFact rated the claim 19 Oct
False
The video is an authentic clip from a CBS town hall. The specific claim that 'about 20% of American refining capacity went offline when Joe Biden was president' is false: national refinery capacity did not fall by ~20%, and fact-checkers and EIA data contradict that figure.
X · 2,562 likes, 632 replies (X syndication, 20 Oct); headline story in Le Figaro and Valeurs actuelles (both embed the post); Figaro debate piece on 20 Oct
True But
The minister Vincent Jeanbrun's X post accurately reflects a government announcement: reporters (RMC, Le Journal du Dimanche, RTL and others) say an interministerial circulaire dated 19 October 2026 was issued (or announced) with Gérald Darmanin to allow imputation of illicit gains on the calculation of social benefits. The core claim is confirmed, though precise legal scope and implementation remain subject to clarification and possible legal challenge.
YouTube · NBC News YouTube full interview 74,615 views (page data, published 18 Oct); Daily Caller, The Hill, Kyiv Independent, HuffPost coverage 18-19 Oct
True But
The post accurately reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "no one has been tougher on Russian sanctions than President Trump." Bessent is correct that the administration designated Rosneft and Lukoil in October 2025, but his categorical claim that "no sanctions were lifted" is contradicted by reporting that the president used a statutory waiver in mid-October 2026 to put a new sanctions/tariff package on hold.
X · @SenSanders 5,635 likes, 368 replies within ~4.5h (X syndication); embedded by Iran International liveblog; responds to Trump's 'New America' rename post
True But
The underlying statement that President Trump called for New Mexico to be renamed 'New America' is confirmed by multiple news outlets (posted October 19, 2026). The attached image is a repackaged screenshot presented as an X/Twitter post, but reporting indicates the original post appeared on Truth Social, so the image is partially manipulated. Sanders' caption mixes that factual element with political opinion (calling the war 'illegal') and unverified fuel-price figures that were not confirmed in the retrieved sources.
X · @A7DATH_78 post: 432 likes (X syndication, 20 Oct 02:46Z); same clip spread by Iranian agencies Tasnim and Fars and by @alahvaziran (69 likes), @MohamadShamass, @ALI_ALKAML13; Misbar AR and EN checks 19 Oct
Misleading
The video plausibly shows a burning ship, and reputable outlets report that tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz around Oct 17, 2026; but the caption's claim that "Iran burned another oil tanker" is misleading: Iran's own statements described mines/accidents and earlier versions of similar footage predate the conflict, so the post overstates attribution and may reuse old video.
X · 344,662 likes, 21,967 replies (X syndication, checked 19 Oct)
Can't Verify
Elon Musk posted on X on Oct. 19, 2026 that he "will give one of [his] SpaceX shares to every kid in America" next year; multiple major news outlets reported and quoted the post. The statement is a pledge of future action and cannot be confirmed as completed now.
X · @MADIBA1150270: 2,969 likes, 250 replies; Arabic versions @rashiduae31 205 likes/134 replies, @SwtLamy 122 likes (hashtag #الشعب_السعودي_ينهار); Misbar fact-check (Arabic + English) 18 Oct
False
The video is authentic footage from the documented opening of a supermarket in Mecca in late August 2025; it does not show current, war-driven panic-buying or shortages in Saudi Arabia. The post's caption misrepresents the clip and is misleading.
X · 11,167 likes, 1,101 replies (X syndication, 17 Oct); embedded by Kyiv Independent, Spiegel, El Espanol, Open, tvn24 on 17 Oct
True
The video and Zelenskyy’s caption report a large Russian strike on Ukraine’s energy sector (overnight Oct 16–17, 2026) that hit more than 15 generation/transmission facilities; this is confirmed by multiple reputable news outlets and Ukrainian authorities, and emergency restoration work was reported as underway.
X · 7,425 likes, 454 replies (X syndication, 17 Oct); quotes the order text posted by @Fritschner; story led Euronews, El Pais, Spiegel, Open on 17 Oct
True But
The post correctly reports that President Trump used the Graham Act's waiver authority to suspend or waive new sanctions and tariffs required by the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act on Oct. 16, 2026. Saying he "waived all of the sanctions" is an overbroad characterization: the action suspended or exempted many of the law's new measures but did not eliminate existing sanctions imposed under prior authorities.
X · 5,185 likes, 677 replies (X syndication, 16 Oct); follows Le Pen's pledge to stop aid and Zelensky's FT reply; covered by franceinfo, BFMTV, Boursorama, Ukrainska Pravda, Kyiv Independent; Sud Radio guest says real aid is 'a few hundred million'
True But
The video is authentic CNEWS footage of Marine Le Pen making the statements quoted in the caption. Independent news outlets reported the same remarks: she offered to speak with Zelensky, said France "no longer has the means" and cited about €6 billion per year, and has said financial aid would stop six months after a possible election win.
X · 204 likes / 143 replies (syndication 16 Oct); Hamas publicly rejected Mladenov's position (Al Jazeera 16 Oct); JPost, ynet, i24, Asharq Al-Awsat, JFeed coverage; Gaza trucking union disputes COGAT account
True
TRUE — Multiple reputable news organizations report that Nickolay Mladenov posted that he received a letter from COGAT saying private-sector merchants in Gaza have suspended coordination for commercial goods citing threats/forced taxation by Hamas; the claim is supported by contemporaneous reporting.
X · 1,912 likes, 1,178 replies (X syndication, 16 Oct); Newtral coverage 15 Oct during the 29N general-election campaign
True But
The video is authentic and correctly points out that the PSOE government (Zapatero) announced a pension freeze in 2010 and that the PP publicly supported IPC-based revalorisation in 2020; however the clip's broad claim that the PP 'always' voted to raise pensions omits important context (the 2013 PP-era revaluation framework and minimum 0.25% rule) and is therefore partly misleading.
X · 3,463 likes (X syndication, 16 Oct); Lead Stories 16 Oct
Misleading
The video appears to be authentic airplane-window footage of a dense anchorage but is misattributed by the caption. Visual/contextual evidence and contemporaneous reporting indicate the clip more closely matches the eastern Singapore anchorage, so using it to claim 'all the oil [is] stuck in Hormuz' is misleading.
X · Covered by CNN Arabic and Gulf News live blog 15-16 Oct; IRGC mine claim carried by Tehran Times; 297 likes on the Arabic post
True
CENTCOM’s Arabic post correctly reports that Iran’s IRGC has been claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz and its denial is corroborated by multiple independent news outlets reporting CENTCOM’s statement that U.S. forces and partners continued to facilitate vessel transits; the broader control situation remains contested because attacks and disruptions have continued.
X · Wide mainstream pickup 15 Oct: CNN, MS NOW, Raw Story, Political Wire; clip 282 likes
Misleading
The video appears to show an authentic rally clip of Donald Trump making numeric claims about inflation. His statement that inflation is "1.7%" is only true under a narrow, three‑month annualized core CPI measure and is therefore a cherry‑picked statistic; his reference to "19%" is false. Overall the remarks are misleading.
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.
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.
X · 2,648 likes on the primary; the coalition's 'intercepted' counter-post has 9,768 likes; picked up by ZeroHedge, Cedar News, Bloomberg video
True But
Reputable wire reporting and official Saudi statements confirm that an Aramco administrative building in Dhahran was targeted on Oct 13, 2026 and that a limited fire resulted; the X post's core claim (the headquarters was struck) is broadly supported, but the attached video has not been independently verified to show the impact and some early reports left open whether the building was hit directly or damaged by falling debris.
X · Trump's X video: 76K likes, 9.4K replies (syndication, 2026-10-13). Mediaite, Newsweek, Independent, Daily Kos, UNILAD and Fox coverage on 12 Oct; Mediaite collected critics' reactions ('How can this be legal?').
True But
The video is authentic and shows President Trump publicly promising that, if Republicans win both the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms, he will give every adult U.S. citizen $5,000; news outlets and archived posts corroborate the clip. The pledge is a contingent campaign promise (future outcome) and cannot be confirmed as an action until the electoral condition is resolved and any implementing legislation or mechanism is enacted.
X · 1,171 likes, 68 replies on @RepMcGovern post
Misleading
The photo is an authentic White House image of President Trump holding a 'Reciprocal Tariffs' chart (April 2, 2025). The tweet overstates the Federal Reserve's position: Fed officials and Fed research say tariffs have contributed to higher prices but do not 'confirm' that Trump’s tariffs are directly and primarily responsible for broadly 'soaring' inflation.
X · 43,091 likes (syndication, 11 Oct); covered by RedState, Mediaite, Raw Story, CBS News, Daily Beast
True But
The video is authentic pool footage of President Trump speaking to reporters on October 10, 2026; his statement that 'we told Zelensky... don't hit the refineries' and the quoted 'he better damn well stop' are accurately represented and widely reported. Some of Trump's broader claims about Zelensky's motives or ability to end the war are political opinion, not verifiable facts.
Facebook · More than 18,000 likes and thousands of comments on the Facebook post; also covered by Express
True But
The Facebook caption accurately reassures that the state pension will continue to increase annually; reputable government and news sources confirm Andy Burnham announced on 29 Sep 2026 that the triple lock will be maintained until April 2030 and adjusted thereafter so pensions are still uprated (with the wage-growth element removed).
X · von Storch post 12,123 likes; AfD lead candidate Siegmund's follow-up 20,164 likes (syndication, 10 Oct); 'Dienstwagen', 'BMWs', 'Tesla', 'Lada', 'Leasingvertrag' trending on X in Germany (trends24); wide pickup (Tagesspiegel, WiWo, web.de, Auto Bild)
True
True — multiple reputable German news outlets report (via Die Zeit and regional reporting) that BMW withdrew a leasing offer for Tobias Rausch's official Landtag car on the day he was elected Landtag president; BMW has declined to comment publicly.
X · RapidResponse47 screenshot 25,241 likes; EricLDaugh 11.8K likes (X syndication, 10 Oct); Mediaite, Daily Beast, Newsweek, CBC, Le Devoir pickup; Bluesky trending
True But
The text in the image reproduces a real announcement President Trump posted on Truth Social on Oct 9, 2026 claiming a deal with Putin for Russian diesel supplies; multiple reputable outlets and a Kremlin statement corroborate that the call occurred and that Moscow said it was willing to supply oil/products, but the exact volumes and delivery schedule Trump listed have not been independently confirmed. The image appears to be a repackaged screenshot and may misattribute platform/UI.