Maarten Schenk
@mschenk.bsky.social
Fact checker. Co-founder of leadstories.com.
Pinned
Reposted by Maarten Schenk
Psst... Google @searchliaison.bsky.social there's a fact check available about this AI generated image you know...
leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2...
leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2...
February 8, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Psst... Google @searchliaison.bsky.social there's a fact check available about this AI generated image you know...
leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2...
leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2...
All the old people on Facebook and X are upset over this image...
Fact Check: AI Image Of Bad Bunny Burning Flag Preparing For Super Bowl Halftime Show Is NOT Real -- From Satire Account
Fact Check: AI Image Of Bad Bunny Burning Flag Preparing For Super Bowl Halftime Show Is NOT Real -- From Satire Account
Is a viral image showing Bad Bunny burning a flag while preparing for the Super Bowl halftime show real? No, that's not true: The image, featuring the singer wearing a white, blue and pink striped dress and lighting an American...
leadstories.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:09 PM
All the old people on Facebook and X are upset over this image...
Reposted by Maarten Schenk
Hate-filled fake videos about London are everywhere. We've obtained a recording of a TikToker confessing to secretly filming Londoners in their homes for clicks.
He says it's not political. He just wants to make money from far-right anger.
Read what he says: www.londoncentric.media/p/london-tik...
He says it's not political. He just wants to make money from far-right anger.
Read what he says: www.londoncentric.media/p/london-tik...
February 8, 2026 at 7:44 AM
Hate-filled fake videos about London are everywhere. We've obtained a recording of a TikToker confessing to secretly filming Londoners in their homes for clicks.
He says it's not political. He just wants to make money from far-right anger.
Read what he says: www.londoncentric.media/p/london-tik...
He says it's not political. He just wants to make money from far-right anger.
Read what he says: www.londoncentric.media/p/london-tik...
Hard to keep up...
Yes, a Kid Rock show got canceled.
No, not that one.
Yes, a Kid Rock show got canceled.
No, not that one.
Fact Check: TPUSA Kid Rock Half Time Show NOT Canceled -- Confusion With Different Show Cancelation
Fact Check: TPUSA Kid Rock Half Time Show NOT Canceled -- Confusion With Different Show Cancelation
Was Turning Point USA's alternative Super Bowl halftime show with Kid Rock canceled after too many artists dropped out, as viral online rumors say? No, that's not true: There have been no announcements about a cancelation of TPUSA's "All American...
leadstories.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Hard to keep up...
Yes, a Kid Rock show got canceled.
No, not that one.
Yes, a Kid Rock show got canceled.
No, not that one.
The Armenian version of "Sir, this is a Wendy's"?
Fact Check: Armenian Business In Dr. Oz Video About Hospice Fraud Is A Bakery, NOT Scene Of Hospice Or Home Care Prosecutions
Fact Check: Armenian Business In Dr. Oz Video About Hospice Fraud Is A Bakery, NOT Scene Of Hospice Or Home Care Prosecutions
Is the business featured in a recent video by Dr. Mehmet Oz related to hospice and home care fraud in Los Angeles? No, that's not true. The business is a family-owned and operated bakery and market and there is no...
leadstories.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:20 AM
The Armenian version of "Sir, this is a Wendy's"?
When Elon Musk and Ian Miles Cheong suddenly like fact-checking apparently...
February 1, 2026 at 5:49 PM
When Elon Musk and Ian Miles Cheong suddenly like fact-checking apparently...
More Epstein fun... a simple OCR scanning error has sent the conspiracy theory set into a frenzy...
Fact Check: NO 'Baal' Bank Account In Jeffrey Epstein Bank Transfer Document To JP Morgan -- Likely Scanning Error
Fact Check: NO 'Baal' Bank Account In Jeffrey Epstein Bank Transfer Document To JP Morgan -- Likely Scanning Error
Does a document in the Epstein Files show he had a bank account named "Baal", a demonic figure? No, that's not true: One document that looks like a scanned in fax or document with bank transfer details has the words...
leadstories.com
February 1, 2026 at 1:12 PM
More Epstein fun... a simple OCR scanning error has sent the conspiracy theory set into a frenzy...
I *knew* @grok would be in the Epstein files...
January 31, 2026 at 4:48 PM
I *knew* @grok would be in the Epstein files...
If you can't put the finger on why this video is fake, here's a fact check ;-)
Fact Check: 'Chair Chase' Video Of ICE Agents Chasing Huge Hand Giving 'The Finger' On Minneapolis Street Is NOT Real -- AI Made This Joke
Fact Check: 'Chair Chase' Video Of ICE Agents Chasing Huge Hand Giving 'The Finger' On Minneapolis Street Is NOT Real -- AI Made This Joke
Is a video showing ICE agents chase a man, who is sitting in an office chair covered by a large hand "giving the middle finger," down a Minneapolis street real? No, that's not true: The short video originated on social...
leadstories.com
January 30, 2026 at 9:08 PM
If you can't put the finger on why this video is fake, here's a fact check ;-)
Reposted by Maarten Schenk
Fact Check: 'Chair Chase' Video Of ICE Agents Chasing Huge Hand Giving 'The Finger' On Minneapolis Street Is NOT Real -- AI Made This Joke
Fact Check: 'Chair Chase' Video Of ICE Agents Chasing Huge Hand Giving 'The Finger' On Minneapolis Street Is NOT Real -- AI Made This Joke
Is a video showing ICE agents chase a man, who is sitting in an office chair covered by a large hand "giving the middle finger," down a Minneapolis street real? No, that's not true: The short video originated on social...
leadstories.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Fact Check: 'Chair Chase' Video Of ICE Agents Chasing Huge Hand Giving 'The Finger' On Minneapolis Street Is NOT Real -- AI Made This Joke
He did post something with the words "gun" and "criminals" but he didn't post this...
Fact Check: Fake Trump Post Image About 'Only Criminals' Carrying 'Guns On Our Streets' NOT Actual Truth Social Post After Minneapolis Shooting
Fact Check: Fake Trump Post Image About 'Only Criminals' Carrying 'Guns On Our Streets' NOT Actual Truth Social Post After Minneapolis Shooting
Did President Trump post on Truth Social that "HE HAD A GUN, ONLY CRIMINALS CARRY GUNS ON OUR STREETS, WE NEED LAW AND ORDER" as a viral screenshot claims? No, that's not true: The image, which also contained the signature...
leadstories.com
January 25, 2026 at 11:19 AM
He did post something with the words "gun" and "criminals" but he didn't post this...
Reposted by Maarten Schenk
What We Know About Claim Alex Pretti, Was Disarmed Seconds Before He Was Shot and Killed by ICE Agent
What We Know About Claim Alex Pretti, Was Disarmed Seconds Before He Was Shot and Killed by ICE Agent
Does video show an ICE agent taking a gun away from Alex Pretti two seconds before another ICE agent began shooting Pretti? A frame-by-frame look at the first viral video of the incident shared on social media does show a...
leadstories.com
January 24, 2026 at 9:50 PM
What We Know About Claim Alex Pretti, Was Disarmed Seconds Before He Was Shot and Killed by ICE Agent
OMG, @leadstories.com fact check in a visible Community Note under an X post from The White House.
Read the fact check here:
leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2...
Read the fact check here:
leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2...
January 23, 2026 at 12:50 AM
OMG, @leadstories.com fact check in a visible Community Note under an X post from The White House.
Read the fact check here:
leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2...
Read the fact check here:
leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2...
The White House is posting digitally manipulated arrest pictures...
Fact Check: Nekima Levy Armstrong Was NOT Visibly Crying When Arrested By FBI In Connection With Minnesota "Church Riot" -- White House Posted An Altered Photo That Changes Her Expression, Adds Tears
Fact Check: Nekima Levy Armstrong Was NOT Visibly Crying When Arrested By FBI In Connection With Minnesota "Church Riot" -- White House Posted An Altered Photo That Changes Her Expression, Adds Tears
Was Nekima Levy Armstrong visibly crying in anguish in a Department of Homeland Security photo of her arrest by the FBI for her role in a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota? No, that's not true: The photo...
leadstories.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:33 PM
The White House is posting digitally manipulated arrest pictures...
Reposted by Maarten Schenk
Karoline Leavitt announced that Belgium joined Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’. Belgium’s foreign minister responds.
January 22, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Karoline Leavitt announced that Belgium joined Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’. Belgium’s foreign minister responds.
"Ik had fact checkers moeten gebruiken." - Rik Torfs
(Oh, nee, wacht, als dat een parafrase was van wat hij had moeten zeggen dan moet dat zonder aanhalingstekens zeker? Ik zal het aanpassen in de volgende druk van deze post...)
vrtnws.be/p.LNGQp7xVp
(Oh, nee, wacht, als dat een parafrase was van wat hij had moeten zeggen dan moet dat zonder aanhalingstekens zeker? Ik zal het aanpassen in de volgende druk van deze post...)
vrtnws.be/p.LNGQp7xVp
Oud-rector Rik Torfs gebruikt onbestaande citaten in zijn recentste boek 'Waarheid' | VRT NWS: nieuws
In het recente boek van oud-rector van de KU Leuven Rik Torfs staan minstens 7 citaten die niet kloppen. Dat blijkt uit een analyse van VRT NWS. De citaten komen niet voor in de bronnen waarnaar Torfs...
vrtnws.be
January 21, 2026 at 10:53 AM
"Ik had fact checkers moeten gebruiken." - Rik Torfs
(Oh, nee, wacht, als dat een parafrase was van wat hij had moeten zeggen dan moet dat zonder aanhalingstekens zeker? Ik zal het aanpassen in de volgende druk van deze post...)
vrtnws.be/p.LNGQp7xVp
(Oh, nee, wacht, als dat een parafrase was van wat hij had moeten zeggen dan moet dat zonder aanhalingstekens zeker? Ik zal het aanpassen in de volgende druk van deze post...)
vrtnws.be/p.LNGQp7xVp
I'm not "pardoning your French" if you are misinterpreting a clip of a TV guest saying
"Ukraine stopped sharing intelligence out of concern for leaks"
with
"Ukraine deliberately shared fake intelligence with the U.S. and saw Russia act on it".
That's not what he said. Not even in French.
"Ukraine stopped sharing intelligence out of concern for leaks"
with
"Ukraine deliberately shared fake intelligence with the U.S. and saw Russia act on it".
That's not what he said. Not even in French.
Fact Check: French Channel LCI Did NOT Report Ukraine Sent False Strategic Info To US -- Clip Only Mentioned 'Leaks' To Moscow
Fact Check: French Channel LCI Did NOT Report Ukraine Sent False Strategic Info To US -- Clip Only Mentioned 'Leaks' To Moscow
Did a guest in a clip from French TV channel LCI say Ukraine sent false strategic info to US intelligence services which they then observed Russian forces acting upon? No, that's not true: The video clip with guest Vincent Crouzet...
leadstories.com
January 19, 2026 at 2:09 PM
I'm not "pardoning your French" if you are misinterpreting a clip of a TV guest saying
"Ukraine stopped sharing intelligence out of concern for leaks"
with
"Ukraine deliberately shared fake intelligence with the U.S. and saw Russia act on it".
That's not what he said. Not even in French.
"Ukraine stopped sharing intelligence out of concern for leaks"
with
"Ukraine deliberately shared fake intelligence with the U.S. and saw Russia act on it".
That's not what he said. Not even in French.
Reposted by Maarten Schenk
Fact Check: French Channel LCI Did NOT Report Ukraine Sent False Strategic Info To US -- Clip Only Mentioned 'Leaks' To Moscow
Fact Check: French Channel LCI Did NOT Report Ukraine Sent False Strategic Info To US -- Clip Only Mentioned 'Leaks' To Moscow
Did a guest in a clip from French TV channel LCI say Ukraine sent false strategic info to US intelligence services which they then observed Russian forces acting upon? No, that's not true: The video clip with guest Vincent Crouzet...
leadstories.com
January 19, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Fact Check: French Channel LCI Did NOT Report Ukraine Sent False Strategic Info To US -- Clip Only Mentioned 'Leaks' To Moscow
Man, some of those notifications on X are ghoulish...
He's definitely not "LIVE".
He's definitely not "LIVE".
January 15, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Man, some of those notifications on X are ghoulish...
He's definitely not "LIVE".
He's definitely not "LIVE".
Once more for the people in the back: "Fact checking is the opposite of censorship, it *adds* information."
www.poynter.org/ifcn/2026/if...
www.poynter.org/ifcn/2026/if...
IFCN Statement: U.S. visa bans on international researchers undermine press freedom - Poynter
From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their car...
www.poynter.org
January 14, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Once more for the people in the back: "Fact checking is the opposite of censorship, it *adds* information."
www.poynter.org/ifcn/2026/if...
www.poynter.org/ifcn/2026/if...
January 9, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by Maarten Schenk
It's been exactly one year since Mark Zuckerberg pulled the plug on the US arm of Meta's fact-checking program.
But the program trundles on everywhere else in the world: I was able to confirm the company has renewed many contracts in 2026, albeit at a steep discount.
But the program trundles on everywhere else in the world: I was able to confirm the company has renewed many contracts in 2026, albeit at a steep discount.
An 18-month study found that fact-checking on Facebook reduced engagement with false info
It also identified weaknesses in Meta's fact-checking program, which faces an uncertain future outside the US
indicator.media
January 7, 2026 at 12:56 PM
It's been exactly one year since Mark Zuckerberg pulled the plug on the US arm of Meta's fact-checking program.
But the program trundles on everywhere else in the world: I was able to confirm the company has renewed many contracts in 2026, albeit at a steep discount.
But the program trundles on everywhere else in the world: I was able to confirm the company has renewed many contracts in 2026, albeit at a steep discount.
You have to see the images in this story...
There we go. That there’s a headline.
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter
A look inside Elon Musk’s big tent
www.ft.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:06 PM
You have to see the images in this story...