7+ mon, 4+ week ago (101+ words) Learn how to perform reverse-image searches, spot deepfake videos, identify photos that were created using AI software " and more. Let us help you be a smarter consumer of information online. These are tips our professional fact-checkers use daily to determine whether viral rumors are factual or misleading. Learn more about Snopes' fact-checking process, including how readers' inquiries drive our efforts. Think you've come across a suspicious rumor while scrolling? Drop us a line. We'll try to look into it. Jessica Lee is Snopes' Senior Assignments Editor with expertise in investigative storytelling, media literacy advocacy and digital audience engagement....

7+ mon, 2+ week ago (184+ words) From photos with politicians to rumors of art he owned, Snopes has looked into a variety of claims related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 20 rumors Snopes has investigated related to Jeffrey Epstein Published April 16, 2025 Since the 2019 arrest of financier Jeffrey Epstein and his subsequent death by suicide while in custody, rumors of Epstein's sphere of influence among society's elite have flown fast and loose. Epstein was arrested again 10 years later on July 6, 2019, this time on federal sex trafficking charges, and found dead in his cell just over a month later on Aug. 10, 2019. Rumors of his alleged associations with prominent politicians like U.S. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris have been widely circulated for years, along with more bizarre claims like the kids television network Nickelodeon redesigning its logo in the shape of Epstein's private island or rumors…...

11+ mon, 2+ week ago (680+ words) While the 2024 presidential election dominated American news headlines in 2024, a lot more than just politics captured Snopes readers' attention." Based on our site's traffic analytics, more people read fact checks about sports stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Brittney Griner and Aaron Rodgers than any others. Readers also gravitated to pages about high-profile celebrities such as Sean "Diddy" Combs and Elon Musk, as well as rumors about a giant sea creature and musicians' concert tours. Compared to all rumors we fact-checked in 2024, the 10 fact checks below attracted the most readers, ranked from highest to lowest since January. Snopes' archives contributed to this report. Heading into 2025, we'll continue to bring context and clarity to the day's hottest claims, no matter their level of absurdity. You can submit tips for our fact-checkers to consider, and, if you find our work useful and…...

4+ mon, 2+ week ago (485+ words) Some of the posts with the rumor alleged that Gauff had also personally traveled to the disaster zone to assist. For instance, one Facebook post (archived) began: Other Facebook users also shared the same claim. Some of those posts featured links in top comments leading to articles hosted on advertisement-filled blogs. The rumor also spread on Threads and Instagram. However, searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo found no news media outlets reporting about Gauff donating $3 million for search and rescue efforts amid Texas floods. Prominent news media outlets would have widely reported this rumor, if true. There was also no mention of the donation on Gauff's social media accounts, including Instagram and Facebook. Snopes contacted Gauff's representatives by email to ask if they could confirm someone fabricated the rumor, and whether they had any additional comments to share. We…...

2+ mon, 3+ day ago (191+ words) Here's a look into our efforts to dispel misinformation about the widely misunderstood condition. 12 rumors about autism that Snopes has investigated Here's a look into our efforts to dispel misinformation about the widely misunderstood condition. Published Sept. 27, 2025 Rumors about autism, a developmental disorder, have spread online for decades. Snopes reporters have worked to dispel several of these claims, many of them centered around the longstanding and thoroughly debunked rumor that vaccines cause autism. For example, we determined that a two-decade long study from Denmark showed no link between vaccines and autism. We also investigated the origins of a misleading and faulty study that claimed to show links between vaccines and autism. During U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, he directed Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to investigate the causes of autism " leading Snopes to investigate various…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago (430+ words) A rumor that billionaire and frequent target of conspiracy theories George Soros declared bankruptcy after funding nationwide protests against the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump circulated online in late October 2025." For example, a post on"Facebook (archived) stated, "George Soros has been forced to declare bankruptcy after paying over seven million people to attend the No Kings protests, the billionaire confirmed on Monday." Other users shared similar claims on"Facebook (archived) and X (archived), tapping into a"common conspiracy theory that Soros funds protests against conservatives and the political right." Some reading the rumor seemed to interpret it as fact, searching the Snopes website and sending emails asking us to confirm its veracity. However, there was no evidence George Soros filed for bankruptcy."No credible media outlets reported on the rumor, which would have been widely reported as international news…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago (179+ words) Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a mainstay in the authoritarian country's political landscape for decades" giving the internet plenty of time to spread rumors about the former KGB agent. Claims often circulate about Putin's relationships with other politicians, such as U.S. President Donald Trump or North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un. Many of Putin's actions on the world stage also lead to rumors: In 2022, he launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, leading to various fact-checks, including whether he threatened nuclear consequences for retaliating against his war. Here are 20 claims we've looked into about Putin. Kasprak, Alex. "This Video Is a Lie: Putin and Kim Did Not Refuse to Drink after Toasting Each Other." Snopes, Snopes Media Group, 3 Jan. 2024, www.snopes.com/fact-check/kim-putin-toast/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025. Kirby, Paul. "Vladimir Putin: From Russia's KGB to a Long Presidency Defined by War in…...

4+ mon, 1+ week ago (200+ words) Allegations about the disgraced financier have flown fast and loose since his 2019 arrest and subsequent suicide. Looking back on 19 Jeffrey Epstein rumors Snopes investigated Allegations about the disgraced financier have flown fast and loose since his 2019 arrest and subsequent suicide. Published July 21, 2025 Disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been omnipresent in the rumor mill since his 2019 arrest and subsequent death by suicide while in custody, thanks in large part to rumored unreleased "Epstein files." Numerous celebrities and politicians had purported connections to Epstein, which led to pervasive rumors and accusations across all corners of the internet. From his alleged associations with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Diddy to a theory that the children's network Nickelodeon modeled its latest logo after the shape of his private island, rumors about the Epstein run the gamut from realistic to far-fetched. Epstein,…...

10+ mon, 3+ week ago (441+ words) In December 2024, a rumor began spreading online that a team of researchers at Yale University had found the "spike protein" of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the COVID-19 illness, in the blood of people who had never been infected but had been vaccinated. Social media users shared this claim and suggested it was alarming because it meant the genetic material of the vaccine had "integrated" with human DNA. For example, on Dec. 21, 2024, one X user said (archived): "URGENT: Yale researchers have found Covid spike protein in the blood of people never infected with Covid - years after they got mRNA jabs. The spike proteins shouldn't be there. It's possible that vaccine genetic material has integrated with human DNA, causing long-term spike production." Berenson's Substack report was titled: "URGENT: Yale researchers have found Covid spike protein in the blood of…...

7+ mon, 1+ week ago (443+ words) After Pope Francis' death in April 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump urged the Vatican to select the next pope from the cast of "Fox & Friends." Following the death of Pope Francis, online users shared a rumor claiming U.S. President Donald Trump urged the Vatican to select the new pope from the cast of "Fox & Friends." For example, on April 21, 2025 "the day Pope Francis died "one Facebook user shared the claim, "Trump Urges Vatican to Select New Pope from Cast of 'Fox & Friends.'" Numerous other users also shared the same rumor on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads and X. Snopes readers also emailed about the rumor, with one person asking, "Did Trump actually suggest that a Fox & Friends host become pope?" Some of the posts featured a link to an article (archived) from The Borowitz Report, which began as follows: Trump Urges Vatican to Select New…...