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  • Snopes Digest #119: Alex Pretti shooting, Victoria Beckham — and more

Snopes Digest #119: Alex Pretti shooting, Victoria Beckham — and more

Here's what's happening inside the Snopes newsroom

Author

Izz LaMagdeleine
February 08, 2026

Feb. 8, 2026・Issue #119

1. Snopes-ing 101: Fact-checking images surrounding killing of Alex Pretti

Let's talk about what's going on with Snopes: the newsroom, the products, the people, and everything and anything that makes Snopes, Snopes. This month, Snopes reporter Nur Ibrahim broke down images we fact-checked after Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis by U.S. Border Patrol agents in late January 2026.

On Jan. 24, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse who had been participating in protests against an immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

Almost immediately, fake or manipulated images of Pretti spread across the internet that misrepresented the moment of his death. We debunked the images by starting with the source. We looked closely at verified video footage of his shooting and went backward to determine how viral images showing the moment Pretti was shot had been heavily edited with AI.

In another instance, posts claimed a photo showed Pretti dressed in drag. We started by looking closely at verified images that were released by Pretti's family to the media, comparing them to tattoos on the other person's body. In this case, we also determined the photo had spread online before Pretti was shot.

As always, we researched these images by asking the following key questions: Who took or posted the photo? In what context was the photo shared? Where and when was the photo captured and when did it first appear online? Answering each question helps us get to the truth. For more on how we debunk such images, read more from our media literacy series.

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2. Fact-Checking Highlight: Alex Pretti shooting

From web producer/production editor Izz Scott LaMagdeleine:

Since Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis by U.S. Border Patrol agents in late January 2026, we've been busy investigating rumors that have spread online about him and his death.

For instance, we debunked a false claim that Pretti was fired from his nursing job for misconduct and fact-checked real videos that showed a confrontation between Pretti and federal officers days before his death.

Here are six claims we've inspected related to the shooting:

3. Overheard at Snopes

We look into a lot of weird stuff at Snopes. We imagine it's very interesting to be a fly on the wall, so we wanted to give you a look at some of the things we have to say when fact-checking.

Overheard: "surely she doesn't mean the 7th president of the United Sta--" i say as i click the link

— Reporter Emery Winter

4. Behind the Snopes: Alleged Victoria Beckham 'inappropriate' dance photos

From reporter Laerke Christensen:

When Brooklyn Beckham — the son of retired English soccer player David Beckham and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham — set social media ablaze with a bombshell statement appearing to publicly break ties with his famous family, one accusation in particular ran wild online.

In the statement, Brooklyn Beckham said his mother "hijacked" his first dance at his 2022 wedding to Nicola Peltz by dancing "very inappropriately on me in front of everyone."

Despite the nuptials being strictly off-camera for guests, images and videos soon flooded the internet that allegedly proved what had happened. One such set of images showed Victoria Beckham striking various dance poses while the newlywed couple looked on.

However, the jig was soon up for the person who created the images when we took a closer look. According to Google's Gemini chatbot, the pictures contained SynthID, Google's invisible watermark that its AI products add to its creations.

Will we ever get what we want, what we really, really want — authentic photos of Victoria doing the splits? Only time will tell. In the meantime, we hope you'll keep coming to Snopes for help in sorting AI slop from reality.

Mental Health Break

Snopes investigates some grim and depressing claims, so we know how important it is to your mental health to see something silly, funny, or just plain heartwarming. Here are some links that made us smile.

5. Snopes-worthy Media

What Snopes is paying attention to across the web.

— Angie Drobnic Holan, International Fact-Checking Network

— José R. Ralat, Texas Monthly

— Bryan Curtis, The Ringer

Thanks for reading this edition of the Snopes Digest. We send new issues of the newsletter every month, so please add this email address to your white list and keep an eye out for the next issue.

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