While an online search displayed plenty of videos promoting these claims, we primarily looked at two of the most popular clips.
On May 26, 2024, the Lock Trends YouTube channel published a video with the title, “CNN LEAKS New Footage From Diddy And Jay Z’s Underground Play Tunnels!!” As of May 31, the video received nearly 400,000 views.
Similarly, the Celeb Lounge YouTube channel posted a video on May 29 showing the title, “CNN LEAKS Footage Of FBI Agent EXPOSING Jay Z & Diddy!!” It earned over 150,000 views.
These two videos and many others hosted on the same channels all appeared scripted, edited and narrated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The gossip-centric content of the videos included various clips from news broadcasts, interviews and other footage.
Again, at no time did any of the videos present evidence CNN aired or “leaked” footage about Combs, Jay-Z and illicit sexual activities in “underground play tunnels.” A Google search found no articles on CNN.com about the subject. Further, a search of the Internet Archive’s TV News Archive showed CNN’s TV channel broadcast no news about the matter.
Misleading Thumbnail ImagesThe “underground play tunnels” video from the Lock Trends YouTube channel featured a misleading thumbnail image showing FBI Director Christopher Wray, Combs, a tunnel and a red arrow. The image displayed a fake quote falsely claiming Wray or someone else on CNN said, “‘Diddy’s’ life is f***ed.”
Similarly, the Celeb Lounge YouTube video also included a misleading thumbnail image of a judge in a courtroom and a masked Jay-Z. The source of the Jay-Z photo may have come from a court appearance in 2021 involving a fragrance company lawsuit. This image also featured a fake quote.
Other videos posted on both Lock Trends and Celeb Lounge displayed similar thumbnail images featuring fake quotes and misleading pictures of Combs, Jay-Z, other celebrities and tunne
