Media Bias Fact Check (MBFC) publishes daily vetted fact checks from verified IFCN-approved sources. Each claim is independently reviewed for accuracy and context.
Claimant: Social Media
Claim: A genuine yearbook photograph shows Pete Hegseth with black hair and guyliner.
Rating: FALSE
Explanation: The image was AI-generated and was not one of Hegseth’s yearbook photographs. Archived Forest Lake High School yearbooks contain different photographs of Hegseth from his sophomore, junior and senior years, and an AI-detection tool assessed the viral image as AI-generated with 99.9% confidence.
Date: 07/19/2026
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Last Updated on July 19, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check