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Today — 9 May 2026Main stream

Fact Check: FAKE Video Of Real Madrid Soccer Star Federico Valverde Being Released From Hospital Is AI-Generated

Fact Check: FAKE Video Of Real Madrid Soccer Star Federico Valverde Being Released From Hospital Is AI-Generated
Lead Stories says: AI Generated

Does a viral video show Real Madrid soccer star Federico Valverde being released from the hospital after his altercation with his teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni? No, that's not true: An online AI detector suggested that the viral video was generated by AI, with an unlikely detail in the video pointing to it being fake. There are no legitimate news reports of a video showing Valverde leaving the hospital and a person with him attacking the camera person.

The claim appeared in a video posted to TikTok account @wild.stor1ies on May 7, 2026 (archived here and here). It opened with a caption in Spanish. According to Google Translate, the caption in English read:

Breaking News 🚨🚨 Exclusive footage of Valverde being transported to the hospital

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

soccerguy.png
Image source: post by @wild.stor!es onTikTok.

The @wild.stor1es account that posted the video has only posted four videos at the time of the publication of this story on May 8, 2026. All four appear to be fake videos of Valverde and Tchouaméni. The viral video in this fact check appears to be AI generated. The online detection tool AI Video Detector found the video had a high probability of AI manipulation, with a risk score of 76/100 that it was AI generated, as this screenshot shows:

Screenshot 2026-05-08 133039.png
Image source: AIvideodetector.org.

Real Madrid player Valverde was taken to the hospital on May 7, 2026, after an altercation with his teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni at the team's training facility, as The Guardian reported (archived here). The paper reported there was video of Valverde's car going to and from the training facility but that he was not visible in the car:

Valverde was taken to the medical department at Valdebebas and from there to the nearby Hospital Blua Sanitas Valdebebas, where he was given stitches. Cameras caught the 27-year-old's car going back and forth from the training ground, although the Uruguay midfielder was not visible inside.

News outlet Madrid Universal published a photo on their X.com account @MadridUniversal (archived here) of Valverde's car returning to the training facility on May 7, 2026, as this screenshot shows:

Screenshot 2026-05-08 134436.png
Image source: post by @MadridUniversal on X.

Valverde's hospital visit after his argument with Tchouaméni was covered by major international news outlets. Had there been a video of him being wheeled out of the hospital with a guard attacking the camera person, that would have been widely published. Lead Stories searched Google and Yahoo! for video of Valverde being wheeled out of the hospital and did not find any matching results.

A sign of the video being fake is the uniform shirt the man in the wheelchair appears to be wearing. According to reports, the incident took place at practice at a training facility. However, the man in the video in the wheelchair is wearing what appears to be the long sleeved game jersey for the team, as this screenshot shows:

Screenshot 2026-05-08 135148.png
Image source: post by @wild.stor!es onTikTok.

A photo that is being widely used in stories about Valverde and Tchouameni's incident is from a March 14, 2026, game shows Valverde in a long sleeved jersey. That image is available on the Getty Images website (archived here), as this screenshot shows:

Screenshot 2026-05-08 133356.png
Image source: Getty Images.
Before yesterdayMain stream

Gary Jobson Remembers Sailing Legend Ted Turner

Ted Turner on His Yacht Courageous

Ted Turner aboard the Courageous after winning the Americas Cup in Newport, Rhode Island in 1977

Bettmann Archive

I could say that the modern America’s Cup really began with the late Ted Turner who died today. But the truth is…I wasn’t there when Turner was stamping his mark on global sailing. However, America’s Cup legend and Sailing Museum & National Sailing Hall of Fame co-president Gary Jobson was. And he’s been kind enough to share some of his memories with me here.

Ted Turner After Winning America's Cup

Gary Jobson (left) and Ted Turner celebrate winning the Americas Cup in 1977

Bettmann Archive

“Ted Turner was one of the most consequential and transformative figures in the history of modern sailing and global media,” he writes with fellow Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame co-president Tom Stark. “As the founder of CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network, he fundamentally changed how people access information and permanently reshaped the global media landscape. Yet long before he revolutionized television, he had already established himself as a fierce competitor, visionary leader and unforgettable presence on and off the water.

Ted Turner Receives a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame

Ted Turner Receives a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Chris Polk/FilmMagic)

FilmMagic

“Turner started out sailing at the age of eight in Savannah, Georgia,” Jobson continues. “He would tell you his early days didn’t produce good results. ‘I wasn’t losing, I was just learning how to win,’ he’d say.

“Turner’s virtues were grounded in hard work, loyalty, and kindness. Anyone who has ever met Ted will always say nice things about him. He was down to earth and cared about making the world a better place. Turner had a bumper sticker on all his vehicles that states, ‘Save Everything.’

Ted Turner

Ted Turner aboard 'Courageous' in Newport, Rhode Island, August 31st 1977. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Getty Images

“For the sailors who’ve raced with Turner, the friendship extended a lifetime. He was colorful and always drew a crowd. As an example of how Turner demonstrated leadership and earned loyalty, I recall a race on Courageous that had gone very well. After the race Turner invited his tactician and mainsail trimmer — me and Robbie Doyle — to the post-race press conference.

“John Ahern, a 58-year-old writer from The Boston Globe, asked “What was the key to your victory?” Without missing a beat, Turner answered, “With a tactician like Gary calling the wind shifts and a trimmer like Robbie making us go fast it was easy. I steered, but these guys and the rest of the crew are the reason we won.” The very next day we had a terrible race. I missed a wind shift, and Robbie had the wrong jib up. Ted invited us to the post-race press briefing again. I was not looking forward to it.

Obit Ted Turner

FILE - Ted Turner, center, is carried off by his crew following a news conference after his vessel Courageous won the Americas Cup sailing race, Sept. 19, 1977, in Newport, R.I. At right is Bill Ficker, skipper of cup winner Intrepid in 1970. (AP Photo/J. Walter Green, File)

Associated Press

“Once again John Ahern asked, ‘After yesterday’s great race, what happened today, Ted?’ Turner looked straight at Ahern and said, ‘I had a bad race today, it was on me, we will try to do better in the next race.’ I stood there listening and realized what Ted was all about: When we won, he spread the credit around. But when we lost, he took the blame. That lesson has resonated with me throughout my life.

Ted Turner Photographed In His Office, Atlanta

(original caption) Cable television mogul Ted Turner is photographed with his trophies (mostly for sailboat racing) in his office at Turner Broadcasting System on January 28, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage)

WireImage

“Turner was colorful. Immediately after winning the fourth race of the 1977 America’s Cup, he was obligated to attend the post-race press conference, but he got sidetracked on his way down Thames Street in Newport to the cavernous Armory building that was bulging with the assembled press corps. We all knew Ted had a low tolerance for alcohol. Someone handed him a bottle of the Swedish liquor Aquavit. He took several generous swigs and by the time he arrived at the Armory he was brash, colorful, and outrageous.

Ted Turner Drinking and Holding Admirer

(Original Caption) Courageous skipper Ted Turner celebrates defeating Australia in four straight races to successfully defend the America's Cup in 1977.

Bettmann Archive

“The press loved the moment. Turner had been asked to behave all summer and now he could let loose — and he did.

Some 33 years later at a 12 Meter reunion in Newport, someone asked Turner about the infamous press conference. Ted put his head down, paused for a moment and with a half-smile said, “I would like to apologize, once again, for my behavior that afternoon.” His comment brought the house down.

“At the 30th reunion of the Courageous America’s Cup victory Turner recalled “The ’77 Cup race was a high point of our lives. It would be hard to beat. We all had such a great time together. We pulled together. We all knew if we were going to have any chance to win, we were going to have to all perform at an absolutely superlative level. It was a crew of 100% winners. There was not a loser in the bunch. Everyone rose to the occasion, otherwise we would not have won.”

The-Sailing-Museum_Annabelle-Hendersøn-photo56

Ted Turner is featured at the Sailing Museum in Newport, Rhode Island

© Annabelle Henderson

“Over the years I have given nearly 3,000 lecture presentations. While the topics have varied, one subject is always included — The America’s Cup. And the most frequent question I am asked is ‘What is it like to sail with Ted Turner?’

“I always take my time when I answer. Ted was a gifted sailor, and he recruited top sailors. Ted always said he likes when decisions are made at the lowest level. He is quite methodical when working with a tactician and navigator. He asked probing questions that challenge you to think hard. He appreciated people who think through all the possible options available. He often surprised me with an alternative option that I might not have thought about. In sum, Ted did three things well on long distance races: He was a superb helmsman. He was very good at trimming spinnakers and will spend considerable time continuously adjusting the sail. He was at his best as a leader. When Ted makes a decision, the crew buys in and executes.

And when he was asked what the highlight of his remarkable career was, Ted Turner said, ‘Racing sailboats was the greatest time of my life.’”

Thank you Gary. And thank you Ted Turner.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

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