# Fact Check: Fake Video Claims Ex-Student of Senator Talarico

> AI-generated video falsely claims ex-student of Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico.
- Title: Fact Check: Fake Video Claims Ex-Student of Senator Talarico
- Summary: AI-generated video falsely claims ex-student of Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico. Zyon Lewis denies being in AI video claiming sexual assault by…
- Keywords: james talarico, zyon lewis, democratic senate nominee, ai generated video, sexual assault claim, rhodes middle school, fact check, news, Fact, Check, Fake, Video
- Source: Lead Stories — https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2026/10/fact-check-fake-video-shows-man-claiming-to-be-ex-student-of-democratic-senate-nominee-james-talarico-real-zyon-lewis-says-it-is-not-him.html
- Published: 2026-10-21T20:56:22+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: james talarico, zyon lewis, democratic senate nominee, ai generated video, sexual assault claim, rhodes middle school, fact check, news
## Fake Video Claim
A video posted by @Zyon_Lewis_5 on X on Oct. 20, 2026 claims sexual assault by James Talarico in 2012 at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio.

> I was sexually assaulted by my language arts teacher James Talarico. It happened in 2012 at Rhodes Middle school in San Antonio
## AI-Generated Video
Hive Moderation tool says the videos are 99.1% and 99.8% likely AI-generated with synthetic voices and unnatural movements.
## Zyon Lewis Response
Zyon Lewis says the video is not him and was created using AI from his Facebook posts.

> I've looked at it, and it's not me. The video is very much AI, very bad AI
## Talarico Teacher History
James Talarico taught English and Language Arts at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio from 2011 to 2013.
## Lewis Denies Abuse
Zyon Lewis says Talarico never sexually abused him and was a great teacher in sixth grade.

> No, not at all. Not even close. He was he was my teacher in sixth grade. That would be 2011, 2012. But he was a great teacher. Never messed with me. Never was weird any kind of way towards me or any other student that I've ever seen
## Key takeaway

Zyon Lewis denies being in AI video claiming sexual assault by teacher James Talarico.