Does the caption on a video on social media correctly state that the video shows NATO military equipment arriving in Europe? No, that's not true: These vehicles were preparing to leave Europe. The video shows U.S. Army vehicles from the 3
Publication: War
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Ukrainian Children Are Being Punished For Questioning Zelenskyy
Is there evidence that children in Ukraine are being punished for questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no information that supported this statement. Additionally, an image used to su
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Putin ‘Ordered The Destruction Of All Covid-19 Vaccine Stockpiles On Russian Soil’
Did Russian President Vladimir Putin order the destruction of all COVID-19 vaccine supplies in Russia? No, that's not true. The claim originated from a website known for spreading false claims, and no other independent credible source has
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show ‘Zelensky’s Double’ With Ukrainian Leader And President Joe Biden
Did Polish media "accidentally" catch on camera Volodymyr Zelenskyy's lookalike as he followed the Ukrainian leader during President Joe Biden's February 20, 2023, visit to Kyiv? No, that's not true: The person seen following the Ukrainia
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Zelenskyy Did NOT Say US Should Send Its Sons, Daughters To War Now — He Was Speaking Hypothetically If Ukraine Were To Lose War
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say the United States should send its sons and daughters to war now to fight for Ukraine against Russia? No, that's not true: His quote was taken out of context. Zelenskyy was addressing a hypot
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: War In Ukraine Is NOT Proved Fake By Before-And-After Photos Of Repairs After Missile Strike
Do a pair of photos that show completed repairs to a high-rise building in Ukraine only one year after it was damaged by a missile strike prove that the war in Ukraine is "fake"? No, that's not true: There is footage of the missile strike
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show HIMARS And Gepard Systems In Romania Heading To Moldova
Does a video show HIMARS and Gepard military weaponry on a street in Romania heading to Moldova? No, that's not true: The footage was shot in November 2022 of a military rehearsal for the National Day Parade in Alba Iulia, Romania, approx
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Twitter Did NOT Institute Policy Banning Flag Of Ukraine
Did Twitter make a rule that users may not display the flag of Ukraine on their profile because it is considered a political statement against Russia? No, that's not true: A post from Walter Report contained a fabricated image which appea
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine NOT First Time 100,000 Troops Invaded Another Country Since World War II
Was Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the first time 100,000 troops had invaded another country since World War II? No, that's not true: There are many examples of military forces totaling more than 100,000 inv
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NOT Accurate That Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley ‘Never Served In Combat’ — Pentagon Provides Proof
Has U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "never served in combat"? No, that's not true: A publicly available profile of Milley lists his numerous operational deployments over the past several decades. The cla
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Letter Demanding Ukraine Refugee Info From Hosts Did NOT Come From UK Government Department — It’s A Fake
Did a British government department ask families hosting Ukrainian refugees to report adult males to the Ukrainian embassy in January 2023? No, that's not true. A spokesperson for the UK Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communitie
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Show Abrams Tanks In Poland
Does a video circulating on social media show American M1 Abrams tanks in Poland? No, that's not true: The clip was shot in the United States, in Kansas. While the video lacks the precise details needed to establish whether the tanks in q
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Russian Special Forces Destroy ‘Adrenochrome Lab In Ukraine’ As Of January 23, 2023
Did Russian special forces, under the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, destroy an "adrenochrome lab in Ukraine" as of January 23, 2023? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a website that regularly publishes fabricated
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Russian Media Did NOT Report That Ukrainians Used Russian Soldiers’ Corpses To Form Image Of Ukrainian Nationalist Stepan Bandera
By Evgenia Prodaeva Did the Russian media outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda (Young Communist League Truth) report that Ukrainians used dead Russian soldiers to assemble a battlefield image of assassinated Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Ban
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New Anti-Zelenskyy Graffiti Did NOT Appear In London On January 18, 2023
Did new graffiti negatively portraying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appear in London? No, that's not true: Based on analysis of open-source data, Lead Stories identified the location of the purported drawing as Lindt Home of Ch
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Of Zelenskyy Portrayed As Locust Did NOT Appear In NYC’s Central Park As Of January 10, 2023
Did an image of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy depicting him as a "locust" eating up budgets around the world appear in New York City's Central Park as of January 10, 2023? No, that's not true. A Lead Stories reporter found no tr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: BBC Did NOT Post Graph Of ‘Fortunes Of Ukrainian Politicians’
Did the BBC post a graph that showed a dramatic increase in the "Fortunes of Ukrainian politicians" between February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and December 2022, after the receipt of billions of dollar
Truth or Fiction?→ Brazil Insurrection Had Familiar Faces, Themes
A January 8 2023 attempted right-wing coup in Brazil’s capital Brasília followed the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (popularly known as “Lula”) over right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the South American nation’s pres
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Images Do NOT Prove Existence Of ‘Covert Military Base’ On Mars
Does a set of online images prove that there is a "covert military base" on the planet Mars? No, that's not true: There have been no documented human missions to Mars, whether for military or other purposes, as of the date of this fact ch
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Show ‘Russia’s Most Advanced Nuclear Submarine’ Spotted In Hawaii On December 26, 2022
Was "Russia's most advanced nuclear submarine' seen floating in Hawaii on December 26, 2022? No, that's not true: A social media post making the claim uses footage from a fictional TV show. The story appeared in a post published on Facebo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ukrainian Flag Delivered To Washington By Zelenskyy Did NOT Have The ‘Nazi SS’ Symbol
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bring a national flag with the "Nazi SS" symbol to Washington, D.C.? No, that's not true: The image circulating on social media was flipped to distort the original inscription. The claim appeare
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show Olena Zelenska After ‘Shopping Trip In Paris’ — Image Is Photoshopped
Does the image in this tweet document Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska on what appears to be a private jet after she spent "€40000 on a shopping trip in Paris"? No, that's not true: The image is a digital manipulation that puts her f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Merkel Does NOT Say In Interview That U.S., NATO Planned War In Ukraine Against Russia
Did former German Chancellor Angela Merkel reveal in an interview plans by the United States and NATO for war in Ukraine with Russia? No, that's not true: Nowhere in her interview with the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, which wa
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Did NOT Put His Hand On Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s Buttocks — The Photo Is Edited
Did President Joe Biden put his hand on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's buttocks while pausing for a photo op during Zelenskyy's December 2022 visit to the United States? No, that's not true: The original image was posted to Twi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Zelenskyy Did NOT Say ‘Butthole’ When Giving Biden A Medal
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say the word "butthole" when giving President Joe Biden a medal at the White House? No, that's not true: Zelenskyy was saying "Pavlo," the name of the Ukrainian Army military captain who sent hi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO ‘Huge Army Of 2500000 Chechens’ Preparing ‘The End Of Russia’ Or Helping Putin In Ukraine
Is there a "huge army of 2500000 Chechens preparing the end of Russia" or helping "get Putin out of the bottleneck" in Ukraine? No, that's not true: The self-contradictory claim that fails to mention a source cites an unrealistic number e
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 80,000 Ukrainian Troops Have NOT Imposed A ‘Total Blockade’ On Russian Forces In The Donetsk Region
Have 80,000 Ukrainian troops totally blockaded Russian invasion forces fighting in Ukraine's semi-occupied eastern Donetsk region? No, that's not true: The post making the claim in its caption does not mention a blockade in an accompanyin
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Leonel Messi Did NOT Direct Profanity Or Criticism At Ukraine’s Zelenskyy In Instagram Post
Did Leonel Messi, an Argentinian football star who led his national team to the 2022 World Cup, swear at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Instagram, demanding that the Ukrainian leader "take [his] people and get out of Europe" a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Just Launch ‘Terrifying Hypersonic T-Jet To Beat Russia’
Did Elon Musk just launch the "terrifying hypersonic T-Jet to beat Russia"? No, that's not true: There is zero evidence to support the claim. Musk's private rocket company made no such announcement, and the video making the allegation is
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 80,000 Polish Troops Did NOT Besiege Kaliningrad, Russia
Did 80,000 Polish troops besiege Kaliningrad, Russia? No, that's not true: The video making this claim in its headline does not mention 80,000 Polish troops besieging Kaliningrad, Russia, in its recorded content. There have also been no n
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Russian Evacuation Of 800K From Crimea
Does a video show the Russian government evacuating 800,000 people from the "island" of Crimea? No, that's not true: Russian officials said in media reports and on social media sites that no evacuations have occurred in Crimea. Also, Crim
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Switzerland Did NOT Ban ‘Electric Cars Due To Their Excessive Energy Use’ On December 7, 2022
Did Switzerland ban electric vehicles "due to their excessive energy use" on December 7, 2022? No, that's not true: The country only discussed a draft of legislation that suggested that electric car use might be limited to essential activ
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ukrainian Man Was Sentenced For Treason, Kidnapping, NOT For Hanging Russian Flag In Odesa
Was a man from the Ukrainian city of Odesa sent to prison for 15 years for hanging up the Russian flag? No, that's not true: The unnamed person in question was found guilty of treason, collaboration with Russian forces and kidnapping. The
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That Graffiti Showing Zelenskyy Eating Money Ever Appeared In Paris
Did graffiti showing Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy eating money appear in the capital of France during November 2022? No, that's not true: Neither local authorities nor the personnel of a store located near the supposed graffiti
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: These Photos Do NOT Show A ‘Ukrainian Soldier’ With A Swastika Tattoo Captured In November 2022
Do photos circulating on social media show a recently captured Ukrainian POW with a swastika tattoo on his back? No, that's not true: These are seven-year-old images, taken during fighting in 2015 with armed, Russia-backed separatists in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: These Are NOT Staged Photos Used For Ukrainian Propaganda — They Document First Aid Training In 2016
Are these staged photos taken from the phone of an employee of the Ukrainian CIPSO (Center for Information and Psychological Operations) showing fake victims, proving the war in Ukraine is staged? No, that's not true: The photos were take
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Trident Is NOT A Symbol of Nazism On The Ukrainian Flag
Does a trident superimposed on the gold and blue Ukrainian flag represent membership in, or support for, the Nazi political movement? No, that's not true: The trident is the national symbol of Ukraine that is often added to the country's
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Show An Al Jazeera Report About ‘Nazi Ukrainians’ Being ‘Arrested In Qatar’
Does a viral video show Al Jazeera footage of "Nazi Ukrainians" "arrested in Qatar after they drew swastikas on football posters"? No, that's not true: The network denied that it had anything to do with the clip using its logo. More impor
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That Russian Ex-President Medvedev Offered To Supply Poland With ‘The Best Air Defence Systems’ In November 2022
Did Russian ex-president and the deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, tweet that Moscow "is ready to supply Poland with the best air defence systems to prevent further aggression from Ukraine"? No, that's not true:
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Before-And-After Photos From Ukraine Do NOT Show Evidence Of Propaganda Fakery Or ‘Magically Restored’ Destruction
Is a video montage showing before and after photos of Ukrainian buildings damaged by war -- but restored to their original appearance -- an example of propagandists manipulating photos? No, that's not true: Basic image searching independe