&Quot;Russia&Quot;

Did an authentic video on Facebook show F-16 fighter jets striking Russian President Vladimir Putin's cruise ship while it was carrying Korean shells? No, that's not true: The clip was published by an account self-described as that of a gaming video creator. The account has posted hundreds of similar videos on Facebook that also include signs of having been created…

Does a photo show Moscow "dark due to severe electricity shortage" in August 2024? No, that's not true: The image of the Kremlin without its lights on is from 2014 and was taken for a World Wildlife Fund event. The photo does not show Moscow in 2024 amid the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are no reports of electricity…

Did the United Kingdom and France issue a "Secret International Arrest Warrant" for Elon Musk? No, that's not true: No news organizations reported anything about the supposedly existing "secret" arrest warrant for Musk approved within jurisdictions of the U.K. or France. The International Criminal Court that issues international arrest warrants denied there is one for the owner of the X…

Was Kamala Harris a card-carrying, dues-paying member of the Communist Party of Russia in 1984? No, that's not true: The "membership card" in a social media post is fake. A Russian prank-generating website offers this Communist Party card in a template: All a user needs to do is upload a photo and add a name and year of birth and…

Are Donald Trump and JD Vance supporters now carrying around specimen cups of Vance's semen marked "JD Vance Full Family Kit" to "mock democrats who can't start families" as shown in a series of photos being spread online? No, that's not true: Several aspects point to this being an election year prank or stunt. The photos were taken at an…

Was Thomas Jolly, "the artist who created the Olympics opening ceremony," hospitalized after being hit by lightning? No, that's not true: The viral claim was based on a fake screenshot of a nonexistent AP article. Lead Stories found no actual news reports or any evidence that such a lightning strike happened. The claim appeared in a reel on Facebook on…

Will staring at an image designed by a Japanese neurologist measure your stress levels depending on how fast elements of the image appear to be rotating? No, that's not true: The image is optical illusion art by Yurii Perepadia, a Ukrainian graphic designer. Elements of the image may appear to rotate based on what's called the "peripheral drift illusion." The…

Does an image of a post-blast orange cloud confirm that the Ukrainian Armed Forces used chemical weapons during their August 2024 incursion into Russia's Kursk region? No, that's not true: The picture shared on social media was taken in Iraq in 2015. It's unrelated to Ukraine's surprise cross-border attack on Russian territory. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did Fox News broadcast a segment about online influencer MrBeast starting his own online casino "where everyone wins"? No, that's not true: The video contained signs of digital manipulation, and an AI-detection tool further confirmed that the segment was not authentic. A Fox News spokesperson denied that the network aired such a segment. Lead Stories found no traces of the…

Does a viral picture prove that U.S. citizens participated in Ukraine's incursion into the territory of Russia in August 2024? No, that's not true: The photo predates the attack by roughly two years. It has been online since the fall of 2022. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, by @aussiecossack on August…