King Charles Iii

Did the U.K.'s King Charles III die on or before June 24, 2024 as a post on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: As of this writing on June 26, 2024, the king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and head of the Commonwealth, was alive. There have been no official announcements or credible reports regarding…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy buy the luxury Vuni Palace Hotel in Cyprus? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that the Ukrainian leader bought the resort on the northern coast of the island nation. In an online statement, the Ukrainian embassy in Cyprus called the claim "Russian propaganda" and "yet another lie aimed at discrediting Ukraine and…

Does a photo of a toddler walking past the debris of burned village homes portray the damage caused by foreign mercenaries in Ukraine? No, that's not true: The image is a screenshot of a 2015 staged music video. In 2024, the picture was reused by the resources formerly controlled by now-deceased Russian mercenary boss Evgeny Prigozhin. The claim appeared in…

Did Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy buy the Highgrove mansion from the United Kingdom's King Charles III? No, that's not true: A representative of Grant Harrold, a former royal butler who was cited as the main source in an online article making the claim, told Lead Stories that the claim is "completely false." Lead Stories found several signs pointing to AI-generated…

Did a video on social media capture "the lead advisor to the World Economic Forum" advocating for making "useless people" addicted to drugs and video games? No, that's not true: The recording showed a pre-pandemic discussion about the societal dangers stemming from rapid technological development and growing health care inequalities. One of the two participants, Yuval Harari, is not "the…

Do 222 contributions with "zero donor information" to the campaign of Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis prove there was fraud? No, that's not true: An Emory University political science professor emeritus told Lead Stories, "Looks like they're all very small donations for which donor info is not required under Georgia law." Other political scientists said the same. The…

Did the Grim Reaper walk through Westminster Abbey during the coronation of King Charles III on May 6, 2023? No, that's not true: A press officer at the Abbey told Lead Stories that the robed figure seen on TV during the ceremony is a verger, not the symbolic representation of death. A verger is a lay minister who assists the…

Did members of the Queen's Guard in the United Kingdom retaliate against tourists who taunted and harassed them until they finally lashed out? No, that's not true: The video compilation was put together for social media channels by actors who stage public pranks and social experiments. The claim appears in a post and video on Facebook (archived here) published by…

Did Titanic, a German satirical monthly magazine, release a cover in October 2022 that features an illustration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sucking money and resources into his mouth? No, that's not true: The October 2022 issue of Titanic does not feature Zelenskyy and the illustration has not appeared on any of the other issues' covers. The claim appeared in…

Can former President Donald Trump be reinstated by a Supreme Court decision in the case of Moore v. Harper? No, that's not true: Lead Stories asked legal experts about the claim and they said there's no chance that Trump could be reinstated as president because there's no constitutional mechanism for doing so. Also noted, the case has no bearing on…