Russia And Ukraine And Video

Did UN Women publish a report saying it confirmed "639 rapes and over 3,000 cases of sexual harassment in the Ukrainian Armed Forces"? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, there was no such report on the UN Women website, and the organization confirmed to Lead Stories it had never published such data. Posts with the claim reused…

Did Israeli-based news outlet Haaretz report that Zelenskyy's former associate Timur Mindich fled to Israel carrying "800kg of gold" on a private jet? No, that's not true: The claim shared in viral posts originated from a counterfeit website that mimicked Haaretz. No credible news organizations reported on "800kg of gold" supposedly carried by Mindich on board the plane bound for…

Did the Russian state-owned news agency TASS accurately report that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is listed as a child trafficker in the Epstein files? No, that's not true: Zelensky's name does appear in 39 documents in the Epstein records on the U.S. Department of Justice website. However, none of those documents have anything to do with child trafficking. The claim…

Did the BBC air a report allegedly capturing a stolen Cézanne painting on the wall of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presidential office? No, that's not true: The video was doctored to replace a real painting. The work of art seen in the original footage of a different presidential address was painted by a Ukrainian impressionist. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Was a video about Ukrainian drone operator Miroslav Radchenko shared on social media actually produced and distributed by Al Jazeera? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no traces of such a report broadcast or shared online by Al Jazeera or any other media outlet. Spreading false narratives through clips with logos of real media organizations is a well-known tactic…

Did a guest in a clip from French TV channel LCI say Ukraine sent false strategic info to US intelligence services which they then observed Russian forces acting upon? No, that's not true: The video clip with guest Vincent Crouzet was about mounting distrust between Ukrainian and American intelligence services and the increased importance of intelligence coming from France and…

Did President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy invest $500 million or $1.5 billion "of his own money" in "a ski resort in Western Ukraine"? No, that's not true: Social media posts misattribute publicly known investment amounts about such a project. Talking to Lead Stories, the project's developer denied not only Zelenskyy's participation but also the presence of any direct government funding.…

Did viral videos document that Ukrainian soldiers started to surrender en masse in Pokrovsk, as of November 5, 2025? No, that's not true: The clips showed a watermark of a generative AI tool. As of this writing, Ukraine denied that its soldiers in Pokrovsk were surrendering in large numbers. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published…

Does a video show authentic clips of world leaders speaking frankly about controversial narratives? No, that's not true: The video clip was posted with disclaimers in the caption and in the video itself clearly stating it is AI-generated. It was produced and published by RT, a state-controlled network funded by the Russian government. The video appears in a post (archived…

Did the chair of the Nobel committee that chose the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize say that Donald Trump was not chosen because they only "give the award to people of courage and integrity?" No, that's not true: A reporter asked Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes how the campaign by President Trump and his supporters to get the award for…