Zelenskyy

Does a viral image show Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro captured? No, that's not true: An authentic photo was digitally altered to swap Maduro's head onto the body of a captive. The image originally showed Ukrainian-born pro-Russian businessman and politician Victor Medvedchuk. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on January 3, 2026. It read: 😁The White House…

Does a viral picture of what looks like an Israeli passport confirm that Volodymyr Zelenskyy became an Israeli citizen before he became president of Ukraine? No, that's not true: The image got the spelling of his last name wrong. The machine-readable text on the bottom of the first page didn't fit the internationally standardized form, either. The claim appeared in…

Have Ukrainian investigators recovered the jewels stolen from the Louvre museum from the assets of a Ukrainian billionaire who is an associate of President Zelenskyy? No, that's not true: The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), which purportedly seized the jewels, has not posted anything about it on social media. The NABU has denied it was true in a statement…

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.…

Is there any evidence for a story being spread online about "Olena K.", a Ukrainian anti-corruption official who supposedly defected to Europe and revealed real-estate corruption involving President Zelenskyy worth $1.2 billion ? No, that's not true: The story did not contain any verifiable details or documents and no media reported on the supposed events. The London Telegraph, the website…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy react to his August 2025 meeting at the White House by suggesting that Donald Trump rejects a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, believing it would hurt his chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize? No, that's not true: Official government webpages of the Ukrainian president don't contain such a statement. Lead Stories could not find…

Do viral screenshots prove that U.S. taxpayers paid $411,634.00 for Senator Lindsey Graham's hotel stay in Kyiv, Ukraine, in May 2025? No, that's not true: His name is not linked to the spending documented in the images. The Department of State told Lead Stories that the screenshot of the agency's government contract in Ukraine had nothing to do with congressional…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump complain on social media that Ukraine's attacks on Russia interfere with his sleep? No, that's not true: A search across his account on Truth Social did not produce a match to the image a viral post purported to have taken from his account. Searches across an archived version of his account and news reports did…

Does a viral image confirm that the Ukrainian government issued new rules prohibiting taking pictures of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from certain angles? No, that's not true: Talking to Lead Stories, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States referred to the image as "fake". The "rules" were self-contradictory and lacked any specific identifying information tying it to…

Did The Sun publish a video claiming Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle sold Princess Diana's iconic revenge dress to Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska for $2.9 million in April 2025? No, that's not true: There is no such story or video on The Sun's website or social media. The quote from "Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams" in the video was cut…