Flat Earth

Have you seen viral videos showing elaborate movie sets of small-scale cities and landscapes where the crew creates special effects -- explosions and natural disasters -- in front of a blue or green screen? Lead Stories has spotted a number of such videos recently and found that many of them were created using artificial intelligence. They do not show real…

Does a real image show how Gaza looks in 2026 compared to how it looked in 2023? No, that's not true: The "before image" really shows the Al Rasheed coastal road in 2022 or 2023 but the "after image" purporting to show 2026 is fake. The modern architecture of the Sheikh Ajlin Mosque's upright minaret tower serves as a landmark…

Do images described as tree stumps provide proof that there were once giant ancient trees which were felled by angels? No, that's not true: The photos show natural geological features around the world which came to be through several geological processes over millions of years. Volcanoes erupting, erosion of different materials at different speeds, and the lifting and folding of…

Did the U.S. Navy admit that the Earth is flat in "their defense magazine", by claiming that a Navy laser weapon can shoot down cruise missiles from 100 miles away? No, that's not true on several counts: The Navy said no such thing. A short video clip circulating on social media has sensationalized points made by Pastor Dean Odle during…

Is the pyramidal peak in Antarctica's Ellsworth Mountains the topic of an expert debate over whether it is a masonry pyramid constructed during Antarctica's last warm period, millions of years ago? No, that's not true: There is no credentialled scholar or explorer with on-the-ground knowledge making that case. The nameless mountain in Antarctica's Ellsworth Range sits in a well-studied range…

Does the swinging action of stuffed toys hanging from the ceiling of the Soyuz crew capsule prove that the spacecraft is not really producing the expected G forces during a launch into orbit, suggesting fakery? No, that's not true: A spacecraft will experience varying G forces and vibrations during launch. A social media post's short video clip was taken from…

Did all rivers on Earth "commence" in the spring of 2399 B.C.? No, that's not true: The birth of the oldest rivers predates this point in time by millions of years, according to the consensus of earth science. A U.S. Geological Survey scientist confirmed that to Lead Stories. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Facebook on June…

Does a video on social media capture a meteor over Budapest, Hungary, in July 2024? No, that's not true: The original video was taken during mass protests in the Hungarian capital on February 16, 2024 and other videos from the event do not show any meteor. People's outfits were much more consistent with winter weather than with midsummer temperatures in…

Are volcanos petrified dragon remnants that "sometimes bubble up," as a post on social media claims? No, that's not true: Volcanos are openings in the earth's surface through which molten rock, gases and ash escape. Dragons -- defined as giant, flying, fire-beathing creatures -- do not exist in real life. The account that created this post says it's satire and…

Did Universal Studios first introduce the concept of the world as a globe in 1927 before NASA had photographed it from space in the 1960s? No, that's not true on several counts: It did not take NASA's space program to discover that the Earth was round. Greek philosophers had already described the Earth as a sphere as early as the…