Israel Hamas

Did Alexander Turbanov, an Israeli man who was held prisoner by Hamas, make a statement sympathizing with his captors upon his release? No, that's not true: This made-up quote went viral on Feb. 15, 2025 and resurfaced in Oct. 2025. The man in question is not named Turbanov, his name is Alexander Troufanov. The quote attributed to Troufanov was posted…

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…

Did Qatar "demand" returning the jet it gave to the Trump administration in the late spring of 2025? No, that's not true: As of September 12, 2025, Lead Stories found no credible reports corroborating the claim. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs made no such public demands. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on September…

Does a real photo show the political and climate activist Greta Thunberg wearing a revealing keyhole T-shirt along with her signature frog hat? No, that's not true: The photo of Greta Thunberg has been digitally edited. The shirt Thunberg actually wore when she was photographed in Barcelona, Spain, is a crop top which does not have a cutout below the…

Does a viral image show "Israeli Major General Shitan Shaul" under arrest on charges related to war crimes in Rafah? No, that's not true: The 2022 photo predates the most recent round of escalation in the region that began with the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. The image was originally published online to illustrate news reports about a…

Does a viral video on social media show Gazans who are fleeing Palestine arriving in Sweden? No, that's not true: The Ruahel Charity Association soccer team shown in the video represents various cities in the West Bank, not Gaza. The video shows players and coaches on a plane as part of a multi-city tour of Europe in July and August…

Does a viral video show Israeli soldiers celebrating the 2024 release of comrades who had been detained in connection with charges that nine soldiers had raped a Palestinian at a desert prison camp? No, that's not true: The video was first posted to X on November 10, 2023 and depicts a rowdy party unrelated to the Sde Teiman camp rape…

Does video labelled on social media as "...footage of the Indian Army's attack on Sialkot, Pakistan" authentically show a 2025 Indian Army assault on its neighbor? No, that's not true: It is misleadingly re-labelled Al Jazeera footage lifted from 2023 coverage of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas. At the time of writing this, there had been no credible…

Did singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran perform for wounded soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces to show support for Israel? No, that's not true: Sheeran denied this rumor in a now-deleted Instagram story. He stated a charity organization bought tickets to his "large scale public concert." Other reputable entertainment media outlets also posted about Sheeran's denial of the rumor. The implied claim…

Did the head of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's medical team say he had been diagnosed with "grade 3" prostate cancer? No, that's not true: The spokesperson for Netanyahu told Lead Stories he underwent surgery to remove his prostate after an infection "stemming from a benign enlargement of his prostate." Using Google News' index, we did not find news articles…