Is a video claiming to be from the Daily Express reporting that U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to bring 4,000 migrants from Ceuta into the United Kingdom real? No, that's not true: The Daily Express did not produce the video or publish such a report. The fake story also appeared on a website designed to mimic the newspaper's real…
Does a viral video show people trying to enter the Spanish city of Ceuta from Morocco in August 2026? No, that's not true: The video is older than that, showing an event that began in late July. It has been online since at least July 31, 2026. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) on X published…
Does a video show a migrant eating a rat in Europe? No, that's not true: The video does show a person eating a rodent, but it was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2024. It does not show a migrant in Europe as claimed in social media posts during the 2026 migrant influx in Ceuta, Spain, an autonomous city…
Does a viral video actually show that an African migrant from a group rescued from the English Channel on August 7, 2026, said that he wanted "my money and my free house, and English woman"? No, that's not true: In reality, the man from the clip was filmed two years before the incident; he spoke Arabic, not English; and he…
Does a viral image show the real face of a woman who seemed to have waved at migrants in Ceuta, Spain? No, that's not true: The picture portrayed the woman with an anatomically impossible nose. The image was generated by AI, according to AI verification tools and instructions for the original version of the image. The claim appeared in a…
Does a video show a guard in Morocco opening a border fence located at Ceuta, a Spanish territory, in July 2026? No, that's not true: The footage was posted online in 2021. According to a Spanish police union, it does show Moroccan people crossing into Ceuta. The claim appeared in a post by @alberto_hispanista on Instagram on July 31, 2026…
Does a video show migrants entering Ceuta, Spain, from Morocco on July 30, 2026? No, that's not true: The clip was uploaded to social media before July 30. The video was published as early as July 5 describing a religious event at a different location. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published on Facebook on July…
Did people born outside France or French territories set the Saint-Michel Basilica in Bordeaux on fire in July 2026? No, that's not true: The City of Bordeaux denied that when contacted by Lead Stories. The fire occurred near the church and caused no damage to it. Talking to Lead Stories, a Bordeaux deputy prosecutor rejected the online rumor that the…
Does a viral video actually document an incident in which a man was attacked by three migrants in London while having breakfast? No, that's not true: A Lead Stories visual analysis showed many hallmarks strongly suggesting that it is not real footage. Two online AI-generation detection tools concluded the video was between 99% and 99.9% likely to be AI-generated. The…
Does a real video show a machete-wielding migrant yell, "This is the end of England!"? No, that's not true: This AI-generated video was made using a still frame from another video. Several glitches in the video point to it having been made with AI. This, coupled with both videos sharing the same thumbnail image, suggests one video was made using…
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