Terrorism

Did a Saudi Arabian immigrant suspected of driving his car into shoppers at a German Christmas market say "Allahu akbar" during a video of his arrest? No, that's not true: Lead Stories reviewed the full 52-second video of a German law enforcement officer placing the suspect under arrest. On the video, the suspect quietly repeats the word "okay" in response…

Does a new U.K. law require a 15-year prison sentence just for looking at propaganda? No, that's not true: Terrorism law experts told Lead Stories that the law is aimed at people who repeatedly look at or download terrorist content online, but only if they clearly intend to take part in or support terrorist activities. Intent is key here: Accidentally…

Does a recently updated Pentagon directive now authorize the military to kill American protesters? No, that's not true: The Pentagon told Lead Stories the new policies "do not authorize the DOD to use lethal force against U.S. citizens ..." The online text of Department of Defense Directive 5240.01 does not allow the military "to kill Americans who engage in political…

Did former CIA Director John Brennan reveal that the U.S. government uses Stratospheric Aerosol Injection, a hypothetical geoengineering technology, to control the weather? No, that's not true: A full video of his 2016 speech shows that Brennan said no such thing. He was discussing his interest in technologies that could potentially reverse climate change; he did not say that these…

Does the plan to address prison overcrowding in England and Wales cut short sentences for sexual offenses? No, that's not true: Under current law many inmates typically serve 50% of their sentence in prison, followed by a probation period. A new plan would reduce that to 40% but with exceptions for certain convictions like sexual or violent offenses. Offenders with…

Did Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz give a 9/11 anniversary speech in which he claimed that while serving in the National Guard he "stood one night in the dark of night at Bagram Air Base in Iraq", seemingly unaware Bagram is in Afghanistan? No, that's not true: Video of his speech shows Walz only said he was at "Bagram," not "Bagram…

Did the CIA issue a warning to U.S. citizens to avoid using the Paris Metro during the 2024 Summer Olympics? No, that's not true: No official statements or credible sources confirm such a warning as of June 18, 2024. Additionally, warnings and travel advisories are typically issued by the U.S. State Department, not the CIA. The claim appeared in a…

Did President Joe Biden give $16 billion of American money away to Iran in 2023? No, that's not true: First, it's important to say that the amount in question is $6 billion, not $16 billion. Secondly, the money wasn't U.S. taxpayer dollars to begin with; the funds were Iranian financial assets that had been frozen in South Korea due to…

Did Australian law enforcement identify a Sydney mall attacker as "Benjamin Cohen"? No, that's not true: The police said that the man's name was Joel Cauchi. The claim originated from an account on X that self-identifies as aligned with a Russian state information outlet. The story reappeared in a post (saved here) on Facebook where it was published on April…

Did World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein get a "$1 trillion" insurance payout resulting from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore? No, that's not true: The claim cited an amount of money no individual in the world is known to possess. The claim did not supply, nor could Lead Stories find, evidence supporting the claim that he owns…