Terrorism

Did a widely-shared image of a bearded man show the individual arrested in Liverpool after a car drove into a crowd of celebrating soccer fans in May 2025? No, that's not true: Merseyside Police confirmed to Lead Stories that the photo doesn't show the man arrested in that case. That person was described as a "53-year-old white British man from…

Did Cody Balmer, who is suspected of arson at the residence of the governor of Pennsylvania, publish a selfie with a "Fuck Trump" inscription? No, that's not true: The picture that went viral after the release of the suspect's name was digitally altered. The caption of the original selfie, which predated the attack by five years, did not mention Donald…

Was a March 26, 2025, car crash in Berlin a premeditated act of terrorism? No, that's not true: The German police told Lead Stories that, as of this writing, there is no evidence to support that theory. The incident involved a teenager who, when stopped by police, attempted to drive away, injuring eight people. The claim appeared in a post…

Was an ICE van deliberately set on fire during operations in Philadelphia? No, that's not true: A Homeland Security/ICE vehicle caught fire on the morning of February 18, 2025 in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Fire Department extinguished the fire. A spokesperson told Lead Stories the fire marshal interviewed the van's driver, determining the fire was accidental. The video of a burning…

Did federal investigators publicly confirm that the suspect in the January 1, 2025, New Orleans Bourbon Street attack "crossed into the U.S. from Mexico" two days before? No, that's not true: As of January 2, 2025, the FBI said that the suspect was a U.S. citizen who rented a car in Houston, Texas, on December 30, 2024. The post that…

Was the New Orleans attacker an immigrant, as a social media post implied? No, that's not true: The FBI and President Joe Biden said Shamsud-Din Jabbar was born in Texas and served many years in the United States Army. A widely shared video shows a man with the same name and likeness saying he was born and raised in Beaumont,…

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…