Europe

Does a photo of stacks of banknotes sitting in a room or basement show USAID money found in the house of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? No, that's not true: The photo has been online since 2007 and shows money discovered in a drug bust in Mexico. The picture has been used in jokes and memes for years. The joke appeared…

Did Elon Musk say Italians should stay in Italy and the Japanese should stay in Japan? No, that's not true: While speaking at a right-wing political event in December 2023, the tech billionaire argued that countries shouldn't rely on immigration to maintain their populations. Instead, he suggested that governments should promote higher birth rates and offer incentives for families to…

Did E! News report USAID paid celebrities like Ben Stiller, Angelina Jolie, Sean Penn, Orlando Bloom or Jean-Claude Van Damme millions of dollars to visit President Zelenskyy in Ukraine? No, that's not true: E! News told Lead Stories the video is "not authentic" and did not originate with them. Stiller denied he received any USAID money, posting on X that…

Does a photo show a young Brigitte Macron with the implication that it shows her before she transitioned from male to female? No, that's not true: The photographer who took the picture confirmed to Lead Stories that the person is not Macron. The image showing a topless person with French first lady Macron's face has been doctored. The original image…

Was Samuel Hydén (or Sam Hyde) the perpetrator of a school shooting in Örebro, Sweden, on February 4, 2025? No, that's not true: Comedian Sam Hyde is often named as the perpetrator by internet trolls whenever a mass-casualty incident happens. It is a bizarre in-joke that has been going on for years, often using variations of his name to make…

Does a genuine photo show protesters in London holding up signs that say "Rapists Welcome" and "Stand Up For Rapists"? No, that's not true: Digital forensics tools show the photo has been digitally altered. Photos showing similar, non-edited signs show "Refugees Welcome" and "Stand Up To Racism" slogans. The photo appeared in a post on X (archived here) where it…

Did Denmark announce a "500% tariff on exports of Ozempic to the USA" in January 2025? No, that's not true: The claim derived from a parody post on LinkedIn that was not labeled as such. There was no such announcement on Danish government websites and no media outlets indexed by Google News reported on any such story. The claim originated…

Did an international court charge Dr. Anthony Fauci with 2,967,108 counts of murder? No, that's not true: A headline making that claim originated on The Dunning-Kruger Times, a site with a satire disclaimer. The article itself contained several hints it was all satirical and meant to troll those who just shared the headline. The headline appeared in an article published…

Is a photo of a swastika spray-painted on a Tesla car in Austria related to current events involving Elon Musk in 2025? No, that's not true, the photo has been online since at least 2023. It showed just one car out of 19 that were damaged in a Vienna vandalism incident that involved several non-Tesla vehicles as well. The picture…

Does a video authentically show Vladimir Putin going "past world leaders to shake Trump's hand"? No, that's not true: The version of the clip that went viral in the days leading up to Trump's second inauguration in January 2025 was edited to remove several key frames documenting one of the 2018 events commemorating the end of World War I. Multiple…

Does footage show an authentic panic in Paris as people react to a UFO and an unidentified submerged object (USO) in the Seine River? No, that's not true: The video is from a film shoot. The footage is from the production of "Under Paris," a 2024 movie about a shark in the Seine. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Does a video show the "son of a famous Ukrainian prosecutor" who "was spotted in Monaco enjoying his car" during the Russian-Ukrainian war in January 2025? No, that's not true: Lead Stories analysis showed that neither the date, place or identity of the person matched the clip's description. The video was recorded in Florida in 2023 and showed a Ukrainian…

Did President-elect Donald Trump post a map of Finland on Truth Social? No, that's not true: A manual review of his account did not show such an entry as of this writing, January 14, 2025. The map in question did not correctly reflect current Finnish borders nor those in the year seen in the image. The claim appeared in a…

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…

Does a video show "Turkish commandos" swearing to hunt down "USA/Israel's terrorists" in December 2024? No, that's not true: Lead Stories Turkish-speaking staff confirmed that the uniformed people shown in the footage did not mention the U.S. or Israel. The video was recorded in March 2023 following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, and shows personnel chanting what appear to be…

Was the 2016 months-long Spanish political crisis the same as a government shutdown in the U.S.? No, that's not true: Spain, unable to form a new government at the time, did not experience a gap in national funding, and most government services were delivered as usual. In the U.S., shutdowns are triggered by the absence of an adopted permanent or…

Did Germany decriminalize the possession of child pornography in 2024? No, that's not true: Possession of child pornography in Germany remains a crime as of this publication. However, in some cases, German lawmakers in May 2024 reduced the minimum jail sentences for possessing, distributing or acquiring such material, while the maximum sentences remained the same. The claim appeared in a…

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…

Was Samir El Hydeouchi identified as the suspect in the December 20, 2024, vehicular attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany? No, that's not true: At the time this fact check was written, the suspect was taken into custody and a German official has stated the driver of the car, who was not named, was a Saudi national, a…

Does a photo show Prince Harry kneeling at Prince William's feet, apologizing to his brother and accepting a new title? No, that's not true: Multiple AI detectors found that this image was 100 percent likely to be AI generated. Lead Stories found no credible evidence that this string of events occurred. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived…