International

Does this video show deadly floods in Libya in 2023? No, that's not true: Lead Stories has found this video posted on different social media sites going back as far as 2016. The claim appeared on Facebook (archived here) where it was published on September 13, 2023. The video showed floodwaters rapidly traveling through a wide stream bed. The video…

Did the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) reveal in August 2023 that the wildfires in Hawaii were caused by a "weather weapon" developed by the U.S. government? No, that's not true: The claim is part of a Chinese disinformation campaign. Additionally, there is no credible information or evidence to suggest that the wildfires in Hawaii were caused by such a…

Does a collage from social media prove that nobody showed up to celebrate Brazil's Independence Day in the country's capital in 2023? No, that's not true: The composite image shared on social media does not contain any photos from 2023. The claim originated from a post (archived here) on Instagram on September 7, 2023. It opened: Happy Independence Day Brazil…

Did World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus admit that he's unvaccinated for COVID-19 as of September 12, 2023? No, that's not true: A clip of Tedros explaining his delayed vaccination was misrepresented. He received COVID vaccination in May 2021, much earlier than the claim indicated. The claim was implied in a post (archived here) by the official account of…

Does a viral picture prove that the Vatican is "ruled by aliens" or show that "the UFO symbol is almost everywhere" there? No, that's not true: The image does not show the Vatican or its official symbols -- the photo shows a coat of arms seen in a Catholic church in Mexico, and there is no UFO on it. The…

Does a video of the South Tower at the World Trade Center in New York City exploding without a plane crashing into it during the 9/11 attacks mean that bombs were the reason the buildings exploded? No, that's not true: The video has been edited to remove the hijacked United Flight 175 plane hitting the South Tower on September 11,…

Did actor James Woods warn the FBI about 9/11 a month before it happened? No, that's not true: Woods said in the same interview being used to make this claim that he "did not report this to the FBI before September 11" and denies the idea that he told the FBI about his suspicions and they did nothing: "That's completely…

Did a large lightning bolt and strange lights appear in this video right before the earthquake struck Morocco on September 8, 2023? No, that's not true: The video, originally posted on TikTok (archived here) on May 1, 2020, was removed from its original context and a false caption added by someone else. It does not show the moments before the…

Does a BBC report from September 11, 2001, saying World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7) fell more than 20 minutes before it actually did prove a conspiracy? No, that's not true: There's no evidence of a WTC 7 conspiracy. The discrepancy in the reporting of WTC 7's collapse time, after the Twin Towers' collapse, can be explained by the…

Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) issue an "order" banning elections in the United States and will Americans from now on be ruled by a global elite? No, none of it is true: A non-governmental organization such as the WEF doesn't have the capacity or power to override the existing American laws. The article's headline notwithstanding, the source cited to…

Was Russian President Vladimir Putin toppled, as of September 7, 2023? Did Dmitry Medvedev, a former president and prime minister, lead the coup, "acting in partnership with the United States"? Did Medvedev maintain close contact with the Wagner mercenary boss Evgeny Prigozhin who attempted to march on Moscow two months before the plane crash that killed him in August 2023?…

Did American soccer player Megan Rapinoe say she's leaving America because she gets "no respect"? No, that's not true: This claim is coming from a satirical website. It has been reported by multiple major news outlets that Rapinoe is going to retire from her international career at the end of the 2023 National Women's Soccer League season. The claim appeared…

Are the heads of vaccinated people exploding and combusting when the 5G signal in Israel is turned up? No, that's not true: These video clips are real, but the headline is baseless as the video clips have nothing to do with Israel, COVID-19 vaccines or 5G. The first two graphic clips show 2019 footage of Iraqi protestors who were killed…

Did 850 deaths occur in two weeks in Monterrey, a city in the Mexican state of Nuevo León, that were caused by myocarditis? No, that's not true: The increased number of deaths in Mexico during June 2023 occurred during a heat wave, and it wasn't 850 deaths. Myocarditis is a term for the inflammation of the heart muscle and is…

Did a 2023 "government report" prove that "millions of children" who were vaccinated with the Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine developed a condition known as "vaccine acquired immune deficiency, or VAIDS"? No, that's not true: There was no "government report." A site with a rich history of spreading false statements distorted a genuine Australian study. In response to the claim, the…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin attend Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's funeral to pay his last respects? No, that's not true: Putin did not attend Prigozhin's funeral, according to news organizations including The Guardian. In reality, the video in a post shows Putin paying respects to his late judo trainer, Anatoly Rakhlin, in 2013. The Kremlin also posted photos of Putin…

Did Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pass the "Digital Existence Act" in response to the spread of a new COVID variant, helping Canada to transition to Digital ID, Central Bank Digital Currency and a Social Credit system? No, that's not true: This post originated from a parody account. The format of the screenshot partially obscures the parody account name, making…

Did India fake the landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander module on the surface of the moon, and attempt to fool the world with an animation? No, that's not true: This image does show a simulation, but it was not presented in an effort to deceive the public. The Chandrayaan-3 lander module, named Vikram, did achieve a soft landing near the…

Are 78,000 people "under the water" right now in Great Britain? No, that's not true: This video is a compilation of flood and storm video clips from years past, and in some cases from other places such as Canada and South Africa. These are not scenes of a flood happening in Great Britain on August 26, 2023, when the clam…

Did the BBC, a British public service broadcaster, produce and publicly post a video claiming that the Wagner mercenary boss Evgeny Prigozhin is still alive? Did the clip confirm that the plane crash -- that, according to the Russian authorities, killed Prigozhin -- was staged? No, that's not true: BBC denied that it ever released this video. It first appeared…