International

Did professional golfer John Daly make a derogatory/homophobic statement about professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe and her performance at the 2023 World Cup? No, that's not true: The comment was posted on a parody social media account, not on Daly's official social media pages nor in any legitimate news sources. Playing for the U.S. women's team in the 2023 World…

Did Pfizer employees in Australia receive a special batch of imported COVID-19 vaccines that were different from what the public was given? No, that's not true: Pfizer global media relations told Lead Stories that the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company imported "additional doses" for its staff that were evaluated and authorized by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) but all the COVID…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin prohibit 5G in Russia, tearing down all the towers delivering it? Not, that's not true: As of this writing, 5G is working in major Russian cities, and the government continues to invest in the expansion of the technology. The claim originated in an outlet known for publishing fictitious "news" stories. The claim originated from an…

Did today's Black Americans descend from Africans who inhabited North America before European colonizers arrived in the 15th century? No, that's not true: Paleontological, archaeological and genetic evidence all suggest that the original inhabitants of North America who were present on the continent when European explorers arrived were the ancestors of modern Indigenous people, an anthropologist told Lead Stories. Historical…

Did NASA and the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) stage a live stream video pretending to be in zero gravity on board the ISS, and was this hoax betrayed by a blooper where a ball printed like a globe fell to the floor as if under the force of Earth's gravity? No, that's not true: This video shows…

Did a weather station in Germany show a map of the country's high temperatures with the map actually on fire with flames burning on TV? No, that's not true: The image showing flames over a weather map is doctored. The original footage from the weather station broadcast in Germany does not show flames on the map nor does it have…

Was Megan Rapinoe, a renowned U.S. women's soccer player, fired from the Seattle "OL Reign" team and the U.S. Olympic team, and did she also lose a multi-million TV deal as a result of missing a penalty kick during the Women's World Cup series? No, that's not true: Rapinoe only announced finishing her professional career after the U.S. was eliminated…

Do potential methane emissions expelled by wild bison populations compare with levels expelled by domestic cows in the U.S. and beyond? No, that's not true: Global populations of bison total less than half a million compared with 1.5 billion cows. An expert in biological systems engineering and agriculture told Lead Stories that the claim's comparison is arbitrary as it does…

Did Martin Lewis, a popular British financial journalist, endorse an investment platform featuring Elon Musk? No, that's not true: Lewis himself confirmed this is a fake video. This video is a deepfake creation that used Lewis' head from a different video, changed how his lips moved and substituted fabricated audio for Lewis' voice. The authentic video of Lewis speaking on…

Does Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairperson of the World Economic Forum, have a personal logo that bears similarities to the seal for the Central Intelligence Agency? No, that's not true: An image of Schwab standing at a podium that featured a coat of arms does not prove that he has a "logo." He was speaking at a university…

Did Dr. Meryl Nass represent the World Health Organization (WHO) at a press conference, boldly outlining plans to ignore existing human rights laws? No, that's not true: Nass does not speak for the WHO. She is an internal medicine doctor from Ellsworth, Maine, whose license is temporarily suspended while under review. This symposium was not a World Health Organization press…

by: Evgenia Prodaeva Can "a nuclear explosion like in Chornobyl," the world's worst nuclear accident, now occur at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after the June 6, 2023, explosion that destroyed the Kakhovka dam emptied most of the reservoir used to cool down the plant's reactors? No, that's not true: Zaporizhzhia's six power units shut down in 2022, and no…

Did Nicole Schwab -- daughter of World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab -- say, "permanent climate lockdowns [are] coming -- whether you like it or not"? No, that's not true: There is no record of Nicole Schwab having said that. An article that falsely reported the quote in July 2023 self-debunks by including a link to an authentic video…

Is there a "Good Harvest" company that produces "human steak" for human consumption? No, that's not true: Good Harvest and its "human steak" is an invention of the creators of a spoof documentary. The mockumentary is meant as a satirical commentary on the rising cost of living in Britain. The program's host subsequently wrote, "The whole thing was made up."…

Does video footage show when then-President George H.W. Bush died on live TV? No, that's not true: The president lived for 26 more years after an incident in Japan in 1992 when he vomited and fainted at a banquet hosted by the Japanese prime minister. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on January 6, 2022, but…

Is the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supplying Ukrainian forces with ephedrine and methylphenidate, according to a video circulating on social media? No, that's not true: A USAID spokesperson told Lead Stories that the video is fabricated or staged and that the agency does not procure or supply controlled substances like these in Ukraine. The claim appeared in a…

Did a billboard in Japan read "Stop War, Stop Zelenskyy"? No, that's not true: Those statements were added to an electronic billboard on a Japanese street in a video. The actual advertisement on the sign had nothing to do with the Russian war on Ukraine. Japan's government released a statement in support of Ukraine in June 2023, and there is…

Does the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hide the existence of the military base on Diego Garcia island in the Indian Ocean? No, that's not true: As of this writing, the agency discusses this specific base on the publicly available section of its website. The claim appeared in a post published on Instagram on July 13, 2023. The caption said: Island…

Does a viral video show a large group of Ukrainian soldiers surrendering on July 24, 2023, or on July 30, 2023? No, that's not true: The clip captures a prisoner exchange that was reported to have taken place in late May 2023 in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. The story appeared in an article (archived here) published by halturnerradioshow.com on…

Did illegal migrants in Germany evade deportation by breaking a window and jumping out of a bus moving slowly in traffic? No, that's not true: The details of this widely circulated video are not well documented, but the video was not filmed in Germany. All indications -- from the captions on the earliest copies of the video to the registration…