International

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…

Did Pope Francis, acting on behalf of the World Economics Forum, publicly support euthanasia for "alcoholics, autistic and disabled people" to "help humanity" fight climate change? No, that's not true: The pontiff never said that. Following the Roman Catholic Church's long-established policy, he has condemned euthanasia more than once in his public speeches. Pope Francis does not work for the…

Did a top World Economic Forum official call for the "elimination" of conspiracy theorists? No, that's not true: The man described as a "top WEF official" in the article making the claim doesn't work for them and doesn't have any authority to decide things on behalf of the Forum; more importantly, that person never said "dangerous conspiracy theorists must be…

Were the movies of nuclear tests conducted in the 1950s by the United States fake because the cameras and film used to capture the images were not destroyed by the explosion or the radiation? No, that's not true: The cameras and film used to capture the images were positioned at a safe distance from the explosion and designed to avoid…

Did American actor Elijah Wood offer Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "to cure drug and alcohol addiction" on Instagram? No, that's not true: The actor doesn't post Instagram stories publicly. Wood did not say anything that would imply he was addressing Zelenskyy specifically in the heavily edited clip circulating on social media. The claim appeared in a tweet published on July…

Did "Science Guy" Bill Nye state that there was "no place to go" in reference to space exploration, seeming to support claims that NASA, the International Space Station (ISS) and related space exploration programs were a hoax? No, that's not true: In a 2015 interview, Nye responded to a question involving the concept of whether trash should be sent to…

Are the children shown being removed from the back of a semi-trailer in a video on social media, purportedly in London, the victims of sex or organ trafficking? No, that's not true: There's no substantiated evidence or credible sources supporting the claim and London's Metropolitan Police Service said, "there's nothing of this nature" in their logs. The claim appeared in…

Was the film "Barbie" banned in Serbia because of a scene containing a map of "Greater Albania"? No, that's not true: The film was not banned in Serbia and such a map doesn't appear in the movie. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted to TikTok on July 5, 2023. It contained a supposed screenshot of an article…

Was CNN anchor Larry Madowo "threatened on live TV" by a Ugandan government minister? No, that's not true: An authentic interview between CNN One World's Larry Madowo and Ugandan Foreign Minister Gen. Jeje Odongo that aired on August 24, 2021, discussed whether Uganda's citizens were being tried for treasonous acts. Two days later, the entertainment YouTube channel EduTV KE posted…

Did the United Kingdom send a "'Robot Royal Force' 🇬🇧 Type-C robot" to help Ukraine with the war in July 2023? No, that's not true: There was no information or credible report online to corroborate the claim that the United Kingdom sent or would send a "'Robot Royal Force' Type-C robot" to help Ukraine following Russia's military invasion. Also, animation…

Do photographs of Ghislaine Maxwell with Donald Duck taken in 1985 confirm that the now-convicted sex offender -- associated with financier Jeffrey Epstein who died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges -- worked for Disney? No, that's not true: The stock images only show an event where Maxwell appeared as representative of her father, owner at the time…

Did U.S. Marine Corps jets sink a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) barge off the coast of California around July 19, 2023? No, that's not true: The Department of Defense press office told Lead Stories that the purported attack never happened. FEMA also said there was no truth to the report. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published…