&Quot;Russia&Quot;

Did a California aquarium collapse, killing 50 people, as was claimed in a viral Instagram reel? No, that's not true: A disaster of that magnitude and novelty would have been a worldwide news story and there is no record of such an event in news publications in or out of California. The Instagram account that posted the video consists of…

Did former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warn President Donald Trump that he should not think that "the Mossad alone has a video archive of his past depravities"? No, that's not true: The quote was attributed to "Russia media" by a website that claims to be in Israel, but appears to be managed in Ukraine. Lead Stories could find no evidence…

Does a recently resurfaced old video show Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un refusing to drink after making a toast? No, that's not true: The original video from the 2019 North Korea-Russia summit shows the world leaders toasting each other and those beside them, and then both taking a sip of their drink. The edited version of this video appeared…

Does a viral video show tsunami waves caused by a July 29, 2025 earthquake off Russia's eastern coast hitting California's coast? No, that's not true: The Los Angeles Times described the tsunami waves as "modest". California emergency management officials reported none of the kind of flooding and destruction shown in the viral video and had lifted warnings by midmorning on…

Does a video show five beluga whales that washed ashore in Kamchatka, Russia on July 29, 2025, the day of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake? No, that's not true: On August 13, 2023 a Kamchatka news outlet posted a longer version of this video on YouTube. That video shows the successful effort by Kamchatka fishermen to help the stranded whales until…

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey rejects social media claims that she hesitated to open the private road through her Hawaiian estate to help evacuation efforts after tsunami warnings were issued for Hawaii on July 29, 2025. One of her social media accounts publicly shared the denial statement from her spokesperson. The Maui police department put out a statement saying the…

Is a video of shelves falling in an electronics store from the massive Russian earthquake on July 29, 2025? No, that's not true: The video was recorded by a security camera in a store in Myanmar when an earthquake struck there on March 28, 2025. The video, which shows a clerk ducking under a counter as shelves crash on top…

Does a viral video show Cambodia firing RM-70 rockets at Thailand in 2025? No, that's not true: A viral post with over with 2.8 million views on X making that claim used footage that was already available on TikTok in 2022. The clip likely shows events from the Russia vs. Ukraine conflict. One example of the video showed up in…

Does a viral clip show a fighter jet shooting down another one during July 2025 clashes between Thailand and Cambodia? No, that's not true: The video predates the violence that broke out in that region in late July of 2025. Earlier version of the clip have been online at least since mid-June 2025 and were described as footage from the…

Was American Derek Huffman killed in a drone strike while fighting for the Russian military in Ukraine in July 2025? A YouTube account used by his wife claimed in a comment that Huffman is alive and well. Another American acquaintance of Huffman also told Lead Stories that Huffman is alive, but definitive proof was not immediately available. Here's what we…