Did a crowd in central London chant "F*** Joe Biden" when the U.S. president's motorcade got stuck in traffic on the way to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II? No, that's not true: The original video from September 19, 2022, the day of the funeral, was overdubbed with audio from another place and time. The claim appeared in a TikTok…

Does a video show a convoy of Chinese military vehicles crossing the Russian border into Ukraine in mid-September 2022? No, that's not true: There were no reports of Chinese military troops or vehicles in Ukraine when the claim was posted. This video dates back to at least August 29, 2022, a date that coincides with the timing of Vostok-2022, a…

Was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy photographed shirtless and wearing an Afro wig at a gay pride event in the United States in the 1990s? No, that's not true: This photo has been digitally edited. The original photo was taken on June 25, 2006 at New York City's 2006 Pride March and does not show Zelenskyy. The edited photo has been…

Did King Charles III sign a proclamation that former President Donald Trump actually won the 2020 presidential election in the U.S.? No, that's not true: The claim uses a screenshot of Charles signing documents related to his accession to the throne. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) posted on September 10, 2022. The tweet included a picture of…

Does the airline industry give passengers incorrect information about bracing themselves for a crash because the financial cost to airlines is $40 million lower for passenger deaths than it is when passengers survive? No, that's not true. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has conducted extended research on the brace position and found it increases the chance of survival, and that…

Did the United Kingdom publish reports that show individuals triple-vaccinated against the coronavirus account for 91% of the COVID-19 deaths in the country through 2022? Do these reports further show that over 24,000 "unexplained" excess deaths have occurred since April 2022? No, that's not true: While the U.K. Office of National Statistics states that the figures for triple-vaccination status and…

Is an instantly disabling drug being soaked into napkins and placed on car doors to incapacitate targets of rape, abduction and car theft? Experts that Lead Stories spoke with said that there is no scientific evidence or official reports to support such claims, and the experts refuted related rumors. Since summer 2022 some social media users have posted warnings and…

Were Ukrainians arrested in Bremen, Germany, while trying to sell on the black market Western-provided, Stinger surface-to-air missiles and "other heavy weapons"? No, that's not true: The video posted on social media with supposed proof of this event does not show a single arrested person. Moreover, its audio track appears to have been manipulated. Bremen police said that no such…

Did Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sing in a London hotel lobby bar before Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral? Yes, that's true: Trudeau, accompanied by Canadian musician Gregory Charles on the piano, was belting out "Bohemian Rhapsody" by the band Queen two nights before the British monarch was laid to rest on September 19, 2022. The claim appeared as a…

Does a "newly leaked report" from the RAND Corporation, a U.S. think tank, reveal the "true motives behind European Destabilization & The Russia/Ukraine War"? No, that's not true: In an email to Lead Stories and a news release on its website, the RAND Corp. called the "supposedly leaked" report "fake." The claim appeared in the September 12, 2022, issue of…