United Kingdom

Did the UK government or Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves institute a levy on windows consisting of a £3.70 monthly fee on each, as of May 13, 2025? No, that's not true: No official sources made such an announcement. The window tax was abandoned in the U.K. by the mid-19th century. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…

Did UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph publish a story headlined "Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King Of The Skies"? No, that's not true: A viral image showing such a title has been fabricated, no such article appeared on the website of The Daily Telegraph. The image contained several mistakes that are indicative of the use of AI tools, such as…

Did Robert Francis Prevost moonlight as "Bobby Prev", a "celebrated jazz trombonist" in Chicago who "headlined several jazz festivals in the '70s and '80s"? No, that's not true: The archives of the Chicago Tribune, which has long provided detailed coverage of jazz, contain no celebrations or even mentions of such a musician. Similarly, a search of the GoogleNews index of…

Does a video on social media show Britain's Princess Anne's authentic public statement that she rejects the idea of bowing to Queen Camila? No, that's not true: In that clip, the sound was added over a series of shots, but the video never showed Princess Anne actually saying what was attributed to her. No credible media organization reported such a…

Did Indians or Pakistanis set fire to a church in Wales in April 2025? No, that's not true: In response to widely-shared social media rumors, South Wales Police told Lead Stories there was "no link to India or Pakistan at all" in their investigation into a fire at the Bethany English Calvinistic Methodist Chapel in Port Talbot. Two local teenage…

Did The Sun publish a video claiming Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle sold Princess Diana's iconic revenge dress to Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska for $2.9 million in April 2025? No, that's not true: There is no such story or video on The Sun's website or social media. The quote from "Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams" in the video was cut…

Did a video shared in April 2025 show a real prison guard smoking and partying with real prisoners in a prison cell? No, that's not true: The clip, which bore the caption "Jail Life", was recorded at a party attended by participants in "Banged Up", a prison-based reality TV show that aired in the U.K. in 2023. The woman in…

Did the U.K. newspaper The Guardian publish an opinion column withe the headline "The next Pope must be Muslim or there will be violence on the streets of Europe" by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, in April 2025? No, that's not true: A screenshot that appeared to show such an article was originally published by an account on X that says it publishes…

Did authentic security camera footage show U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer kissing Waheed Alli, a television entrepreneur and prominent supporter of the governing Labour Party? No, that's not true: The video, which was shared widely in April 2025, was clearly fake, and likely a product of generative AI. The clip contained several tell-tale glitches typical of AI-generated videos. The video…

Did Statista publish a graph detailing the nationalities of the people described as "mercenaries" who fought for Ukraine and were killed in the Kursk region of Russia? No, that's not true: The data on the Statista website doesn't show the graph shared on social media. Unlike authentic charts published by that company, the graph omitted the source of the figures…

Did an image shared on social media capture the recent arrest of a "45-year-old British mother in the UK" later sentenced to nine months in prison for a Facebook post? No, that's not true: The image first appeared online in 2017. It documented a drug bust. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on April 16,…

Did United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer post on social media about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on March 30, 2025, but fail to post about Mother's Day on the same day? No, that's not true: Starmer posted about Mother's Day on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. He also wished Muslims a blessed Eid-al-Fitr, the festival which marks the end…

Are emails sent via the public.govdelivery.com email domain and claiming to be about an "unclaimed balance" at Bittrex legitimate? No, that's not true: They appear to be part of an email scam aimed at former users of the now defunct company Bittrex Global. The company itself warned users on its website only to trust emails coming from a limited set…

Did the U.K. make Islam the "main study" in schools on March 26, 2025? No, that's not true: No credible media outlet reported such a policy. Religious education covering different religions has been part of the national curriculum for decades, and students can opt out of attending those classes. The story appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook…

Did King Charles III give official notice that he has revoked U.S. independence, effective immediately, will reign as monarch and that "The nincompoop you've elected as President will go to gaol", as social media posts claim? No, that's not true: There was no official statement to that effect from the British monarch. No such statement appeared on Buckingham Palace social…

Did a CIA document in the unsealed JFK assassination files name British actress Penelope Keith as the lone killer? No, that's not true: The purported investigative document naming Keith as the "lone shooter" cites her work in the BBC TV comedy series "The Good Life," which did not start airing until 1975, at least 10 years after the investigation ended.…

Are people in various communities in the United States and England being warned about an 18-year-old known as Russell Robinson or Dycorrian Wayne Lofton knocking on doors and attacking people after he gains their trust? No, that's not true: Facebook posts calling on readers to be vigilant and lock their doors used mugshots of unrelated people. The posts are part…

Did President Donald Trump order the Federal Reserve to mint quarters without ridges, as was claimed in a social media post? No, that's not true: The proof the post offered was a counterfeit CNN.com screenshot. CNN, as of the date this was published, had reported no such order by Trump. Searches of the White House and Treasury websites showed no…

Did the BBC publish an article about King Charles III being in "critical condition" on March 18, 2025? No, that's not true: Neither live nor archived versions of the BBC website contained that report. Buckingham Palace did not make the purported announcement on that day. The claim was spread on X by a self-described "troll account". The claim appeared in…

Does a viral image authentically show European leaders taking off their suit coats in support of Ukraine during a group picture? No, that's not true: The image is likely a screenshot from a video that was digitally edited, possibly using AI. Actual footage of the moment the group picture was taken did not show anyone taking off their suit and…