United Kingdom

Did police in the United Kingdom arrest an 11-year-old child in August 2024 for posting "mean tweets"? No, that's not true: Authorities in Cleveland, England, told Lead Stories, "We haven't arrested an 11-year-old for sending mean tweets." One 11-year-old suspect was taken into custody for arson, while another was detained for "violent disorder." The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Did the United Kingdom and France issue a "Secret International Arrest Warrant" for Elon Musk? No, that's not true: No news organizations reported anything about the supposedly existing "secret" arrest warrant for Musk approved within jurisdictions of the U.K. or France. The International Criminal Court that issues international arrest warrants denied there is one for the owner of the X…

Was a U.K. man sentenced to over two years behind bars for "waving an English flag"? No, that's not true: The man pleaded guilty to religiously aggravated harassment, having an article with intent to destroy or damage property and obstructing or resisting a constable. Social media posts omitted information about the actual charges in this case, which had nothing to…

Did police in Merseyside, England, single out far-right Southport rioters by publishing their addresses online? No, that's not true: Merseyside police routinely release information on people charged with a variety of crimes, their X account shows. The force only releases the names of arrestees when they are charged, a Merseyside police spokeswoman told Lead Stories. A police news release showed…

Does a 2017 paper on resveratrol suggest it could be used to stop or treat monkeypox as part of the public health emergency declared in August 2024? No, that's not true: An author of the paper told Lead Stories that resveratrol was never tested on humans or animals in their research, and it's "unclear if it suppresses poxvirus replication." An…

Did the World Health Organization order governments to "Prepare for 'Mega Lockdowns' Due to 'Deadly Monkeypox' Strain"? No, that's not true: WHO responded to a Lead Stories inquiry about the report of orders for lockdown preparation with "It is false." Preparations for or even the suggestion of major lockdowns because of the monkeypox virus would be major news worldwide, yet…

Does a social media video show police apprehending a elderly man on a scooter who was involved in a "far-right" riot in the United Kingdom in 2024? No, that's not true: At least two media organizations have reported that this video shows a police incident in Amsterdam in 2022. This video footage does not show a participant in one of…

Did The Daily Telegraph publish an article by Fiona Parker reporting that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is considering "emergency detainment camps" on the Falkland Islands? No, that's not true: The publication said, "No such article has ever been published by the Telegraph." There is no publicly available information showing Starmer is planning such camps. The claim appeared in a…

Did a man with a darker skin tone and Arabic-sounding name get away with the rape of a 12-year-old girl in the U.K. with a sentence of only community service while two men convicted of anti-immigrant or racist activities got jail time? No, that's not true: The man pictured in the rape case was a 15-year-old member of a gang…

Does a viral image show a suspect in the U.K. stabbing that left three little girls dead in July 2024? No, that's not true: Posts on social media recycled an unrelated image from 2023. The police did not disclose the identity of the person arrested or release an image of him. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on…

Was the suspect in the Southport, England, knife attack in July 2024 an immigrant? No, that's not true: The 17-year-old suspect was born in Cardiff, Wales, said Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy. Wales is part of the United Kingdom. No evidence or credible reports support the immigrant claim. The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) published…

Does a photo show tractors lined up to block boats of migrants from landing at the port of Dover in the U.K.? No, that's not true: The photo on social media shows a protest on January 26, 2024, at a French seaside resort where President Emmanuel Macron has a second home. The farmers driving the tractors were protesting against various…

Did the Kraft Heinz Company announce clear ketchup using lab-grown tomatoes, as a post on Instagram claimed? No, that's not true: A representative for The Kraft Heinz Company confirmed to Lead Stories that "these claims are false." The background of the video of a person pulling the bottle from a store shelf clearly reveals the bottles on the shelf are…

Is there an active "silver alert" in July 2024 for a 5-year-old girl called "Sofia" who is missing in Edinburgh, Scotland, according to a post on Facebook? No, that's not true: A real estate ad later replaced similar versions of the post about "Sofia." These changes appear to be part of a long-established scam that uses a heart-wrenching tale and…

Does a video show British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken watching England score against The Netherlands in the Euro Cup? No, that's not true: While Starmer is in this video, he is watching the game with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, not Blinken. The original video came from a post on Starmer's verified official…

Did President Joe Biden call NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg an "intellectual wigger" at the NATO summit in Washington in July 2024? No, that's not true: Listening to recordings confirms the official transcript of the president's remarks at the summit, in which Biden said "intellectual rigor," not "intellectual wigger." No credible evidence or verified report supports this claim. The claim appeared…

Did BBC News make a meme from an "inaudible" quote by Joe Biden? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support the claim that BBC News created such a meme. It appears to be a mashup that riffs on White House transcripts, which insert "(Inaudible)" when microphones don't capture clear speech, and on a line from a Biden-Harris…

Does a photo of the "Roman tidal baths" on Malta demonstrate that the sea level has been consistent for thousands of years? No, that's not true: The waterfront architecture known as the Roman Baths of Sliema were not built during the Roman Empire thousands of years ago, but some time in the late 19th century -- so their seaside existence…

Is there an identical "treasured item" being found in multiple locations at the same time? No, that's not true: The social media posts that describe this alleged loss are bait-and-switch posts. These posts use made-up stories to garner engagement. Once they get enough, the posters switch the content to advertise real estate. The claim appeared in a post (the post…

Did Rishi Sunak, prime minister of the U.K. and leader of the Conservative Party, state that there are plans in place to pay citizens £75,000 to leave the country? No, that's not true: Neither Sunak nor the Tories as a whole have proposed that plan during the country's general election. The claim came from a satirical social media account. The…