War

Is there a huge traffic jam leaving Kyiv to get to western Ukraine "right now," on July 17, 2023? No, that's not true: The video shown in this tweet goes back at least to August 22, 2022. It does not show a traffic jam made up of people fleeing Kyiv for western Ukraine due to purported concerns over Russian retaliation…

Did the German newspaper Handelsblatt publish a cartoon of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its front page in the aftermath of the 2023 NATO summit, calling to "reconsider attitudes" toward support of Zelenskyy and Ukraine? No, that's not true: No such cover could be found on the Handelsblatt official website. The story appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on…

Did a viral video show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy performing a belly dance on camera? No, that's not true: The footage portrays a different person, a professional belly dance instructor from Argentina, and Zelenskyy's face seems to have been superimposed on that person's body. The story appeared in a post (archived here) published on TikTok on July 15, 2023. It…

Does Amazon's Alexa speaker say World War III will start in November 2023 when "Russia launches an attack against Germany"? No, that's not true: Amazon told Lead Stories that their AI system does not give that Alexa response to a question about when World War III would start. The claim appeared in a video published on Facebook on July 3,…

Did a viral photo capture the bodies of Russian soldiers mashed together into a rectangular piece of flesh "for easy transportation"? No, that's not true: The image showed previously frozen but then thawed pet food left in the streets of a Russian village near the border with Ukraine. The claim appeared in a tweet posted on July 4, 2023. It…

Is graffiti of a hanged Volodymyr Zelenskyy in The Hague, Netherlands, as of this writing? No, that's not true: The image was created by an art group that posts their work on Instagram purportely in random locations worldwide, but there is no evidence that the graffiti is where the group claims it is. The location shown in this image is…

Does the video and caption in a social media post accurately portray a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber flying over Miami as part of the moving of "missile defense systems" to "locations on the U.S. west coast"? No, that's not true: The footage of the military aircraft flying over a Miami beach actually displays an air show tribute for a holiday…

Did "Call of Duty" game maker Activision post a tweet mocking the Russian military, apologizing to gamers for using Russia as an antagonist and saying it should have built games around a more competent army, such as that of Cuba or Laos? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Activision ever posted such a tweet. The claim appeared…

Did NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announce on June 26, 2023, that the international military alliance would change the status of the air force mission protecting the skies of the Baltic states to a "combat" role?" No, that's not true: Stoltenberg said during a press conference that NATO has reached an agreement on a "new rotational model for air and missile…

Did President Joe Biden declare "war on Russia" as of June 17, 2023? No, that's not true: This video post is missing context as the footage, taken from a March 2022 event of Biden speaking to the House Democratic Caucus, was edited. The transcript of his original remarks and a video recording of the event show that the video clip…

Did Ukraine demand Elon Musk delete Tucker Carlson's Twitter account within 72 hours, threatening consequences if the demand was not complied with? No, that's not true: the claim originated on a Russian Telegram channel known for satirical content that regularly posts fake quotes from people who are in the news. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's official website makes no mention of…

Did an artificial intelligence (AI) drone kill its operator in a U.S. Air Force simulated test? No, that's not true: Although a report of a conference stated that the Air Force conducted such a test, the official who gave the details later clarified that he "mis-spoke" and that the anecdote was a "thought experiment" rather than a real-world simulation. The…

Did Sen. Lindsey Graham publicly proclaim that spending U.S. resources on "killing Russians" is "the best money we've ever spent"? No, that's not true: Graham's words from two different sentences have been run together into what amounts to a misquote, distorting both the meaning and rhetoric of his message. The story appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on…

Does a black-and-white video show a nighttime explosion at the Nova Kakhovka Dam on the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, causing flooding downstream on June 6, 2023? No, that's not true:. This footage was widely circulated before the June 6 incident. It shows a blast damaging the bridge at the dam in November 2022, not the June 6, 2023,…

Did Commander In Chief Of The Armed Forces Of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyy disappear during the battle of Bakhmut in May 2023 or on June 3, 2023, as the country was moving forward with its counteroffensive plans? No, that's not true: The claim reused an already debunked rumor from mid-May 2023. The story appeared in a video published on Facebook on…

Does a video on Mexico's Milenio Television channel show a Mexican cartel member carrying a U.S.-made Javelin anti-tank missile? No, that's not true: Raytheon Technologies, which makes the Javelin, told Lead Stories that the video shows another type of shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon. The claim appeared in a post on Twitter (archived here) by Mexican journalist Azucena Uresti on May 31,…

Does a photo shared on social media during the May 22, 2023, attack on the Russian region of Belgorod by two paramilitary groups show the wife of the region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, at an "international airport" with her "belongings"? No, that's not true: This photo was distributed by the Russian airline Azur Air at least three months before these groups…

Does a video of a long convoy of cars show residents of Belgorod, Russia evacuating their homes after Russian paramilitary groups fighting for Ukraine crossed the Russian-Ukraine border on May 22, 2023, and attacked the Belgorod region? No, that's not true: Lead Stories compared the video footage with photos of Belgorod in Google's Street View and found that the cars…

Does a viral video prove the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine in May 2023? No, that's not true: The footage, predating the Russian invasion of Ukraine, shows Afghanistan. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok on May 10, 2023. The text overlay said: Is World war 3 already startin 💔 it like a dream 😭 It continued: Nato…

Was there an explosion near the Pentagon on May 22, 2023? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo but a digitally fabricated image that shows a plume of smoke near a building that slightly resembles the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia. The building in the image is not the Pentagon,…