War

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,…

Did a red banner resembling a Soviet flag fly in Berlin over the Reichstag building, the seat of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, on May 8, 2023 to commemorate the 1945 liberation of Europe from Nazi control? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this happened -- the photos and videos are manipulated. The small collection of…

Did "United States Special Forces" raid a "regime warehouse filled with drug shortage" medicine headed to Ukraine? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories this article "is false." The article is also located on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on May 14, 2023,…

Did NATO sign a written agreement not to expand eastwards after the fall of the Soviet Union? No, that's not true: On its website, NATO refutes the claim, and even Russia -- which historically argued that it was offered verbal guarantees -- did not take it as far as stating that such a formal agreement was signed in the aftermath…

Does a viral video show a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Ternopil during the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest? No, that's not true: The same footage first appeared online four months before, where it was used by Russian state-controlled TV in news reports about Iran. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on May 13, 2023. It…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin display a religious icon that featured a dark-complexioned man's face to show that "Jesus was black"? No, that's not true: The video in this post shows Putin displaying a copy of a Russian Orthodox Church icon that depicts a specific interpretation of Jesus Christ. In the original footage for this clip, posted on a Russian…

Does a video posted on social media in early May 2023 show Ukraine being struck by a nuclear weapon? No, that's not true: Although the video does show the aftermath of a reported Russian missile attack in Ukraine, there is no evidence that the attack was nuclear and there has been no reporting of what would be a news event…

Did Sweden launch a "surprise air strike" against Russia on May 3, 2023? No, that's not true: The claim comes from a clickbait video and is not supported by any other credible sources. The story originated from a post on Facebook on May 3, 2023. It included a video titled: Surprise Air Strike from Sweden- Russian warships were hunted down…