Current Events

Does a viral video from Gaza prove another case of white phosphorus use by the Israel Defense Forces during the Hamas-Israel war in the fall of 2023? No, that's not true: The specific shots of what was claimed to be white phosphorus projectiles hitting a United Nations school near Al Shati, also known as the Beach Camp, in Gaza, do…

Did London officials take down a United Kingdom flag before a march in support of Palestinians to "maintain peace"? No, that's not true: According to an X post from the local police, the flag was taken down to be cleaned. A Google News search of thousands of credible information sources using related key words did not supply evidence that the…

Did President Joe Biden say there's now a $2,880 Medicare flexible spending card for all American seniors over the age of 64? No, that's not true: Biden did not make an announcement about a Medicare flexible spending card on any official White House accounts. A spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told Lead Stories the link that…

Did the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps place New York State Attorney General Letitia James under arrest for committing "treason and other high crimes and misdemeanors"? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is false. The website where this claim was made also has a disclaimer that states it publishes satirical content.…

Does the cover of the October 2023 issue of the German satirical magazine Titanic feature a cartoon of people wearing masks depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with a title that translates to "This time there won't be enough sweets for everyone"? No, that's not true: Titanic's webmaster confirmed to Lead Stories that this supposed cover is fabricated. The official cover…

Did former President Donald Trump write on November 2, 2023, that he would nominate Judge Aileen Cannon, the federal judge overseeing his classified documents case in Florida, to the Supreme Court? No, that's not true: Trump's purported Truth Social post, which made the claim about Cannon, is not real. There's no record of the post. Furthermore, if Trump had made…

Does a nighttime video on social media showing a large group of people marching down a street depict a pro-Palestinian protest in France? No, that's not true: It shows soccer fans in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The video was shot on October 5, 2023, two days before the start of the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict. The claim was implied in a post…

Did actor Jason Statham install a Palestinian flag on his Jeep amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in 2023? No, that's not true: A close-up picture from a video included in the claim clearly shows that the man in it is not Statham, a well-known Hollywood actor. Statham has not made any public comments about the Hamas-Israel conflict as of this writing.…

Did a "survey" find that COVID-19 vaccines "killed 3.5X more Americans than COVID virus"? No, that's not true: A medical professional who treats patients of long COVID told Lead Stories that the so-called survey "lacked scientific rigor" and could not be extrapolated to the broader public -- it was not scientifically sound and included methodological flaws. The claim originated in…

Did CNN air footage of a Palestinian crisis actor wrapped in a white shroud pretending to be a corpse who moved their head instead of staying perfectly still? No, that's not true: The CNN footage shows the body of a dead person wrapped in a shroud that was gathered and tied at their head. When a man adjusted the shroud,…

Did actor Matthew Perry vow to expose "child predators" before his death? No, that's not true: The social media post purportedly by Perry that makes the claim is fake -- there is no proof of its existence on his Instagram account and it does not show his verified check mark. The site that made the claim has a history of…

Was U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen "hanged at GITMO"? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is false. The website where this claim was made has a disclaimer that states it publishes satirical content. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) where it was published by Real Raw News on October 31,…

Do posts on social media show that Israel is registered as a company in the United Kingdom? No, that's not true: Companies House, an executive agency of the British government that maintains the register of companies, told Lead Stories that "it's not." However, Israel, which is officially listed as a "state," must register as an "overseas entity" because it owns…

Is there a "Balfour lease" for Israel that expired on October 31, 2023? No, that's not true: Israel's creation did not stem from any agreement indicating that its land is temporary. There is a Balfour Declaration, a statement made by the British government in 1917 that set the stage for Israel to become a country; however, the declaration did not…

Did Yemen officially declare war on Israel in October 2023? No, that's not true: No credible sources have reported that as of November 1, 2023. Posts on social media making the claim misrepresented the role of the Houthi movement, which tried to launch drones and missiles targeting Israel in October 2023. This group is not internationally recognized as Yemen's government.…

Does a map published on social media claiming to show U.S. military bases around Iran accurately portray America's military presence there? No, that's not true: The map overestimates the number of U.S. bases in the region. U.S. Central Command, which has command authority over U.S. forces in the Middle East and West/Central Asia, and military experts contacted by Lead Stories…

Does a video on X show Hamas crisis actors pretending to be Palestinian corpses in October 2023? No, that's not true: This video was originally posted on YouTube in 2013. It shows students protesting at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, featuring a display of "corpses" represented by actors. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X, formerly…

Did protesters in Washington, D.C., riot and rush people into a house on October 28, 2023, as a video on Instagram claims to show? No, that's not true: The video is from a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest. The homeowner told television station WUSA9 at the time that he invited the protesters into his home to wait out a curfew.…

Does a viral social media video show an Iranian attack on a "petrol pump" in Israel in 2023? No, that's not true: The footage is from 2014 and showed an explosion at a gas station in Makhachkala, capital of the Russian republic of Dagestan. The explosion did not happen during the October 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict. It occurred years earlier and…

Does the Salzburg, Austria, airport have a counter for people who flew to Austria instead of Australia? No, that's not true: A meme originated from a satirical ad campaign positioned at the baggage claim in the Salzburg airport. The ad, featuring a SOS call button, was from a communication technology company that provides solutions such as the SOS intercom call…