Baghdad

Did Nancy Pelosi assure Iran that U.S. President Trump will "pay for his crimes" following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani? No, that's not true: The U.S. House Speaker did say Trump was not "straight with Congress" about the drone killing on January 3, 2020, but she never assured Iran Trump would "pay for" Soleimani's killing.…

Did Michelle Obama slam First Lady Melania Trump, saying, "She's a terrible role model for America's women?" No, that's not true: The quote is fabricated and part of a satirical site that trolls conservative readers into believing the stories are true. The claim originated from an article (archived here) published by Obama Watcher on November 26, 2019, under the title…

Does a video making the rounds on social media show aerial footage from the drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020? No, that's not true: This footage was based off a pre-release teaser of the video game "AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron" that was posted to YouTube on March 25,…

Did the Los Angeles Times report that Iran, China and Russia just declared war on the United States? No, that's not true: a prank website with a domain name nearly identical to the real LA Times site published a post that looked simliar to an LA Times article on social media. However, when users clicked on the link, the site…

Does a video making the rounds on social media show Iran's Ayatollah going crazy following the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. drone strike? No, that's not true: This is an old video, put in a loop and portraying an animated - and now deceased - Ayatollah that dates to at least 2003. The reaction and the…

Did former President Barack Obama call a meeting of the UN Security council without inviting U.S. officials? No, that's not true. The story was published by a liberal satire website that tries to mislead Trump supporters and Republicans into sharing made-up stories that are clearly marked as satire when you actually click them. Articles from the site are frequently copied…

Did Democrats call for flags to be flown at half-mast to grieve the death of Soleimani? No, that's not true: the story was put out by The Babylon Bee, a well-known and often quite funny satire website. So far, the story has received about half a million engagements on Facebook, many of them from smart people who understood it to…

Did the graffiti in this photo respond to the Jan. 3, 2020, assassination of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani by saying 'Thank you Trump'? No, that's not true: This is an old photo that was pulled from a video posted on May 20, 2018. The claim that this sign was up after the killing in Tehran, Iran, plays off of…

UPDATE: Iran announced on January 7, 2020, that the country had attacked bases in Iraq where U.S. forces are stationed. This attack did not occur on January 3, 2020, as claimed in the fake story below. Iran said the attack was in retaliation for the killing by the U.S. of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top Revolutionary Guards commander. UPDATE…

Did President Trump play golf during the U.S. Embassy siege in Baghdad? No, that's not true: While Trump did arrive at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on New Year's Eve, he only spent under an hour there. Media reports said he did not hit the links as the U.S. embassy siege in Baghdad was unfolding.…