France

Did massive power outages occur in Paris on July 27, 2024, the day after the Olympics opening ceremony? No, that's not true: The energy company responsible for the power outages said power was restored within 10 minutes and that 85,000 residential clients were affected, while the Paris metropolitan area has a population of 11 million. The power cuts were not…

Does a picture going viral on social media show Israeli swimmers making the phrase "Bring them home now" with their bodies during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics? No, that's not true: The photo was taken in 2023 and posted to social media at that time. Also, it was taken at a pool in Israel, more than 2,600 miles from the…

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…

Does an authentic video show Vice President Kamala Harris saying "Today is today. And yesterday was today yesterday. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow. So live today so that future today will past today, as it is tomorrow"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories submitted the clip to two AI detection tools, which documented substantial manipulation of the video in the…

Does satellite imagery show the moments when Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was surrounded by three circling UFOs before suddenly vanishing in a bright flash of light? No, that's not true: This video does not show satellite imagery or the actual disappearance of Flight 370. The images of the clouds came from a website that supplies background images for 3D artists.…

Did French officials state that "a religious attack" caused the spire of France's nearly thousand-year-old Rouen cathedral to catch fire on July 11, 2024? No, that's not true: As of July 12, 2024, the cause of the fire was still under investigation, according to the mayor of Rouen and a city portal. No credible media organizations have reported otherwise. The…

Does a video show a group of protesters with Palestinian flags shouting offensive sentiments about France, Jewish people and the police after the 2024 French legislative election? No, that's not true: The video predates the election. Additionally, what the people in the protest are yelling sounds like a pro-Palestinian slogan, not the death threats a social media post claims were…

Did the French left-wing coalition announce that it would introduce a "90% TAX on anyone earning €400,000," leaving those taxpayers with "just €40,000"? No, that's not true: According to Eric Coquerel of the left-wing New Popular Front, the rate of 90 percent is planned to apply to the amounts that exceed a certain income bracket. Claims on social media incorrectly…

Does a viral video show authentic footage of Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and France's Emmanuel Macron dancing before becoming president? No, that's not true: Heavily edited, it contained a substantial amount of deepfake shots. Other people's faces were digitally replaced with those of Zelenskyy and Macron. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Instagram on June 29, 2024, under…

Does an image of French politician Marine Le Pen show her crying after her party lost the second round of July 2024 French elections? No, that's not true: The image is a still from a 2017 video from French radio network Europe 1 that captured her laughing so hard she started crying. Translated, the video's title read: "When Marine Le…