France

Did French President Macron demand "$150 trillion in interest" for funding US independence, also known as the American Revolution, claiming France's support was a loan? No, that's not true: A viral screenshot with that headline showing an image from Macron's March 5, 2025, speech did not offer any sources to back that up and the speech did not make any…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy buy the French bank Milleis in February 2025 using the offshore company Maltex? No, that's not true: No credible media organization reported this story, as of March 6, 2025. A viral video purporting to be a TV news report about it displayed a non-existent TV channel logo. And the video contained inauthentic, AI-generated audio, according…

Does a video being spread on social media show a real sinkhole that opened up in Paris? No, that's not true: The video originated on the Instagram account of an "AI video expert" and several details in the video reveal it is not real. A detection tool also said the video was AI generated. The video originally appeared in an…

Did Elon Musk say Italians should stay in Italy and the Japanese should stay in Japan? No, that's not true: While speaking at a right-wing political event in December 2023, the tech billionaire argued that countries shouldn't rely on immigration to maintain their populations. Instead, he suggested that governments should promote higher birth rates and offer incentives for families to…

Did an international court charge Dr. Anthony Fauci with 2,967,108 counts of murder? No, that's not true: A headline making that claim originated on The Dunning-Kruger Times, a site with a satire disclaimer. The article itself contained several hints it was all satirical and meant to troll those who just shared the headline. The headline appeared in an article published…

Did Elon Musk decide to withdraw support for the World Boxing Organization unless Imane Khelif's medal and $25 million bonus are revoked? No, that's not true: The article cited in the comments of a social media post making this claim did not offer any quotes or sources to confirm this. A search on X for an announcement by Musk did…

Does a video authentically show Vladimir Putin going "past world leaders to shake Trump's hand"? No, that's not true: The version of the clip that went viral in the days leading up to Trump's second inauguration in January 2025 was edited to remove several key frames documenting one of the 2018 events commemorating the end of World War I. Multiple…

Did a large drone crash in New York City on Christmas Eve 2024 as claimed by a video posted on X? No, that's not true: There are several clues in the video that point to it being AI-generated and the account that posted it published several other similarly themed videos around the same time. True Media, an online AI detection…

Did Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum propose annexing Guatemala so it would become the "33rd state" in Mexico? No, that's not true: The rumor about Mexico annexing Guatemala was first debunked by Mexican outlets during the previous president's administration. Lead Stories found no actual news reports that confirmed the purported "annexation" plan under the new administration in Mexico. The claim appeared…

Does a photo show basketball star LeBron James kissing an unidentified man in Paris? No, that's not true: A reverse image search showed that the men in the photo are a couple who go by the screen name "TeeAndDrew." An online news search for any credible evidence that the event described in the post actually happened came up empty. The…