Iran

Was the father of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in Iran after being arrested for allegedly violating strict hijab laws, seen dancing on her grave? No, that's not true. A video alleged to show Amini's father dancing is an excerpt from a fictional TV series in Azerbaijan, Iran's northwestern neighbor. The claim appeared in an October 1, 2022,…

Does a reflection in an astronaut's helmet visor from the Apollo 17 moon landing prove that it was a hoax? No, that's not true: The reflection seen in astronaut Gene Cernan's helmet visor shows astronaut Harrison Schmidt standing in front of him on the surface of the moon in 1972. "The view is a little distorted due to the curvature…

Does a Facebook video show the Ukrainian navy destroying "13 Russian warships in the Black Sea"? No, that's not true: The clip recycles old unrelated footage of Russian -- not Ukrainian -- ships in action. More importantly, the video never discusses the 13 "destroyed" ships mentioned in the caption -- the narrator only says that those are "on high alert."…

Does a video show "Rep. John Haller" of Pennsylvania reading through the "HR 8791 -- the Homeland Terrorism Preparedness Bill" and interrupting his reading by repeatedly saying material is "classified"? No, that's not true: There was no Rep. John Haller representing Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District in 2007 when the video originally appeared. And there was no HR 8791 during that…

Did former President Barack Obama take 30 million pages of documents, including some secret nuclear papers, from the White House to Chicago when he left the presidency and then refuse to return them? No, that's not true: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) did ship 30 million pages of documents to a secure NARA facility in Chicago, but they…

Is Russian President Vladimir Putin preparing to "flee Russia should he be defeated in Ukraine"? As of August 2, 2022, there is no publicly available evidence that such plans are in place. The post making that claim cites a Telegram channel that says it has access to Kremlin insiders, but provides no proof that is the case. The story appeared…

Did the world's first female F-35 pilot crash a plane on its first flight? No, that's not true: According to Lt. Col. (retired) Christine Mau, she has "never crashed any airplane." A public affairs officer with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) confirmed that the woman pictured is Mau. According to Air Force public affairs, she was the first female pilot…

Are people in Alabama who seek or get an abortion "thrown in prison for life," even if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest? No, that's not true: There's no such law in Alabama. In 2019, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill designed to essentially ban abortion in the state, except for when an abortion…

By Uliana Malashenko and James Rosen Was U.S. citizen Brent Renaud, who was killed March 13 by Russian troops at a checkpoint near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, an American intelligence operative? No, it is not true. The claim was made with no evidence of Renaud's affiliation with the CIA or any other U.S. spy agencies. He was an award-winning…

Did NATO launch more than 10,000 air raids on Libya in 2011 with over 500,000 civilian casualties? No, that's not true: According to a NATO official, the claim is "bogus." The director of the nonprofit watchdog group Airwars says the account of 500,000 civilian casualties is "not supported by any public claim." The claim appeared as a Twitter thread published…