Israel

Did musician Bruce Springsteen announce that he will "leave the United States if Donald Trump is elected President in 2024," as a post on X claimed? There is no record that the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer made such an announcement as of July 16, 2024. The post that made the claim had no evidence or record to prove…

Does a video montage of clips contain authentic footage of Hurricane Beryl striking Texas on July 7, 2024? No, that's not true: Lead Stories connected nine of the clips to storms in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Florida and Canada, but not Texas. There's no evidence linking the collection of 13 short clips to the Category 1 hurricane that made landfall in…

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…

Does a video on social media show a crowd waving more Palestinian flags than French flags and celebrating victory for the political left in July 2024 French elections? No, that's not true: The video posted to "prove" the claim was shot during a pro-Palestinian march a month prior to the July 2024 French elections. A French news outlet's article confirmed…

Did protesters hang a "giant banner" at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City in June 2024 of Iran's leader "thanking" Americans for pro-Palestinian rallies, as footage on social media appears to show? No, that's not true: The banner appears to have been added through generative AI, as initial video recordings of a protest at the museum on May 31,…

Is Israel out of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, as of June 24, 2024, as was claimed in a social media post? No, that's not true: As of this writing, Israel remains on the list of 206 national teams entered to compete. Lead Stories could find no evidence that would corroborate the claim that Israel was "out of the…

Does a video show Muhammad Moin Al-Din, an 86-year-old man, caught in the act of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl in the tall grass of an agricultural field as a viral tweet claimed? No, that's not true: This false narrative has been attached to a short clip from a controversial 2004 Iranian TV series. The original series had a strong…

Did the Albanian prime minister describe the "three major devils in the world" as being the U.S., the Soviet Union and Israel while speaking in front of the U.S. secretary of state Anthony Blinken? No, that's not true: A video clip used in a social media post is missing context. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was explaining the history of…

Did actress Scarlett Johansson once say, "I am a Jew, and no amount of money in the world will tempt me to go against Israel?" No, that's not true: There is no record of Johansson ever having made this remark. A search on Google News shows no credible news reports of Johansson, who is Jewish, ever having said this. The…

Does a video on social media of a person in military uniform setting a tent on fire after circling it with a toy plane show an authentic Israeli soldier mocking Palestinian victims of Israel's 2024 Rafah offensive? No, that's not true: The footage does not document a real-life scene. It depicts an artistic performance. The claim appeared in a video…