Russia And Ukraine

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy post a monetary reward for capturing the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson? No, that's not true: As of February 9, 2024, there were no credible reports about that. The claim shared on social media misleads about the discovery of Carlson's name on the Ukrainian website Myrotvorets (Peacekeeper). The claim appeared in a video (archived…

Did a post on social media from iSource News contain an authentic quote from Russian President Vladimir Putin answering a question from Tucker Carlson about the U.S. southern border? No, that's not true: The timeline of events makes it impossible and proves that the quote is fabricated because iSource News published the purported exchange on February 4, 2024 -- before…

Did "dozens of Ukrainians" apply to Russia's mission to the United Nations for help getting their children back from welfare agencies in the European Union? No, that's not true: Parents of such children, Russian officials and European Union governments have not said anything that substantiates this claim. The office of Ukraine's Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, which handles requests for…

Does a viral video show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dancing in a red suit? No, that's not true: The footage of a different person was altered to add Zelenskyy's face. The dance in question was performed by a man from the Russian city of Lipetsk. The story appeared in a post (archived here) published on Instagram on January 14, 2024.…

Was Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin killed by Russian cruise missiles in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 3, 2024? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer confirmed to Lead Stories that this claim is false. On January 1, 2024, Austin was hospitalized in Washington, D.C., due to complications from surgery and remained there as of January 10, 2024. Also, this…

Did the combined net worth of President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris reach $69 million in 2022, or $41 million and $28 million respectively? No, that's not true: Posts on social media inflated the financial status of both families without providing any rationale for such statements. Compared to an average American, both Biden and Harris are more…

Does a viral video portray Ukrainian soldiers in 2023 wearing "WW2 era German helmets"? No, that's not true: The footage shows a traditional reenactment event in Belgium. Nothing in the video links the men wearing historic uniforms to Ukraine. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Instagram on December 27, 2023. It opened: Ukrainian soldiers on the…

Does a social media post accurately summarize the events portrayed in an episode of "The Simpsons" -- that a solar superstorm struck Springfield, causing an electromagnetic pulse that led to a complete shutdown of the town and internet access? No, that's not true: The 2013 Simpsons episode mentioned in the social media post -- Episode Nine of Season 24 --…

Does a viral video on the X platform prove that "the Kamal Hospital in the Gaza Strip" was attacked by the Israeli forces "with a bulldozer" in 2023? No, that's not true: The footage predates the conflict. It is a least a decade old, and was posted as news coverage of an incident in Egypt. The claim appeared in a…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin order "the destruction of a Kyiv pharmaceutical laboratory suspected of manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines" owned by Farmak, one of Ukraine's major companies selling medical products, in November 2023? No, that's not true: The company's warehouse near Kyiv had been burned down roughly a year and a half earlier. It happened during the early stages of the…