Russia

Is the United States shutting down a Naval base in Alexandroupoli, Greece, as reported in February 2025? No, that's not true: A defense official told Lead Stories there is no "US base in Alexandroupolis." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denied the claim on February 24, 2025, saying at the White House, "It's a no," according to the White House press…

Was the social media platform Truth Social blocked in Ukraine by the Ukrainian authorities? No, that's not true: Truth Social and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs's spokesperson denied the claim. Both said that the social media platform was never made available in Ukraine. Lead Stories found no credible reports corroborating the viral rumor. The claim appeared in a post…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump say that Ukraine started the war with Russia? Yes, that's true: On February 18, 2025, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago residence, he said that Ukraine should have never started the war. That followed talks between the U.S. and Russia without the participation of Ukraine. The statement that is the focus of this story appeared in a…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's approval rating plummet to 4 percent, as of February 2025? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no publicly available poll confirming the figure voiced by President Donald Trump on February 18, 2025. The White House did not reply to a Lead Stories request to disclose the basis for Trump's statement. The claim originated from…

Does a viral clip authentically show the outgoing Munich Security Conference Chairman, Christoph Heusgen, getting emotional while discussing U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance's remarks at the conference? No, that's not true: The video was edited. The altered version removed more than five minutes of Heusgen's address, separating the moment when he mentioned Vance and when he got emotional coming off…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say, "The risk that Russia will occupy Europe is 100%," without adding conditions to that statement or qualifying it? No, that's not true: A viral video of an interview on Meet The Press left out the part of the video just before he said that sentence. The full context of the interview shows Zelenskyy saying…

Does a 2025 poll say Germans think President Donald Trump is the greatest threat to world peace just weeks after taking office? No, that's not true: The poll being circulated in February 2025 was actually conducted in 2019, toward the end of Trump's first term in office. The graphic being shared comes from a 2019 Fox News story reporting that…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spend 14.2 million euros ($14.7 million) to buy the legendary "Eagle's Nest" previously owned by Adolf Hitler? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the Kehlsteinhaus, as the Eagle's Nest is known, told Lead Stories the claim was not true and that it had not been sold as of publication date. The German state of…

Did E! News report USAID paid celebrities like Ben Stiller, Angelina Jolie, Sean Penn, Orlando Bloom or Jean-Claude Van Damme millions of dollars to visit President Zelenskyy in Ukraine? No, that's not true: E! News told Lead Stories the video is "not authentic" and did not originate with them. Stiller denied he received any USAID money, posting on X that…

American Airlines reported a Bombardier CRJ700 plane flying under their regional airline brand American Eagle was involved in an accident over the Potomac river while approaching Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time. Accoring to the FAA the plane collided with an Army UH-60 helicopter with three crewmembers on board. The statement from American Airlines read: American Eagle…