Russia

Does a video show five beluga whales that washed ashore in Kamchatka, Russia on July 29, 2025, the day of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake? No, that's not true: On August 13, 2023 a Kamchatka news outlet posted a longer version of this video on YouTube. That video shows the successful effort by Kamchatka fishermen to help the stranded whales until…

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey rejects social media claims that she hesitated to open the private road through her Hawaiian estate to help evacuation efforts after tsunami warnings were issued for Hawaii on July 29, 2025. One of her social media accounts publicly shared the denial statement from her spokesperson. The Maui police department put out a statement saying the…

Is a video of shelves falling in an electronics store from the massive Russian earthquake on July 29, 2025? No, that's not true: The video was recorded by a security camera in a store in Myanmar when an earthquake struck there on March 28, 2025. The video, which shows a clerk ducking under a counter as shelves crash on top…

Does a viral video show Cambodia firing RM-70 rockets at Thailand in 2025? No, that's not true: A viral post with over with 2.8 million views on X making that claim used footage that was already available on TikTok in 2022. The clip likely shows events from the Russia vs. Ukraine conflict. One example of the video showed up in…

Does a viral clip show a fighter jet shooting down another one during July 2025 clashes between Thailand and Cambodia? No, that's not true: The video predates the violence that broke out in that region in late July of 2025. Earlier version of the clip have been online at least since mid-June 2025 and were described as footage from the…

Was American Derek Huffman killed in a drone strike while fighting for the Russian military in Ukraine in July 2025? A YouTube account used by his wife claimed in a comment that Huffman is alive and well. Another American acquaintance of Huffman also told Lead Stories that Huffman is alive, but definitive proof was not immediately available. Here's what we…

Is a viral video of former President Barack Obama saying "Trump crossed my bottom line" authentic? No, that's not true: The video is an obvious fake, with an extra-large gap between Obama's front teeth and lip movements that don't match the words being spoken. No Obama video statement about the situation were found on credible news sites, nor on Obama's…

Does a viral image show the site of the July 21, 2025, military training plane crash in Dhaka, Bangladesh? No, that's not true: The social media image contradicted what was shown in footage and photographs published by credible media outlets. Authentic visual materials showed that most of the plane's fuselage was obscured from cameras by the debris. The claim appeared…

Does a viral video really show an American B-2 bomber "surprised at high altitude" by enemy Su-34 and Su-35 jets from Russia? No, that's not true: The video originated on a TikTok channel that publishes video game footage. Despite this several social media posts presented the footage as real. The video appeared in a post on TikTok (archived here) where…

Did FBI Director Kash Patel declassify records detailing Hillary Clinton's and Vladimir Putin's ties to the 'James Comey Scandal'? No, that's not true: The viral rumor originated from a comedian's page. Neither the FBI nor credible media organizations said anything about the purported "trove" of "intelligence documents". The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on July…