Israel

Did Mel Gibson post a message on his X account vowing to expose pedophiles and human traffickers in Hollywood, including "Epstein's network and the Diddy connections"? No, that's not true: Gibson does not have an X.com account, or any social media accounts, his publicist told Lead Stories. The account that posted the message was created in 2024 and only has…

Did the self-styled "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Angeli-Chansley write "Fuck Donald Trump" on X in July 2025? Yes, that's true: Social media users shared screenshots of the post, which Angeli-Chansley published on July 23. Angeli-Chansley's X account was briefly deleted on July 24, before becoming available again. A screenshot of the post appeared in a July 23, 2025, post on X…

Does a viral video on social media show Gazans who are fleeing Palestine arriving in Sweden? No, that's not true: The Ruahel Charity Association soccer team shown in the video represents various cities in the West Bank, not Gaza. The video shows players and coaches on a plane as part of a multi-city tour of Europe in July and August…

Does a viral photo authentically show Beyonce wearing a tank top with a Star of David while having an Israeli flag draped over her arms? No, that's not true: The image has been digitally manipulated based on an older original. The original picture shows no such tank top and shows red, white and blue tassels hanging from the singer's arms.…

Does a viral video show Israeli soldiers celebrating the 2024 release of comrades who had been detained in connection with charges that nine soldiers had raped a Palestinian at a desert prison camp? No, that's not true: The video was first posted to X on November 10, 2023 and depicts a rowdy party unrelated to the Sde Teiman camp rape…

Did a Texas city require residents to sign an "Israel loyalty pledge" in order to be eligible to get relief funds after deadly floods in 2025? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that any Texas town or county impacted by the deadly flooding of July 2025 established any such loyalty pledge. The meme making the claim did not…

Does a viral video show footage of the downing of an Israeli aircraft released by Iran? No, that's not true: The video originated on a TikTok channel posting gameplay footage from the online game DCS World. It was not released by Iranian authorities. The video appeared in a post on X (archived here) published on July 3, 2025 with a…

Did crowds at Glastonbury boo and sing "God Save the King", drowning out a performance by Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, in June 2025? No, that's not true: A widely-shared video used audio from a different source to give the false impression that British festival-goers defied the band's Irish republican and pro-Palestinian messages. In fact, the original clip showed a soundbite…

Is a child who was slammed onto the floor at the Sheremetyevo airport an Iranian citizen? No, that's not true: According to the Iranian ambassador to Russia, the child seen in the viral video is Afghan. Earlier, a Russian regional commissioner for children's rights said that the critcally injured toddler comes from an Afghan family with Russian citizenship that resides…

Did WWE issue an announcement saying that a World Wrestling Entertainment event scheduled for June 28, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, "will proceed as planned"? No, that's not true: What looked like a statement from the organization was first published on meme and satire pages. As of this writing, WWE hadn't cancelled the event, but also hadn't confirmed that its…