Refugees

Does a photo portray a funeral procession in southern Gaza after an Israeli strike on Rafah in late May 2024? No, that's not true: The image predates this particular attack. It shows a different funeral that took place in central Gaza on December 25, 2023, much farther from the border between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah. The claim appeared in…

Was German politician Marie-Thérèse Kaiser convicted and fined in May 2024 solely for sharing statistics regarding sexual assaults committed by Afghan immigrants? No, that's not true: Kaiser was found guilty of "incitement to hatred" under the German Criminal Code, not merely posting government figures. The law stipulates that individuals who incite hatred against specific groups based on nationality, race, religion…

Do Israelis get free healthcare in the United States and receive transplant organs ahead of Americans? No, that's not true: Healthcare in the United States is primarily provided through private insurance or government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. "No US government money can be applied toward medical costs for treatment of a non-US citizen," one expert told Lead Stories. The…

Did Canada recently change its passport policy to prohibit people from listing Palestine as their country of birth on their passports? No, that's not true: Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller responded to the claim on X. Miller said there have been no recent changes to the nations listed in Canada's passport application form for country of…

Did American actress Angelina Jolie in 2024 call on the world to "unite against Israel"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence corroborating the claim. This phrase has been falsely attributed to Jolie since at least 2006, according to Lead Stories' research. That's 17 years before the current Hamas-Israel war began in 2023. The quote was not part…

Does a video clip shared by the official account of the State of Israel show 23,000 tons of tents and shelter equipment that were trucked into Gaza since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023? No, that's not true: This is a stock video clip that shows a refugee camp in Palanca, Moldova which was uploaded to iStock…

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…

Was the mechanism of the background check conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to screen potential gun owners changed in a way that now allows undocumented residents to buy and possess guns in the United States? No, that's not true: On December 27, 2023, the bureau, abbreviated as the ATF, categorically denied such a change. The…

Was the academic year in Gaza suspended because "all students" have died? No, that's not true: Available data suggests that most schoolchildren are still alive, even though the Hamas-Israel war has disrupted their education. While international organizations have drawn attention to the death toll among minors in the war, none state that Gaza's entire school-age population -- some 625,000 children,…

Does a video show Israeli soldiers placing their national flag atop the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza? No, that's not true: Al Shifa buildings seen in other photos didn't appear to have any UN markings on the rooftops, while the building in versions of the flag-raising scene did have clear UN markings on its roof. A representative for the United…