Royal Family

Did Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, wear a The Smiths T-shirt with the phrase "The Queen Is Dead" on it to mock the September 8, 2022 death of Queen Elizabeth II? No, that's not true: This is an altered photo. An example of the original photo can be found in a People magazine article. Johnny Marr, the guitarist in…

Did the BBC change its home page color from red to black before the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II? No, that's not true: Archived copies of the BBC.com banner show it was black before the Crown's September 8, 2022, announcement about the queen being under medical supervision and was still black when her death was announced hours…

Has Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor -- the daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex -- died? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Lilibet has died at the time of writing and a video making the claim doesn't attempt to provide any such evidence. The claim appeared in a Facebook post on July 6, 2022. The post…

Does this video prove that 30 British aircraft intercepted Russia's Black Sea fleet? No, that's not true: The video shows a compilation of file photos, some not even of British aircraft, with subtitles. At least one shows an obsolete aircraft. Some of the subtitles do not make sense in terms of a military operation such as: "an early warning aircraft…

Were Prince Harry and Meghan Markle permanently banned from the United Kingdom since Charles became king? No, that's not true: Charles, the Prince of Wales and first in line to the throne, was not king as of June 13, 2022. Queen Elizabeth II was still the monarch of the United Kingdom, having been so for over 70 years. The claim…

Did the queen "surprise everyone by declaring new king and queen"? No, that's not true: Queen Elizabeth, the 96-year-old British monarch, has not decided that her son Charles and his wife Camilla will be skipped over in favor of Prince William and Kate Middleton becoming the next king and queen of England. Queen Elizabeth issued a statement declaring the exact…

Do Pfizer documents reveal vaccinated people will transfer their COVID-19 shots to the unvaccinated through inhalation and skin contact? No, that's not true: The claim is based on the standard clinical study protocol used for a wide range of medicines. There is no publicly available evidence the mRNA COVID vaccines cause vaccinated persons to cast off excess spike proteins. The…

Did this video showing live gun and tank battles originate as a BBC News broadcast about the conflict between Ukraine and Russia? No, that's not true: This footage did not come from a live news report of a real battle. The footage was filmed in a controlled environment and posted on a royalty-free stock footage website before Russia invaded Ukraine…

Did Queen Elizabeth pass away as reported by Hollywood Unlocked? No, that's not true: This is a baseless claim from one American entertainment blog that was published two days after Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II had tested positive for COVID-19 and that she was "experiencing mild, coldlike symptoms." A plan called "Operation London Bridge" has been in place…

Did the so-called "Freedom Convoy" of Canadian truckers who were primarily protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates make it into the Guinness World Records book for "longest convoy?" No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Guinness World Records told Lead Stories that the convoy was not an official attempt to break such a record. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on…