Russia Ukraine War

Did Russia bomb "a cloning lab" in Ukraine's Donetsk, occupied by Russia in November 2023? No, that's not true: The website that published the claim relied on a fictitious single source, and that site carries a disclaimer saying it publishes "humor, parody and satire." No credible media organization reported the purported "news." The claim originated in a article (archived here)…

Does a video show a large billboard ad of an ABC News "Stand With Ukraine" message being replaced with a "Stand With Israel" message in New York City's Times Square district? No, that's not true: This video of the intersection of 50th Street and 7th Avenue has been edited to show a fake advertisement. The real illuminated billboard display at…

Does the cover of the October 2023 issue of the German satirical magazine Titanic feature a cartoon of people wearing masks depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with a title that translates to "This time there won't be enough sweets for everyone"? No, that's not true: Titanic's webmaster confirmed to Lead Stories that this supposed cover is fabricated. The official cover…

Were the "mass graves of thousands of children killed ... in illegal experiments" by Dr. Anthony Fauci found in New York City? No, that's not true: The police department for the county where the mass graves supposedly rest says there are no such graves. Additionally, a picture used in the article making the claim to illustrate a purported mass grave…

Does a video shared to social media in October 2023 show "white Phosphorus bombs" dropped on Gaza? No, that's not true: The video was shot in Ukraine and was posted to social media in March 2023, which predates the October 7, 2023, start of the Hamas-Israel conflict. The original clip showed an alleged attack made by Russian forces on the…

Did the BBC produce a video stating that Bellingcat proved Ukraine was selling NATO weapons to Hamas in the months leading up to the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel? No, that's not true: The BBC website does not contain such reporting, and investigative journalism group Bellingcat did not publish the purported investigation either. Both organizations publicly refuted the claim.…

Does a video show Russian President Vladimir Putin "warning that America should not interfere in the Israel Palestine war" amid the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023? No, that's not true: The video of Putin is from December 2022 and he never mentioned Israel or Palestine in his comments, as the correct translation shows. He was talking about…

Does this video show a salvo of rockets fired by Hamas from the Gaza Strip toward Israel in October 2023? No, that's not true: This video was posted over three years earlier on YouTube, on February 28, 2020, with a Russian-language caption naming the location as north Syria. Although Lead Stories could not verify that the footage shows rockets that…

Do several videos shared on social media in October 2023 genuinely show combat footage from the military conflict between Israel and Hamas? No, that's not true: A reverse image search revealed that one such clip originated from the combat video game Arma 3. Several other similar clips are making the rounds often posted by accounts looking to monetize views and…

Did Vladimir Putin say on October 5, 2023, that World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab is a "global terrorist" and that "his days are numbered"? No, that's not true: the Russian president never referred to Schwab during a speech. Contrary to the claim in an online article, Putin did not describe Schwab as a "global terrorist" during the address. The…