Russia Ukraine War

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…

Did Hamas claim that Ukraine sold them the weapons, purportedly paid for by the United States, that they used to attack Israel on October 7, 2023? No, that's not true: Hamas has made no such public claim. Additionally, there is no credible information, evidence, or reports supporting such an assertion. The claim appeared in a post on X (archived here),…

Did Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spend over a million dollars on Cartier jewelry in New York City while accompanying her husband on his recent official trip to the United States? No, that's not true: Zelenska was in Canada on the day of the purported shopping spree. Media provided extensive coverage of the…

Did Sweden confirm the loss of all Leopard 2A5 tanks delivered to Ukraine? No, that's not true. The government of Sweden did not confirm the loss of the tanks, both the press officer for the Swedish Defence Minister and a spokesperson for the Swedish armed forces told Lead Stories. A post making the claim gives no evidence nor does it…

Did Ukraine issue a stamp with an "image of the Nazi" who was "given a standing ovation in the Canadian Parliament" to recognize Yaroslav Hunka as Ukraine's national hero? No, that's not true: The website of the Ukrainian national postal service does not contain any mentions of the supposed stamp. Furthermore, the image shared on social media contained a barcode…

Does a viral video prove that Ukraine now employs bulletproof vests specifically made for "pregnant women fighters"? No, that's not true: The post on social media misleads audiences about the new body armor's design -- it was made not for pregnant people, but for all female military personnel in order to take their anatomy into account. The caption on the…

Did the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) report that Poles have started to rename their Wi-Fi networks to insult Ukrainian refugees in Poland? No, that's not true: Both DW and the Ukrainian government refuted the claim. A Lead Stories analysis indicates that the claim's list of supposed Wi-Fi networks may predate Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine that displaced…

Did an LED billboard at the corner of 42nd Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan feature the words "Glory to Urine" against a waving blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly meeting on September 19, 2023? No, that's not true: This video is not current or authentic. Shots…