Europe

Does a video authentically show Vladimir Putin going "past world leaders to shake Trump's hand"? No, that's not true: The version of the clip that went viral in the days leading up to Trump's second inauguration in January 2025 was edited to remove several key frames documenting one of the 2018 events commemorating the end of World War I. Multiple…

Does footage show an authentic panic in Paris as people react to a UFO and an unidentified submerged object (USO) in the Seine River? No, that's not true: The video is from a film shoot. The footage is from the production of "Under Paris," a 2024 movie about a shark in the Seine. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Does a video show the "son of a famous Ukrainian prosecutor" who "was spotted in Monaco enjoying his car" during the Russian-Ukrainian war in January 2025? No, that's not true: Lead Stories analysis showed that neither the date, place or identity of the person matched the clip's description. The video was recorded in Florida in 2023 and showed a Ukrainian…

Did President-elect Donald Trump post a map of Finland on Truth Social? No, that's not true: A manual review of his account did not show such an entry as of this writing, January 14, 2025. The map in question did not correctly reflect current Finnish borders nor those in the year seen in the image. The claim appeared in a…

Does the swinging action of stuffed toys hanging from the ceiling of the Soyuz crew capsule prove that the spacecraft is not really producing the expected G forces during a launch into orbit, suggesting fakery? No, that's not true: A spacecraft will experience varying G forces and vibrations during launch. A social media post's short video clip was taken from…

Does a video show "Turkish commandos" swearing to hunt down "USA/Israel's terrorists" in December 2024? No, that's not true: Lead Stories Turkish-speaking staff confirmed that the uniformed people shown in the footage did not mention the U.S. or Israel. The video was recorded in March 2023 following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, and shows personnel chanting what appear to be…

Was the 2016 months-long Spanish political crisis the same as a government shutdown in the U.S.? No, that's not true: Spain, unable to form a new government at the time, did not experience a gap in national funding, and most government services were delivered as usual. In the U.S., shutdowns are triggered by the absence of an adopted permanent or…

Did Germany decriminalize the possession of child pornography in 2024? No, that's not true: Possession of child pornography in Germany remains a crime as of this publication. However, in some cases, German lawmakers in May 2024 reduced the minimum jail sentences for possessing, distributing or acquiring such material, while the maximum sentences remained the same. The claim appeared in a…

Did a Saudi Arabian immigrant suspected of driving his car into shoppers at a German Christmas market say "Allahu akbar" during a video of his arrest? No, that's not true: Lead Stories reviewed the full 52-second video of a German law enforcement officer placing the suspect under arrest. On the video, the suspect quietly repeats the word "okay" in response…

Was Samir El Hydeouchi identified as the suspect in the December 20, 2024, vehicular attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany? No, that's not true: At the time this fact check was written, the suspect was taken into custody and a German official has stated the driver of the car, who was not named, was a Saudi national, a…

Does a photo show Prince Harry kneeling at Prince William's feet, apologizing to his brother and accepting a new title? No, that's not true: Multiple AI detectors found that this image was 100 percent likely to be AI generated. Lead Stories found no credible evidence that this string of events occurred. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived…

Does a video prove that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a hotel in Courchevel, France, for 88 million euros ($93 million) in November 2024? No, that's not true: The video was based on a screenshot of a fake website mimicking the online page of a currently closed hotel. The current owner of the hotel described the posts sharing the video…

Was a prominent HIV researcher who died in the 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 planning to declare the virus a "man-made disease"? No, that's not true: Dr. Joep Lange's work in the field of HIV/AIDS focused largely on developing treatment options and the global inequities of treating the disease, not the origin of AIDS itself. A Google News…

Were COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by military contractors rather than by Pfizer and Moderna? No, that's not true: FDA inspection records show the vaccines were made in drug industry labs. Pfizer pointed Lead Stories to publicly available documents about its facilities in Belgium, Germany and at least two locations in the U.S., including Kalamazoo, Michigan. Under Operation Warp Speed, the government…

Did Adm. Rob Bauer, who heads NATO's Military Committee, say the group would launch pre-emptive strikes on Russia in the event of war? No, that's not true: In his remarks at a conference in Brussels, Bauer never mentioned the possibility of NATO attacking Russia pre-emptively. In fact, he stressed Russia would have to hit NATO targets first before the Alliance…

Does a video show members of the European Parliament giving a standing ovation to the U.S. decision to permit Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia with U.S.-supplied weapons? No, that's not true: The post's caption mislabels the content of a video shared online. The video showed members of the EU parliament clapping before and after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address…

Does a photograph posted on X genuinely show the coffins of 18 British Special Forces being returned after they were killed in Ukraine? No, that's not true: The photo predates the Russia-Ukraine war by over a decade. It was taken in 2006 and shows the coffins of 14 servicemen killed in an air crash in Afghanistan while aboard an RAF…

Did Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni say Italy opposes President Joe Biden's policy change that permits Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia? No, that's not true: There is no publicly available recording or transcript of Meloni expressing Italian opposition to the change. During the Group of 20 summit on November 18 and 19, 2024, shortly…

Was the Sephora company "a huge donor" to Donald Trump's 2024 campaign? No, that's not true: Neither the company nor any Sephora employee donated to the Trump campaign or Trump-favored political action committee, according to OpenSecrets.org. The company said in a statement: "Sephora does not make corporate donations to political candidates." Records show some Sephora employees did contribute to Kamala…

Did Prince William ascend to the British throne following the death of his father King Charles III and expel Queen Camilla from the royal family? No, that's not true: There is no news of King Charles' passing at the time of writing, and the royals' website shows that William remains Prince of Wales on November 18, 2024. The site where…