Europe

Did a video circulating on social media show Russian President Vladimir Putin making a public statement about Russia's terms for a ceasefire in Ukraine in March 2025? No, that's not true: The clip had been online for nine months. It showed Putin's remarks from June 2024. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on March 12,…

Did ICE detain British national Becky Burke on the Canadian border? Yes, that's true: A spokesperson for the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, asked by Lead Stories specifically about Burke, confirmed a "British national" was being detained in the United States. The tourist had spent at least 10 days in detention as of March 9, 2025, according to her…

Did French President Macron demand "$150 trillion in interest" for funding US independence, also known as the American Revolution, claiming France's support was a loan? No, that's not true: A viral screenshot with that headline showing an image from Macron's March 5, 2025, speech did not offer any sources to back that up and the speech did not make any…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy buy the French bank Milleis in February 2025 using the offshore company Maltex? No, that's not true: No credible media organization reported this story, as of March 6, 2025. A viral video purporting to be a TV news report about it displayed a non-existent TV channel logo. And the video contained inauthentic, AI-generated audio, according…

Did a video clip shared to X authentically show a BBC reporter joking the February 28, 2025 Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump was " ... the second time that a U.S. president f***ed someone in the Oval Office." ? No, that's not true: The audio was generated using artificial intelligence. The original newscast…

Did former Polish president Lech Wałęsa write a letter to President Donald Trump expressing "fear and distaste" at his February 2025 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Yes, that's true: On March 3, 2025, Wałęsa shared these sentiments in a post published on Facebook. An English-translated version of the original post in Polish appeared on Facebook on March 3, 2025,…

Does a video show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying "fuck him" after a reporter asked him about Donald Trump as Zelenskyy entered a meeting with U.K. Prime Minster Keir Starmer? No, that's not true: The video uses a tone to cover a supposed obscenity by Zelenskyy, and the post obscures the word with "F* him" in the caption, but the…

Is a viral Facebook post from Norwegian fuel company Haltbakk Bunkers announcing they will no longer deliver fuel to American military ships real? Here's what we know: Several screenshots of the post calling Friday's Trump - Zelenskyy meeting "the biggest shitshow ever presented" went viral, but the post itself currently does not appear on Haltbakk's Facebook page, which appears to…

Does a viral image correctly show a transcript of the White House meeting between President Trump, Vice-President Vance and President Zelenskyy that took place on February 28, 2025? No, that's not true: The fake transcript mentions several phrases that were never said in the real meeting according to actual transcripts. Zelenskyy never said "Our cities are burning", "You repeated Putin's…

Is an image of what looks like the corpse of a dead Pope Francis seemingly laid out on two pillows, showing various blurry priests in the background, genuine? No, that's not true: The photo was generated using AI, according to an online detection tool. The image included showed a Grok AI watermark, indicating it was created using the AI generative…

Is the United States shutting down a Naval base in Alexandroupoli, Greece, as reported in February 2025? No, that's not true: A defense official told Lead Stories there is no "US base in Alexandroupolis." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denied the claim on February 24, 2025, saying at the White House, "It's a no," according to the White House press…

Was German Lufthansa pilot "Christoph W." terminated by his employer for refusing to spray chemtrails, and did he then sue them in Nuremberg? No, that's not true: The story originated on the YouTube channel of "Der Postillon," a well-known German satire website. The site has a FAQ that says, "Everything in the Postillon is satire and therefore a blatant lie"…

Was the social media platform Truth Social blocked in Ukraine by the Ukrainian authorities? No, that's not true: Truth Social and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs's spokesperson denied the claim. Both said that the social media platform was never made available in Ukraine. Lead Stories found no credible reports corroborating the viral rumor. The claim appeared in a post…

Do viral clips circulating on social media prove that AfD is missing on the authentic ballots in the city of Leipzig, Germany? No, that's not true: The publicly available sample ballot still listed AfD the day the claim began to spread. A press release from Leipzig authorities described what the videos showed as "fake ballots" and ruled out printing errors.…

Did Germans students participating in a mock federal election known as U18, for people under 18, overwhelmingly vote for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, resulting in a sweep by a "massive majority" in every polling district? No, that's not true: A graph shared on social media shows the results of one polling place. While the AfD did win…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say, "The risk that Russia will occupy Europe is 100%," without adding conditions to that statement or qualifying it? No, that's not true: A viral video of an interview on Meet The Press left out the part of the video just before he said that sentence. The full context of the interview shows Zelenskyy saying…

Did a video truly show Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drink what appears to be bourbon whiskey from a glass during a NATO press conference? No, that's not true: The video that appeared on TikTok appears to have been created by using a phone to film a TV screen, and some kind of sheen made the liquid in Hegseth's glass appear…

Do two photos of Pope Francis posted side-by-side in an X post the day he was admitted to the hospital for bronchitis show two different people, implying he has a body-double? No, that's not true: The photos of the Pope in the post were taken ten years apart. The photo on the left -- showing a younger, healthier Pope Francis…

Does a 2025 poll say Germans think President Donald Trump is the greatest threat to world peace just weeks after taking office? No, that's not true: The poll being circulated in February 2025 was actually conducted in 2019, toward the end of Trump's first term in office. The graphic being shared comes from a 2019 Fox News story reporting that…

Did Oprah Winfrey announce she is ending her talk show and moving to Italy, saying "I can't live in the U.S. for the next four years and breathe the same air as Elon Musk" as online article claimed? No, that's not true: There is no evidence Winfrey made any such statment, and the "Oprah Winfrey Show" ended in 2011. An…