International

Did a group of African men send a "God bless you" video message to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk because of his missionary work in Africa? No, that's not true: The video was produced by an African company that takes orders for birthday messages and other greetings online for a fee. There is no evidence that Kirk ever served as…

Did Qatar "demand" returning the jet it gave to the Trump administration in the late spring of 2025? No, that's not true: As of September 12, 2025, Lead Stories found no credible reports corroborating the claim. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs made no such public demands. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on September…

Did Hyundai make an announcement that it was canceling its $4 billion EV battery plant in Georgia after the raid where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 475 workers on September 4, 2025? No, that's not true: There is no impact to Hyundai's U.S. vehicle manufacturing operations following the ICE raid a company spokesperson told Lead Stories. Hyundai's president and…

Do images described as tree stumps provide proof that there were once giant ancient trees which were felled by angels? No, that's not true: The photos show natural geological features around the world which came to be through several geological processes over millions of years. Volcanoes erupting, erosion of different materials at different speeds, and the lifting and folding of…

Has "Phillies Karen" been banned from various stadiums, concerts, and public events? No, that's not true: Stories making the false claims that the woman who became infamous as "Phillies Karen" after she took a ball from a boy at a Philadelphia baseball game are mass produced using artificial intelligence tools. The fake content, published on websites that mimic real news…

Did a viral video of a kiss between two South Florida Bulls football players show a real-life scene? No, that's not true: The video was digitally manipulated to alter the original footage that only showed celebratory hugs. ESPN confirmed to Lead Stories that it did not air the kissing scene. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X.com,…

Did the UK government begin enforcing a daily bank withdrawal limit of £3,000 on individual accounts on September 1, 2025? No, that's not true: No such policy has been announced by either of the UK's banking and banker regulatory authorities. No such law, let alone regulation, has been adopted by Parliament and no credible news organization has reported such a…

Did a mural painted by Banksy on a wall at London's Royal Courts of Justice depict a judge striking a protester lying on the ground and holding an English flag? No, that's not true: The original Banksy wall art featured a protester holding a white placard that appeared to be splashed with blood. The version spreading on social media showing…

Did one of the King's Guard in Whitehall, London lash out and punch a disrespectful tourist who was pestering him? No, that's not true: This video is not real. The original video posted on TikTok has a disclaimer included in the caption which identifies this as an "AI edit". A duplicate copy of the video (archived here) was published on…

Does a viral video show the incident where two Venezuelan F-16s flew near an American warship on September 4, 2025? No, that's not true: The video clip in question has been online since August 30, 2025. This is before both the U.S. airstrike on a boat on September 2, 2025 and reports of two Venezuelan F-16 jets flying near the…

Did a video capture an exchange in which a "Queer for Palestine" supporter wanted to join a rally in Amsterdam but was told by other participants that "We are Muslims and you disgust us"? No, that's not true: A viral post reused a 2021 recording documenting a Dutch-language exchange that did not contain such a phrase. At the time, news…

Did a "first population-wide peer-reviewed study" confirm that COVID-19 vaccines cause "turbo cancers"? No, that's not true: The study referred to its results as preliminary. The corresponding author told Lead Stories that more research is needed to confirm the findings about cancer among those vaccinated against COVID-19. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published on The Gateway Pundit…

Does a real photo show the political and climate activist Greta Thunberg wearing a revealing keyhole T-shirt along with her signature frog hat? No, that's not true: The photo of Greta Thunberg has been digitally edited. The shirt Thunberg actually wore when she was photographed in Barcelona, Spain, is a crop top which does not have a cutout below the…

Does a viral video really show a Russian Su-27 jet intercepting a NATO F-15 trying to get closer to a Tu22m3 bomber over Ukraine? No, that's not true: The footage which was widely copied to other social networks carried the watermark of a TikTok channel that publishes aviation videos. The caption under that video claimed it was created in the…

Is an image of British Union Jack flags crowding the Mall in London during a popular uprising of patriots in late August, 2025, authentic? No, that's not true: The image shared widely across social platforms is an odd digital representation of the Mall, which runs a half mile from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. This image shows the Arc de…

Did local Belgian politician Saliha Raiss say "Anyone who doesn't accept veiled women, anyone who doesn't accept Islam in Belgium, can leave" or that "Belgians should leave Belgium"? No, that's not true: A video clip from a municipal council meeting in Molenbeek, a part of Brussels in Belgium, was misrepresented by social media posts. She was talking about people who…

Does a post on Facebook really offer a "free meat bundle box"? No, that's not true: The post does not provide an actual location for those wanting a free meat bundle box. If people click the link promoted in the post, a series of web pages aim to trick social media users into sharing sensitive personal information. The links send…

Does authentic video show a dog who brought a spraying garden hose into the house, soaking everything? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. Differences between the two camera angles in the video - in the home furnishings, the patio, and even the dog - give it away. Several similar AI-generated videos showing a dog with a hose have…

Did Finland test "the world's first engine-less superconducting maglev cargo pipeline, capable of moving cargo at over 500 km/h using no engines, wheels or tracks", as a social media post claimed? No, that's not true: As of August 28, 2025, no media organizations reported on the purported test in Oulu, Finland. The organization that was described as having developed the…

Is there any evidence for a story being spread online about "Olena K.", a Ukrainian anti-corruption official who supposedly defected to Europe and revealed real-estate corruption involving President Zelenskyy worth $1.2 billion ? No, that's not true: The story did not contain any verifiable details or documents and no media reported on the supposed events. The London Telegraph, the website…