Ireland

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…

Will the earth experience "colder weather than ever before" during the "aphelion phenomenon" in August, 2025, as its elliptical orbit takes it to its most distant-from-the-Sun position of the year, as multiple social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Earth's distance from the Sun changes daily and at aphelion, the Earth's distance from the Sun is only about 3%…

Did former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton congratulate Irish martial arts fighter Conor McGregor on his birthday by addressing him as "this future president" in 2025? No, that's not true: Clinton's account didn't display such a post. The fake was built on a 2016 Clinton tweet in which she referred to herself, not McGregor,…

Did crowds at Glastonbury boo and sing "God Save the King", drowning out a performance by Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, in June 2025? No, that's not true: A widely-shared video used audio from a different source to give the false impression that British festival-goers defied the band's Irish republican and pro-Palestinian messages. In fact, the original clip showed a soundbite…

Did Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr announce they are bringing The Beatles back to the U.S. with a reunion tour? No, that's not true: No announcement can be found anywhere in the news media, on the artists' websites, or with online ticketing websites. The post making the claim used an AI-generated image, which would not be expected in an official…

Did Robert Francis Prevost moonlight as "Bobby Prev", a "celebrated jazz trombonist" in Chicago who "headlined several jazz festivals in the '70s and '80s"? No, that's not true: The archives of the Chicago Tribune, which has long provided detailed coverage of jazz, contain no celebrations or even mentions of such a musician. Similarly, a search of the GoogleNews index of…

Did American talk show host, actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell go public to complain about life in Ireland and discuss a contemplated return to the United States? No, that's not true: The viral rumor was not grounded in facts. On the day of its inception, O'Donnell said the opposite -- that she enjoyed her life in Ireland and was in…

Was the story about about Rosie O'Donnell's application for residency in Ireland being denied by the Irish Department of Justice real news? No, that's not true: The story originated on a website with a clear satire disclaimer. It is run by a man known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made up content. The story appeared in an article…

Does a viral image authentically show European leaders taking off their suit coats in support of Ukraine during a group picture? No, that's not true: The image is likely a screenshot from a video that was digitally edited, possibly using AI. Actual footage of the moment the group picture was taken did not show anyone taking off their suit and…

Did an authentic image show Bono and Bob Geldof waving Israeli flags? No, that's not true: AI detection tools found that the image was generated using AI technology. The image first appeared on a self-described "fake news" and "satire" account on X. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on December 17, 2024. It said: Make songs…

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…

Was mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sued for sexual assault in a personal injury civil case after declaring his interest in running for president of Ireland? No, that's not true: A post alleging a connection between the civil lawsuit and McGregor's political ambitions misled readers about the timeline of the events. The civil lawsuit was filed in 2021, years…

Did Elon Musk publicly announce plans to "officially" buy McDonald's in November 2024? No, that's not true: As of this publication, there is no record of Musk having formally announced plans to buy the food company, and McDonald's has not reported such a purchase. Furthermore, an online AI detector tool found that images published in the post that depicted Musk…

Do photos of ballots marked with a vote for Donald Trump prove that citizens of other countries are voting in the 2024 U.S. election because American law does not require them to show a voter ID? No, that's not true: Several copycat posts use the same ballot photo to say this, but list different countries in the caption. These posts…

Does a photo on social media show people crowding the street outside Madison Square Garden in New York in 2024 for a Trump rally? No, that's not true: Images from the street scene first appeared in 2011, showing people in Dublin lined up for an event attended by then-President Barack Obama. Actual photos from Trump's Madison Square Garden rally in…

If elected to serve as Ireland's president, can MMA fighter Conor McGregor force legislators to convene and face questioning about their policies? No, that's not true: Ireland's Constitution does not grant such powers to any president. A professor of Ireland's constitutional law told Lead Stories McGregor's tweet claiming these powers was "constitutionally illiterate." The incorrect assertion about presidential powers in…

Was Irish teacher Enoch Burke arrested on September 2, 2024, for "refusing to endorse and affirm transgender ideology"? No, that's not true: Burke was arrested for contempt of court after repeatedly showing up to teach at a school where he was suspended and told not to return. His arrest by police was due to his noncompliance with a court order,…

Did the national police service of Ireland broadcast a video on TV in Pakistan to recruit people to come to Ireland to join the force? No, that's not true: The logo on the video is not a TV station in Pakistan -- "POC Global TV" is the YouTube channel of Pakistan Overseas Community. The Gardai's recruiting video aimed to bring…

Does a 2017 paper on resveratrol suggest it could be used to stop or treat monkeypox as part of the public health emergency declared in August 2024? No, that's not true: An author of the paper told Lead Stories that resveratrol was never tested on humans or animals in their research, and it's "unclear if it suppresses poxvirus replication." An…

Did President Joe Biden wander aimlessly away from a group of world leaders during a skydiving demonstration at the Group of Seven summit? No, that's not true: Biden did take a few steps away from the group, but it was to give a thumbs up to the paratrooper adjacent to the group who was collecting his gear. The Folgore paratroopers…