War

A quarter of a century after four hijacked airliners crashed into New York's Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field false claims about the September 11, 2001, terror attacks still draw interest. Here is a list of the top 9/11 conspiracy theories fact checked by Lead Stories ranked by how many readers searched for information about them. 1. 1967…

Did Norway's prime minister rip apart U.S. President Donald Trump's Nobel Peace Prize letter with red-pen corrections? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre graded and corrected a letter from the American president. Also, while the wording attributed to Trump is correct, the president's communication with Gahr Støre came via text message,…

Does a real video show an American carrier on fire after an Iranian missile strike in the Sea of Oman in early September 2026? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that an Iranian missile strike set a U.S. carrier on fire, and no credible news organizations reported such an incident as of Sept. 8, 2026. The video has…

Did President Donald Trump post a photo of himself in a military uniform covered in medals? No, that's not true: A review of Trump's Truth Social account found no record of such a post. There are also no credible reports that he shared a photo portraying himself in a military uniform covered in medals. The claim appeared in a post…

Does a viral image show a real U.K. Ministry of Defence letter signed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham ordering British military veterans to deploy to Ukraine? No, that's not true: No credible media organizations reported on such an order. The letter contained multiple inconsistencies and appears to have originated from a self-described satire account. The claim appeared in a post…

Did President Donald Trump post an AI-generated video along with the caption about Kharg Island being "blown to smithereens" on Truth Social? Yes, that's true: The post was published on Trump's official Truth Social account on Aug. 30, 2026. There are no reports indicating that the video or such an attack are real. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Does a video of a sobbing 23-year-old actually show a real Ukrainian conscript begging for help because he does not want to die on the battlefield? No, that's not true: The video has been online since 2025. The crying man was created by AI, most likely by using the likeness of a Russia-based streamer. The claim appeared in a post…

Did architect Leonhard Gall submit plans to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in 1935 for a ballroom next to the Chancellery, with an air-raid shelter and a bunker underneath? Yes, that's true: Gall did submit plans for a large reception hall that could be used as a ballroom, and an air-raid shelter called the Vorbunker was built beneath it. The deeper…

Did President Donald Trump order sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln to sign nondisclosure agreements before coming ashore? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the president issued such an order. The claim appears to have originated with a Facebook account that identifies itself as "political parody" and "satire" in its posts and profile description. The claim appeared…

Did Euronews report that a "Ukrainian gunman" shot and killed three NATO soldiers during the August 2026 military drill held in Latvia? No, that's not true: There is no such report on the news organization's website nor its social media accounts. Also, the Latvian army issued a statement explicitly denying this. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and…

Does a real video show Iranian jets being shot down over Tel Aviv by an Israeli laser defense system? No, that's not true: There is no evidence from credible sources that such an incident ever took place. An AI detection tool concluded that the video was very likely AI-generated, assigning it a 99.1% confidence score, and the video contains visual…

Does a real video show New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani not applauding at the funeral of Staff Sgt. Angel Rampersad? No, that's not true: The video is AI-generated. It was originally posted with an AI disclaimer. The video has since been republished without the disclaimer. The video was reposted (archived here) on X by @magagrunt1 on Aug. 1, 2026. The…

Did the BBC report that Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska was spotted wearing a pendant stolen from France's Lalique Museum? No, that's not true: The BBC denied ever publishing such a report. The video was doctored to digitally add the jewelry item to Zelenska's neck. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) published on X by @its_The_Dr…

Is a video showing an Iranian ballistic missile attack on a U.S. aircraft carrier real? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Iran hit a U.S. aircraft carrier with ballistic missiles, and no credible news organizations had reported such an incident as of July 24, 2026. Plus, an online AI detection tool concluded that the video was very…

Does a viral clip confirm that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave Monaco bombing suspect Anastasiia Berezovska a military award in 2022? No, that's not true: The rumor was based on a doctored clip. The real footage of the award ceremony didn't show people who looked like Berezovska. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X by @GarbageHuman24 on…

Does a video show an ambush or IED attack on a convoy of M1A Abrams tanks crossing a bridge? No, that's not true: This video is fake. It circulated on social media in early April 2026 with captions claiming it showed Israeli tanks attacked by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Hive Moderation AI-generated content detection tool rated one early copy…

Does a video show an American B-52 bomber being shot down by a missile? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that a U.S. B-52 has been shot down, and no credible news organizations had reported such an incident as of July 18, 2026. Additionally, the video displays several visual characteristics that strongly suggest it was created using computer-generated…

Is this an actual video of the Iranian attack on a base in Jordan used by U.S. forces on July 17, 2026? No, that's not true: There is no evidence the clip depicts an actual attack. An online AI detection tool concluded that the video was likely AI-generated, assigning it an 80.9% confidence score. Additionally, the account that posted the…

Do viral posts prove that Russia destroyed the Skyfall drone production facility in Ukraine visited by late Senator Lindsey Graham hours before his death? No, that's not true: The posts don't cite any sources. No credible media outlets reported that, and even Russia didn't claim it hit that target. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X published…

Does an image posted by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account as evidence of "retribution" against Iran show a U.S. bombing in July 2026? No, that's not true: The photo shows a previous attack on Iran by Israel that took place more than a year earlier, on June 15, 2025. Trump got the image from another social media…