War

Did a letter shared in May 2025 authentically show that Pakistan's Air Force had fired Air Vice Marshall Aurangzeb Ahmed, for supposedly "failing to protect" a nuclear facility? No, that's not true: The fake letter originated on an X account which describes its content as "political satire". The letter appeared in a May 14, 2025, post on X (archived here).…

Did CNN air a graphic of statistics from the India-Pakistan conflict that showed India suffered far larger losses than Pakistan and that U.S. President Trump helped "curb India's losses?" No, that's not true: A CNN spokesperson told Lead Stories the global news network did not air the graphic and that it was "fabricated." There are no official numbers of jets,…

Did a widely-shared video authentically show President Donald Trump speaking in praise of Pakistan's Air Force, and claiming India had "humiliated itself", in the context of May 2025 clashes between the two countries? No, that's not true: The video contained fake audio of Trump's voice making remarks he never did, in reality. The fake voice and conspicuously fake mouth movements…

Does a video clearly show French President Macron hiding a bag of white powder cocaine as reporters enter a train car where he is meeting with German Chancellor Merz and UK Prime Minister Starmer? No, that's not true: The low-resolution video used to make the claim that the white material in front of Macron is cocaine is too blurry to…

Does a video of a circular object with sparks and smoke swirling under it as it falls to the ground show an Israeli drone sent by India being destroyed over Pakistan? No, that's not true: The video shows a firework known as a "Thai Girandola" misfiring during a launch in Thailand. The video is an edited version of the original…

Did widely-shared clips show fires and explosions in the Pakistani city of Karachi during May 2025 clashes with India? No, that's not true: Some of the videos in question had been online for several weeks before that conflagration began, and therefore had no link to the later conflict. One was recorded during a market fire in Sadiqabad, Pakistan in March,…

Did a video show an Indian drone falling to the ground and causing an explosion, after being shot down by Pakistani forces in May 2025? No, that's not true: The video had been online since April 29, one week before India struck locations in Pakistan in response to a terrorist attack by Pakistani militants, and Pakistan, in response, shot down…

Did a video authentically show President Donald Trump saying, of clashes between India and Pakistan in May 2025, "let 'em fight"? No, that's not true: The clip was authentic, but was recorded in 2019. Trump was speaking then in the context of conflict between ISIS and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The claim appeared in a May 6, 2025, post on…

Did a video show a Pakistani pilot lying on the ground after being shot down during military skirmishes between India and Pakistan in May 2025? No, that's not true: the footage had been online since mid-April, 2025, and appears to relate to an accidental crash near the city of Vehari, on April 15. According to reports, the two Pakistani Air…

Does video labelled on social media as "...footage of the Indian Army's attack on Sialkot, Pakistan" authentically show a 2025 Indian Army assault on its neighbor? No, that's not true: It is misleadingly re-labelled Al Jazeera footage lifted from 2023 coverage of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas. At the time of writing this, there had been no credible…

Did The Sun publish a video claiming Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle sold Princess Diana's iconic revenge dress to Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska for $2.9 million in April 2025? No, that's not true: There is no such story or video on The Sun's website or social media. The quote from "Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams" in the video was cut…

Did Statista publish a graph detailing the nationalities of the people described as "mercenaries" who fought for Ukraine and were killed in the Kursk region of Russia? No, that's not true: The data on the Statista website doesn't show the graph shared on social media. Unlike authentic charts published by that company, the graph omitted the source of the figures…

Did the rapper Eminem announce in April 2025 that he would hold a concert in Israel in June? No, that's not true: A poster shared widely on social media billed the show as the star's "first time in Israel" and gave a date of June 1, 2025. However, no such announcement could be found on Eminem's official website or social…

Did the BBC report that Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska tried to escape to Europe and was put under the guard of the national Security Service when the attempt failed? No, that's not true: In a statement to Lead Stories, a BBC spokesperson refuted the claim, referring to the viral video as "fabricated content that impersonates the BBC." No credible…

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 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,…

Is Nate Vance -- who criticized the Trump administration's reduction of support for Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion -- Vice President JD Vance's cousin? Yes, that's true: Nate Vance is the first cousin of JD Vance. His father, Jim Vance, is the brother of JD Vance's mother, Beverly. Nate Vance detailed the family connection on social media, and online records…

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 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,…

Did President Trump just copy and paste another person's Facebook post about Ukrainian President Zelenskyy for a March 2, 2025, Truth Social post? No, that's not true: The X.com post suggesting Trump ripped off the post word-for-word failed to show the full Trump post, cutting off the bottom where it credited the author of the Facebook post. That author even…