Does a video circulating on social media show Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the hands of enemy forces, about to be executed? No, that's not true: The person in the video is an actor impersonating Zelenskyy in a YouTube miniseries, meant to be satirical, mocking the Ukrainian president. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on TikTok by the account…

Did Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a video, say the Caspian Sea was the territory of Belarus and promise to find all Belarusians who launched their rockets from the shores of the Caspian Sea? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found this video has been manipulated. This claim was published by different TikTok accounts in Russian. On April 7, 2023,…

Did Polish tv show a map in 2023 'dividing' Ukraine among neighbor states? No, that's not true: a recent news report on national Polish tv did not show such a map. The clip is taken from a old news report aired on Polish public television in 2014. It showed a Russian politician's old proposal to divide Ukraine, shrinking its territory…

Have crocodiles turned up in the Caspian Sea, the world's largest landlocked body of water? No, that's not true: The video on TikTok that makes this claim uses footage of a crocodile filmed in Australia. Crocodiles cannot survive the relatively cool temperatures of the Caspian Sea, bordered by the non-tropical countries of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. The claim…

Did the Ukrainian Parliament submit a bill banning filming in cemeteries? No, that's not true: The screenshot distributed under the masthead of the National News Agency of Ukraine (Ukrinform) is fabricated. Lead Stories found no such information on Ukrinform's official website (archived here), and no such bill has been registered on the Ukrainian Parliament's website. This claim has been published…

Did a decommissioned NASA spacecraft crash in Kyiv, Ukraine? No, that's not true: The flash seen in Kyiv had nothing to do with the spacecraft, which did enter the Earth's atmosphere but nowhere near Ukraine. The claim that a NASA satellite crashed in Kyiv appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by a user named jony.ori on April 19,…

Did a collapse in the value of the American dollar cause the United States to reconnect Russia to the SWIFT financial messaging system? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that the United States or SWIFT has announced such a decision, as of this writing. On February 28, 2022, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada…

Does a video on TikTok show a priest from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine performing a "satanic" dance to celebrate Easter? No, that's not true: The man seen in the video is not a priest but a Ukrainian actor. The video was recorded during the filming of a miniseries in 2020. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here)…

Does a video on TikTok show that Russia moved nuclear weapons to Vyborg, a town near the Finnish border, after Finland joined NATO on April 3, 2023? No, that's not true: The actual location of the town shown in the video is not Vyborg, about 25 miles from Finland, but Kolchugino, in Russia's Vladmir region, 104 miles northeast of Moscow.…

Did LeMan, a Turkish satirical weekly magazine, release a cover in April 2023 on which a caricature of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sets fire to Orthodox priests while the Pope watches and (translated by Lead Stories) says: "It's good"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no such cover on the magazine's official pages. This claim has been published by…

Has North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un announced the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will supply fighter jets and tanks to Russia and said the latest military equipment would go into service in February? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no credible reporting of such an announcement. These false claims have been published by different TikTok accounts. On February 5,…

Did the United States resume building biolabs in Ukraine aimed at developing components for biological weapons under a new name? No, that's not true: The United States has never developed a biological weapons program in Ukraine nor is there evidence it is doing that now. The debunked claim has resurfaced in various forms since the start of Russia's invasion of…

Has the London National Gallery stated that it wants to remove Belgian painter Jan van Eyck's masterpiece The Arnolfini Marriage from the collection due to mass complaints about the resemblance of its character to Russia's President Vladimir Putin? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no such information on the National Gallery's official pages. National Gallery's officials told Lead Stories…

Does this video show Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, crossing himself in a way that reminds of an upside-down cross, considered by some a symbol of Satan? No, that's not true: The Pope here is seen making a proper sign of the cross as it is used throughout Christian liturgies. In addition, the upside-down cross, also known…

Did the famous Ukrainian song video "Vanka Vstanka" show cemeteries in the background? No, that's not true: The video has been doctored. Ukrainian actor Masha Kondratenko wrote and performed the satirical song, which quickly went viral. The false claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on the account of liudmilakonstantinu with the title "Stop." It has been shared 3172…

Is it true that TikTok is being banned in Ukraine as of April 10th? No, that's not true: There is no credible account of such a policy being implemented in Ukraine as of April 11, 2023. On April 4, 2023, this video (archived here) was posted on the TikTok account @pypsik_negrik. Below is how the post appeared on TikTok at…

Has a fundraising billboard been installed in the center of Milan, Italy, at the Piazza del Duomo, depicting Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenskyy inhaling banknotes with his nostril? No, that's not true: This video has been manipulated. Lead Stories spoke to a representative of the Municipality of Milan, who said no such billboard had appeared there as of April 7, 2023.…

Правда ли, что к 23 июня 2022 года российской армии удалось захватить как минимум две гаубицы Caesar, которые Франция отправила в Украину за несколько недель до этого? Нет, это неправда. Утверждение, появившееся в конце июня в Telegram-канале российской госкорпорации «Уралвагонзавод», опровергли и Украина, и Франция. Даже российское государственное информационное агентство РИА «Новости» опубликовало эти заявления, опровергнув тем самым свои предыдущие…

Правда ли, что российский «Тинькофф Банк» скупает долги жителей Херсонской области перед украинскими банками? Нет, это не правда. «Тинькофф Банк» назвал это утверждение не соответствующим действительности, а представитель пророссийской военно-гражданской администрации Херсонской области сказал, что долги херсонцев перед украинскими банкам будут списаны, хотя его полномочия на это под вопросом. Утверждение о том, что «Тинькофф Банк» покупает долги жителей Херсонской области…

Правда ли, что «кураторы из Вашингтона устали от лжи Украины»? Нет, это неправда. Американский генерал в отставке, «процитированный» российским государственным телеканалом «Звезда» в середине июня 2022 года, в действительности не говорил этого. Приписываемые ему слова были произнесены женским закадровым голосом, а оригинальный звук из его последующей видеоцитаты был заменен русским переводом с другим смыслом. Утверждение о том, что старший офицер…