Правда ли, что белорусский лидер Александр Лукашенко обманул главу российской частной военной компании (ЧВК) «Вагнер», Евгения Пригожина, заманив его в Минск, где его сразу же задержали? Нет, это неправда. Lead Stories не обнаружили никаких достоверных данных в поддержку этого утверждения. Проверка при помощи инструментов обратного поиска изображений показала, что фотография, представленная как доказательство задержания Пригожина в Беларуси, распространяется в интернете…

Was the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, murdered after the bombing of his house in the Belarusian capital? No, that's not true: This video captures the aftermath of a drone strike on a fuel depot in Crimea in April 2023, where a fire broke out. The leader of the mercenary group is alive, at last report. The claim…

Did almost half of U.S citizens oppose future aid to Ukraine in a survey? No, that's not true: Only 38 percent of all the respondents disagreed with supporting Ukraine in the conflict. The outcomes of a poll conducted by AP-NORC in February 2023 revealed that 37 percent of respondents expressed support, 38 percent expressed opposition and 23 percent stated neither…

Have swimming and fishing been banned because cholera was found in Odesa's seawater? No, that's not true: Fishing has been prohibited since authorities have observed "a plague of fish" in the southern Ukrainian region along the northern coast of the Black Sea, following the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, and have warned against the risk of botulism. Swimming has also…

Does the "leaked" phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko prove that Putin and Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhin put forward a conflict resolution without Lukashenko knowing about it? No, that's not true: It was Lukashenko's own initiative to mediate in the conflict. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (archived here) published by…

Правда ли, что в Беларуси в июне 2023 года началась мобилизация? Нет, это неправда. В последнюю декаду июня 2023 года проводилось мобилизационное учение согласно ежегодному плану подготовки Вооружённых Сил Республики Беларусь. Данное утверждение появились в видео (архив здесь), опубликованном в социальной сети TikTok 15 июня 2023 года. Текст на экране сообщает: В Беларуссии начинается мобилизация, летают вертолёты с флагами и…

Did a report by the RAND Corp., a U.S think tank, explain the real reason behind Russian-Ukrainian conflict? No, that's not true: Russian historian Andery Fursov referred to a document that was proven to be fabricated. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published by the Russian TikTok account natalyanystad on June 2, 2023, with a caption reading (translated…

Did Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko propose launching nuclear weapons against Poland? No, that's not true: Lukashenko never said that and the sound in a video claiming to show the Belarusian leader making such a statement has been altered. The claim originated from a video (archived here) published on TikTok by mirandichek on June 7, 2023. The video shows the Belarusian…

Правда ли, что Беларусь начала войну с Литвой за доступ к морю? Нет, это неправда. Беларусь никогда не заявляла о намерении вторгнуться в Литву. Эти утверждения ― выдумка так называемых ТикТок-мапперов, от английского mappers (картографы). Они создают контент, публикуя различные карты в социальных сетях и сопровождая их утверждениями, которые не всегда достоверны. Данное утверждение появилось в видео (более не доступно,…

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 has been published by different TikTok accounts in Russian. On April 7,…

Have three priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate been physically attacked in March 2022 and January 2023 in Ukraine, as part of a systematic effort to intimidate and harass them? No, there is no evidence to support the claim: The specific cases cited as examples in a recent Belarusian TV show are missing context or provide…

Did Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko decide to break off ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin? No, that's not true: The video fragment was taken from Lukashenko's speech during VI All Belarusian People's Assembly in February, 2021. When giving the speech, Lukashenko referred to the opposition initiative "Intensive reform package for Belarus," which lists the goals of the opposition political organizations,…

Is Netflix producing a movie titled 'Zelenskyy', where all the actors are Black? No, that's not true: There is no publicly available information that such a movie is in production as of May 24, 2023. The actor Daniel Kaluuya is not reported to be involved in a movie by that title. The video (archived here) was published on TikTok.com on…

Was Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko replaced by a twin during his visit to an air defense command center on May 15? No, that's not true: the images presented in the video were altered. The story appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by @bigkross50 on May 18, 2023. It opened: Shock! Lukashenko's double put Belarusian Army on…

Did an LGBT parade take place in Ukraine on May 9, 2023, instead of a Victory Parade? No, that's not true: no parade, neither military nor LGBT, took place in Ukraine on that day. The claim appeared in a video (archived here), published on TikTok on May 8, 2023, by the pro-Russian account @proritsatel.tm after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had…

Did Russia's President Vladimir Putin launch a missile attack on Ukraine that hit Europe, and was he expected to broadcast live to communicate the results of the new war? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no credible reports of such an attack. No announcement of an upcoming live broadcast by President Putin was published on the Kremlin's official website.…

Did the President of Ukraine get detained in The Hague instead of the Russian President? No, that's not true: Neither the president of Russia nor the president of Ukraine was detained in The Hague. On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he has yet to be arrested. On May 5,…

Did Poland's President Andrzej Duda say that Ukraine has already lost the war with Russia, and he sees no point in assisting Ukraine because Russia is too strong? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no such information on the official website of the president of the Republic of Poland, where all the president's remarks are collected. No such statement…

Did Belarusian troops march chanting insults at Putin? No, the footage is from 2021 and shows the march of the Ukrainian military in preparation for the Independence Day parade on August 24th. The video (archived here) displaying this claim was originally published by @hereiswherewedestroythem on the Tiktok on April 28th. This is what the post looked like on TikTok at…

Were people in the Crimean peninsula stuck in traffic on the Kerch bridge after a fuel depot blast in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol on April 29, 2023? No, that's not true. The footage recently circulated on social media is from October 2022. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on April 30, 2023, by the…