Правда ли, что польские силовики убивают людей на границе с Беларусью и что Польша находится под игом США? Нет, это неправда. Lead Stories обнаружили сообщения о смертях на границе, но не нашли достоверных доказательств убийств мигрантов польскими силовиками. Утверждение о том, что Польша находится под игом США, является пропагандистским нарративом Кремля.Данное утверждение появилось в видео (архив здесь), опубликованном в социальной…

Has the popular Ukrainian singer Ani Lorak made a promise to Russian military members, to offer a 1-million-ruble reward for the destruction of a U.S.-supplied Abrams tank used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that the singer made such a commitment. Lorak also stated that she could not contribute to military…

Did participants of a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Committee turn their backs on U.S. ambassador Michele Taylor as a protest against Israel's bombing of Gaza in late 2023? No, that's not true: The meeting had no relation to the current Hamas-Israel conflict; the activists faced away because they were not satisfied with Taylor's response concerning human rights…

Did Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, claim that Palestinian rock throwing was a reason to bomb and kill Palestinian women and children? No, that's not true: The video of Erdan addressing the UN about the danger of rock-throwing at Israeli civilians is from 2022, he does not suggest rock-throwing is a cause for military strikes against Palestinians…

Did a hundred thousand Jews recently arrive in Ukraine to each receive an allowance of 20,000 hryvnas ($547) from the government? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support the claim of a twofold increase in the Jewish population in Ukraine today. Instead, evidence points to a decline in the Jewish population in Ukraine since the Russian invasion…

Was a black flag raised over a prominent religious site, the Imam Reza Shrine, located in the Iranian city of Mashhad, as a call for war or vengeance? No, that's not true: According to an official statement from the Imam Reza Holy Shrine's authority, the black flag was raised to publicly mourn the Gaza victims. The claim appeared in a…

Was the primary objective of the protesters at the October 1, 2023, rally in Warsaw to demand a cessation of aid to Ukraine? No, that's not true: The rally aimed to boost support for the opposition Civic Platform party and address concerns about rising costs and democratic checks. Warsaw city authorities reported that around a million people attended an opposition…

Did Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko congratulate Hamas for its attack against Israel? No, that's not true: There has been no published official statement from Lukashenko in reaction to events in Israel and Gaza so far. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs condemned any form of aggression and said casualties among civilians were unacceptable.…

Does Poland intend to withdraw from the European Union after elections scheduled for October 15, 2023? No, that's not true: This is a misleading interpretation of the words said by Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk in a publication on X, formerly known as Twitter. The politician stated: "On October 15, either we will lead PiS out, or PiS will lead…

Is the United Kingdom cutting back on military training for Ukrainians? No, that's not true: This is not a cut in the military training program as a whole, but a reduction of exercises at the Lydd Ranges training area by a third. The UK Ministry of Defense took the step in response to complaints by residents about the noise and…

Did people in the streets of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, wave Russian and Turkish flags to celebrate Azerbaijan's victory in its September 2023 military operation in the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh? No, that's not true. The video was recorded in October 2020 and depicts a march by Baku's Russian community. This march was conducted to express support for Azerbaijan during…

Did the Polish weekly Myśl Polska disclose the number of Polish mercenaries lost in the Ukraine-Russia conflict? No, that's not true: No such article has ever been published. Mateusz Piskorski, from the editorial board of the magazine, denied that Myśl Polska ever reported on that, asking to check on the source of this alleged piece of information. The claim appeared…

Did Brandon Mitchell, a Canadian volunteer in Ukraine, say that Russia does not bomb bridges and railways because it targets only military objects and does Russia target only military objects? No, that's not true: In his interview with YouTube channel Lindy Beige, Mitchell says: "You know, the Russians have caused a lot of damage there, but there's some things that…

Did the Latvian government demand that the exiled Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya change Belarus's opposition symbol, the white-red-white flag, "due to its collaborationist past" and in relation to the recent "scandalous resignation" of the mayor of Riga, Mārtiņš Staķis, who supported the Belarusian opposition? No, that's not true: In correspondence with Lead Stories, the press secretary of the Latvian…

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 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ride the agricultural tractor MTZ-50 at a speed of 280 kilometers (174 miles) per hour? No, that's not true: This is technically impossible. In fact, he drove a Tesla at that velocity. A video making that claim (archived here) was posted on the TikTok account @epicbattlesworld on June 11, 2023. The caption is (translated from…

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…