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.…

Do Ukrainian doctors sell the organs of wounded soldiers and children on the black market? No, that's not true: False claims about organ trafficking have been circulating in Ukraine since 2014 and keep resurfacing on a regular basis. A misinformation trend on a black market trade in children's organs appeared in 2022. The claim reappeared in a video (archived here)…

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…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy embezzle $400 million from U.S. aid that had been allocated for the purchase of fuel? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this has happened. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok by the Belarusian account political.channel.minsk on April 13, 2023, under the title "New leak about Zelenskyy." It…

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 Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko say that Ukraine will end Russian president Vladimir Putin's presidential rule? No, that's not true: the audio has been manipulated and posted over images of an actual speech by Lukashenko. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published by the user kolitikaua under the title "Soon Ukraine will end Putin's presidential rule." The…

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…

Правда ли, что Украина строила базу НАТО в Северодонецке? Нет, это неправда. Такое утверждение, распространившееся в соцсетях в середине июня 2022 года после публикации статьи российского государственного информационного агентства РИА «Новости», не содержало никаких доказательств. Ни одного упоминания базы НАТО на территории Украины нет и на сайте Североатлантического альянса. Утверждение об очередной базе НАТО в Украине было впервые опубликовано в…