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…
Did financier and philanthropist George Soros die from a heart attack?? No, that's not true: The 92-year-old investor is alive, as he himself announced via his Twitter account. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on May 15, 2023, posted on TikTok account @tatiana.sevastianova. The caption, translated by Lead Stories staff, reads: According to Western media news reports, George…
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.…
Was Olympic ice dance gold medalist Roman Kostomarov, secretly transferred abroad for rehabilitation? No, that's not true: In January, Kostomarov was hospitalized in Moscow with pneumonia and complications that led to gangrene. Despite various rumours about the treatment location, Kostomarov is currently rehabilitating in Russia. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on the @russiancelebritynews TikTok account on…
Is soaking feet in a vinegar bath for 30 minutes a cure for all diseases? No, that's not true: this is a folk myth uncorroborated by scientific evidence. Videos on social media claim this to be a "cure" for numerous conditions, from foot fungus to digestive problems, and also allege it is effective for weight loss but there is no…
Did rapper Eminem show his support for Ukraine in this video? No, that's not true: The audio translation is a fabrication for a video that was produced in 2010, four years before the Russian occupation of Crimea and 12 years before its invasion of Ukraine. The story originated from a video (archived here) where it was published by nnewmann1 on…
Did a Soviet flag fly over the German Reichstag in 2023 before the May 9 Victory Day celebrations? No, that's not true: There is no evidence of this happening. Reverse image and video searches were conducted with no results. There have been no reports in German or international media, confirming that this happened in May of 2023. The claim appeared…
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…
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…
Is the United States preparing for a nuclear war in Europe by deploying a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East? No, that's not true: There is no evidence nor has it been reported that the United States is currently preparing for a nuclear war in Europe or elsewhere. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok by…
Did the British weekly New European publish a special issue cover with a cartoon of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sitting on the lap of Dalai Lama and saying: "I'll suck it if you pay me"? No, that's not true: The illustration has not appeared in any issue of The New European. On April 18, 2023, the cover in English with…
Does this photo show the son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Nikolai Peskov taking the military oath? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found the person taking the oath in the photo is not Nikolai Peskov, also known as Nikolai Choles. It is the son of the fifth president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, Oleksii Poroshenko. On April 23, 2023, this…
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…
