Did Saudi media MBC and U.S. space agency NASA say that the Internet will be globally shut down in October 2023? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that NASA said there will be an "Internet apocalypse," and the news report from MBC dates from four years ago and was misinterpreted. The claim appeared in a video that's no…

Was vaccination opponent and osteopath Dr. Rashid Buttar murdered on May 18, 2023, for revealing a Masonic plan to reduce the global population by spreading the COVID-19 virus worldwide? No, that's not true. Buttar's own book titled, "Poisoned: A Deep Dive Into The Mass Bioweapon & Envenomation Agenda," indicated that he had been seriously ill since at least 2016 --…

Did The New York Times publish a redrawn map of the Middle East based on the New World Order? No, that's not true: It's an old opinion column published by the Times in 2013 that does not say it's a new Middle East map based on the New World Order. The claim appeared in a video no longer available but…

Did Vladimir Putin and American billionaire businessman Elon Musk exchange threats on September 14, 2023, when the Russian president warned that he would destroy internet cables in the Black Sea if Musk cut off Russia's cyberspace? No, that's not true. In Fact, Putin heaped praise on Musk in a speech to the plenary session of the 8th Eastern Economic Forum…

Did former U.S. President Donald Trump convert to Islam and resign from the White House before the end of his term to honor the deathbed wish of a Muslim girl who donated her heart to him for an emergency transplant? No, that's not true. Trump regularly completed his mandate as 45th President of the United States on January, 20, 2021,…

Was the devastating 6.8 Magnitude earthquake that hit Marrakech on Friday artificially induced? No, that's not true: the earthquake that impacted Morocco was not man-made; it was a natural event caused by the sudden movement of the Earth's crust due to the pressure exerted by the constant motion of tectonic plates beneath its surface. The claim appeared in several posts,…

Did Syrian President Bashar Assad announce he is resigning from his post? No, that's not true. President Assad did not step down, and the videos and audio used to support these claims have been manipulated. The claim appeared in posts like this video (archived here), published on Tiktok on September 4, 2023, under the title (translated from Arabic by Lead…

Did Kuwait create biometric fingerprinting requirements in line with a Masonic plan under a new world order to introduce a new pandemic in 2025 that would result in worldwide lockdowns and mass mortality? No, that's not true. Kuwait's biometric fingerprinting initiative is primarily aimed at combating crime by identifying potential suspects, according to Maj. Gen. Eid Rashed Al-Ouweihan, director of…

Did Moroccans set fire to a factory in Turkey in this video? No, that's not true. The video is of a blazing fire in a popular clothing market in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published on TikTok by @lion_syria on August 21, 2023, under the title "Breaking News. Moroccan youths set a…

Are these videos from the new anti-regime protest movement currently taking place in Syria? No, that's not true: These images are of old protests in Syria. The claim appeared in several posts, such as this video (archived here) on TikTok on August 25, 2023, under the title "Aleppo Protests, Alhamdaniya" (translated from Arabic to English by Lead Stories staff). An…

Is Russia responsible for the July 26, 2023, coup in Niger, as a tactic to negotiate on its war in Ukraine with the United States and Europe? No, that's unconfirmed: Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on August 1, 2023, that Russia incited the junta to oust and detain Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum and his family,…

Did U.N. envoy to Iraq Jeanine Antoinette Plasschaert ask members of the United Nations Security Council to allow Saddam Hussein's political party to return to power in Iraq? No, that's not true: The Baath party led by former dictator Hussein was banned in 2003 following the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and there is no evidence to show the envoy challenged…

Did U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promise to bring the banned Baath party back to power in Iraq? No, that's not true: The video from a press conference in the Iraqi Kurdistan region with Austin uses a fabricated Arabic-language translation to make the false claim. That is not what Austin said. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published…

Did the World Health Organization (WHO) issue an urgent statement calling for people to wear masks? No, that's not true. This statement is a fabrication. The story appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published by a TikTok account on August 20, 2023, under the title "#Urgent_happening now_Mask wearing_Globally Happening now." The post has an Arabic text and…

Did Germany legalize incest? No, that's not true. Germany has not legalized incest. According to section 173 of the German Criminal Code, sexual relation between siblings and between parents and their children is forbidden. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok by @maysaranews on August 22, 2023, under the title "Germany just passed the law." The…

Are members of the U.S. 10th Mountain Division on high alert upon deployment in the Iraqi capital Baghdad ahead of "deterrence operations," specifically against pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim militias, or to force a regime change in Iraq? No, that's not true. The U.S. Army said in a statement on July 14, 2023, that the 10th Mountain Division replaced the 37th Infantry…

Did U.S. Armed Forces recently conduct airstrikes targeting Iran-backed paramilitary forces in Iraq? No, that's not true. Posts circulating on social media use footage of old airstrikes in Iraq. The claim appeared in many posts such as this video (archived here) published on TikTok on August 20, 2023, under the title "Breaking: American Aerial Bombardment targeting the PMU forces near…

Did Ali al-Sistani die in London in 2004, and this photo is of his last moments? No, that's not true. Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has made many appearances in the media since 2004. The person in the photo is Mohammad Baqer Shirazi in a Tehran hospital, not Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) that was published…

Was the raging fire that incinerated the census-designated place (CDP) of Lahaina in Maui County, Hawaii, ignited by a laser beam from a satellite? No, that's not true. On August 21, 2023, The New York Times stated that the fire which resulted in the destruction of properties, including offices, residences, and vehicles, along with the evacuation of thousands and the…

Did anti-Kuwait protestors in Basra chant Saddam's name? No, that's not true. This video is of a protest in 2019 that happened in the Maysan province of southern Iraq, not in Basrah. The story appeared in many posts on social media, like this video (archived here) which was published on Tiktok on August 2, 2023, under the title "#Iraq #Protest…