Does this video show people who have reached the age of 30 and are still unmarried, being burned alive in India? No, that's not true. The video shows a religious festival in India in which no one gets hurt; it has nothing to do with burning alive unmarried people when they reach the age of 30. The claim appeared in…

Did the sky rain stone of fire on a nudist beach in Sweden, a punishment from God for burning a copy of the Quran? No, that's not true: The video in question is old and not from Sweden; it actually depicts a hailstorm that occurred on a different country's beach in 2014. The claim appeared in a video (archived here)…

Did the leaders of the coup d'etat in Niger threaten to shoot the Finance Minister if he didn't account for the missing money his government wasted - and was he shown crying in a video? No, that's not true; this video is an old recording from two years ago of a different Nigerian official and has nothing to do with…

Did American rapper Travis Scott perform at Egypt's Giza Pyramids on July 28, 2023? No, that's not true. Scott himself attested to a statement issued by the organizing firm, announcing the cancellation of the concert on July 26, 2023, just two days before it kicked off. Scott tweeted on his verified Twitter account that his performance at the Pyramids, in…

Did Jordan detain the Swedish ambassador in Amman in reaction to the burning of the Quran in Stockholm? No, that's not true: Jordan did not detain the Swedish ambassador in Amman, which would violate international law and diplomatic norms and create a big diplomatic crisis between the two nations. The claim appeared in multiple posts on social media websites like…

Did the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Growth decide on depopulating the earth from 6 billion to 800 million people? No, that's not true. The conference focused on gender equality, women empowerment and education. There was no mention of depopulating the earth from 6 billion to 800. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was…

Did Bafel Talabani, the current leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), say that the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State (ISIS) was in coordination with Israel and Masoud Barzani, the former president of the Iraqi Kurdistan region? No, that's not true: The video claiming that Talabani reveals such a document is actually about the Kurdish peshmerga forces…

Has an insect with a human face been spotted? No, that's not true: Illustrations showing what look like an insect with a human face are actually artwork, not a real insect. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @mtig2g on July 5, 2023, under the title "An insect with a human face." This is what the…

Did NBC broadcast a report that proves the Earth is flat? No, that's not true: NBC covered a rare phenomenon when 99 percent of the people on Earth saw sunlight briefly. This does not mean that the Earth is flat. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (archived here) on July 10, 2023, with a text overlay in Arabic…

Did former German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht say that her country cannot shield itself against a Russian attack and is also unable to defend its NATO allies? No, that's not true. Until she resigned from her post as defense minister in January 2023, Lambrecht did not make such a comment. According to Germany's Federal Ministry of Defense, Lambrecht said while…

Did U.S. President Joe Biden die of a heart attack on July 1, 2023, and was his death kept under tight secrecy? No, that's not true. Biden has made several public appearances since that date, including one on the White House's South Lawn, where he and first lady Jill Biden addressed military families, veterans and caregivers on July 4, 2023,…

Did the French movie "Athena" warn people about the turmoil in France? No, that's not true; the film "Athena" did not predict the cycle of violence that broke in France after a 17-year-old boy named Nael was shot and killed by a French policeman during a traffic stop. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published by Tiktok on…

Does the video show the last moments of the Titan Sub victims? No, that's not true. The video that is circulating, claiming to be the last moments of the Titan Sub victims, is actually a vlog video by American YouTuber Jake Koehler about his Titanic sub tourism expedition. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published…

Did the genetically modified mosquitoes approved for release in Texas and Florida transmit malaria and are behind the newly reported cases in these states? No, that's not true: the genetically modified mosquitoes released in Florida and Texas are genetically modified to be unable to transmit the diseases. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published by Tiktok on June…

Did the head of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Klaus Schwab, say that "fashion" will be abolished by 2030 to cut greenhouse emissions and that people will only be allowed three clothing items per year? That's not true. Klaus Schwab, the president of WEF, did not say "fashion" will end by 2030 to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The claim appeared…

Do videos allegedly showing the extradition of Salwan Momika, the Iraqi refugee who burned the Quran in Sweden, to Iraq, actually depict genuine events? No, they do not. The videos in question are outdated and unrelated to Momika, who burned a copy of the Quran on June 28, 2023. Despite Iraq's request for Sweden to extradite him, there is currently…

Did the French military call for President Macron to step down? No, that's not true. There is no evidence the military has issued an ultimatum calling on the President, who is also the Chief of the Armed Forces of France, to vacate his office, in what would amount to a coup d'etat in a leading European nation. The claim appeared…

Did a massive fire engulf one of the royal palaces in Sweden after an Iraqi-born refugee in Stockholm burned the Muslim holy book, the Quran, outside a local mosque on June 28, 2023? No, that's not true. A verification by Lead Stories determined that the claim lacks evidence and that the video used to support the claim is outdated and…

Did the revolting Russian mercenaries, known as the Wagner fighters, reach the Russian capital, Moscow? No, that's not true. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and founder of the Wagner army that launched the armed mutiny on June 24, 2023, said his men reached within 125 miles (200 km) of the capital but turned back, according…

Did Russia announce "The Great Northern Battle" against the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Northern Syria? No, that's not true: Russia has not started a military campaign with the Syrian army to take back the northwest regions from the Turkish-backed FSA. In fact, Russia recently announced that both Ankara and Damascus have agreed to normalize their relations and resolve…