Does Hungarian-American billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros own Seznam.cz, the largest Czech search engine? No, that's not true: A company press release from 2016 and publicly accessible company filings confirm that the search engine's shareholders are its founder, Ivo Lukacevic, and Seznam.cz itself. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on TikTok on December 13, 2023. The text…

Did Oxford University politics tutor Matthew Williams give five reasons why Ukraine is a dictatorship and not a democracy? No, that's not true: A video circulating on social media showing Williams has faked audio. It's taken from an Oxford University social media post where Williams discussed tips for students to get into Oxford. Williams told Lead Stories that he never…

Is the so-called Green Deal, a package of European Union policy initiatives, a political scheme designed to impoverish and rob citizens that is not aimed at reducing the harmful effects of climate change? No, that's not true: Green Deal policy objectives are designed to help transform the European Union into a prosperous community with modern and competitive economies while aiming…

Did German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock say that everyone knew the sanctions against Russia were useless before they were introduced? No, that's not true: Baerbock defended the sanctions during a discussion organized by the Wall Street Journal, saying they are important because they show those who violate basic laws that they will be held accountable.The claim appeared in a video…

Did French President Emmanuel Macron call a meeting among European Union and NATO leaders to agree on sending soldiers to Ukraine, and was Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico the only European leader to reject the idea? No, that's not true: The meeting was called to discuss European military and financial assistance to Ukraine. While the issue of ground troops was…

Can a beam attached to a vehicle with a magnet move the vehicle forward and thus function as free, perpetual propulsion, replacing petrol? No, that's not true: This would not work, as a mechanism such as the one shown in a video circulating on social media would defy the laws of physics. The claim appeared in a video (archived here)…

Have Ukrainian refugees revived diseases like whooping cough, scarlet fever and scabies that were once nearly eradicated in the Czech Republic? No, that's not true: Statistics indicate that these conditions have not been nearly erased there. According to the spokeswoman for the State Health Institute, the data and epidemic patterns of these conditions suggest that their recent increase is not…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin compare Bud Light beer to "gay piss," predict that Donald Trump will "whup some ass" after winning the U.S. presidential election and accuse Hillary Clinton of killing Jeffrey Epstein in his interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson? No, that's not true: The interview, released on February 8, 2024, on Carlson's website, does not…

Do data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, prove that COVID-19 vaccines have caused more deaths than all other vaccines together, "since 1988 when the reporting system was set up" until 2021? No, that's not true: VAERS is an online database that anyone can access to submit a report of a suspected adverse reaction after a vaccination.…

Is there little evidence that the late Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader who recently died in prison, was poisoned with Novichok in 2020? No, that's not true: Laboratory results from samples of Navalny's blood, urine and skin, performed by multiple laboratories in Germany and other countries, proved that Navalny was poisoned with a Russian nerve agent code-named Novichok. The…