Is the German government ordering children from poor families to engage in prostitution as a sustainable way to make money? No, that's not true: A German children's book funded by the local government of the city of Berlin aimed to explain prostitution to children aged 6 to 12 living in Berlin's red-light district but did not "order children to engage…

Did the Rainforest Alliance change its logo and switch to using the Fairtrade Foundation's logo instead? No, that's not true: The Rainforest Alliance did not alter its red-eyed tree frog seal on products. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok by user jerrynidzo on September 24, 2023, under the title (translated from Croatian to English by…

Are two of Croatia's most highly circulating daily newspapers, Večernji List and 24 SATA, owned by a Serbian media company, Adria Media Group? No, that's not true: The Croatian dailies are owned by the Austrian Styria Media Group. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on December 12, 2023, with a caption translated into English from…

Will the Archdiocese of Zagreb receive ten new churches in exchange for ceding property it owns near the city's new Maksimir stadium? No, that's not true: The city is not committed to building or delivering ten new churches. Instead, it will donate construction plots in the Zagreb area to the Church and, in exchange, the Church will give up plots…

Did Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković say that farmers and Croatians are terrorists? No, that's not true: He said that Croatian security services had identified two extremist groups and two individuals who, they said, would "destroy the social order using violent methods" among pig farmers protesting government measures to combat an outbreak of African swine fever. The claim appeared in…

Was a relatively recent variant of COVID-19 given its name because of 5G mobile phone signals? No, that's not true: New COVID strains are given names according to defined classification systems. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on September 27, 2023, with a text overlay (translated from Croatian to English by Lead Stories staff) that read:…

Is the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina part of the Republic of Croatia? No, that's not true: Vojvodina is an autonomous province in the northernmost part of the Republic of Serbia. Throughout much of history, Vojvodina and Croatia were joined under various rulers, including the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia…

Is all media in Croatia held by the leading party HDZ (otherwise known as the Croatian Democratic Union)? No, that's not true: No media in Croatia is owned or in any way connected to the party. This claim originated after it was recently discovered that an adviser to the now-former Minister of Economy Davor Filipović, Jurica Lovrinčević, was having the…

Does a video show Serbian singer Aleksandra Prijović singing a Serbian nationalistic song called "Veseli se srpski rode" at a concert in Zagreb, Croatia? No, that's not true: The video footage is from one of her recent concerts in Belgrade, Serbia, not Zagreb, and the audio from the video has been edited. There is no record of Prijović singing that…

Does a video prove that NATO is planning on starting a war in Bosnia and Herzegovina? No, that's not true: The video is from the joint press conference by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg held in Sarajevo, on November 20, 2023. In the press conference, the Secretary-General stated that NATO has committed to Bosnia-Herzegovina for many years, and that they are…

Did Reuters news agency report that Poland, Sweden and Norway filed a lawsuit against the World Health Organization for infecting Europe with a chemical sprayed from airplanes that causes pneumonia? No, that's not true: The recycled claim involving the WHO, so-called chemtrails and the three European countries has been previously debunked by Reuters. A far wider conspiracy involving so-called chemtrails…

Did Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković ban media coverage of former Minister of Defense Mario Banožić after he was involved in a fatal traffic accident? No, that's not true: Articles and reports on Banožić are being published daily in all Croatian news agencies and other media outlets. There is no evidence that Plenković issued any "ban" on reporting on Banožić…

Will Zagreb residents be put on a scoring system that will evaluate their CO₂ emissions and determine what food they can buy after a carbon currency system is put in place? No, that's not true: There is no mention of such a plan on the official website of the City of Zagreb, Croatia, and no credible media organization has reported…

Did Croatian politician and activist Ivan Pernar find "the son of Zagreb's mayor" in an elementary school? No, that's not true: Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, and his wife, Iva Mertić Tomašević, have no children. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by Pernar on September 28, 2023, under the title (translated from Croatian to English by Lead…

Is the city-owned company Zagrebački Holding buying garbage trucks from Mozambique for its branch waste management company Čistoća? No, that's not true: A spokesperson from Zagrebački Holding told Lead Stories that this claim is false. The claim originated from a video (archived here) on TikTok by user @nemozemo on December 3, 2023, under the title (translated from Croatian to English…

Are "chemtrails" spreading whooping cough in Croatia? No, that's not true: Croatia is facing a whooping cough epidemic due to falling vaccination rates that one health official says is due to online misinformation. Also, chemtrails don't exist, experts say. The claim originated in a video (archived here) on TikTok on November 19, 2023, with the title (translated from Croatian to…

Did Israeli businessman and industrialist Amir Gross Kabiri declare the territory of Aluminij d.d. Mostar company, in Bosnia and Herzegovina part of the "State of Israel"? No, that's not true: Kabiri, CEO of Aluminij Industries, only posted on Instagram a picture of the Israeli flag on the premises of the Aluminij company in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a sign…

Did Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević import mosquitos to transmit diseases and vaccinate people with mRNA vaccines? No, that's not true: 100,000 sterile male mosquitoes imported from Italy were released in Zagreb as a way to fight a tiger mosquito infestation. They were not imported to spread diseases or to vaccinate people. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here)…

Are authorities in Zagreb evicting Croatian citizens in order to turn over their apartments to migrants? No, that's not true: City officials do not have the authority to evict private property owners. The Croatian government can provide a migrant who is currently under international protection with a state-owned apartment only if it is not currently occupied. The claim appeared in…

Was a 4,000-year-old obelisk with laws inscribed in Serbian found at Stonehenge, in the United Kingdom? No, that's not true: The first written testimonies of the Serbian language date back to the late 10th and early 11th century, thousands of years later than the alleged obelisk. Furthermore, there are no writings on the monuments at Stonehenge. The claim originated from…