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…

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…

Will former Croatian Minister of Defense Mario Banožić be sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison for causing a fatal car accident on November 11, 2023, due to negligence? No, that's not true: Banožić, who has now been removed from his duties, is still in the hospital in serious condition. An investigation led by the State Attorney's Office…

Is Lady Gaga Serbian and is her real name Srboljupka Živadinović? No, that's not true: Lady Gaga's real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta and she is American. The singer was born in New York City to a Catholic family of Italian ancestry. The claim originated from a TikTok video (archived here) published by the account @malonasjealnasima on September 24,…

Are the red northern lights seen all over Croatia on November 5, 2023, a sign of harmful cosmic radiation exposure? No, that's not true: Northern lights -- also known as aurora borealis -- result from the collision of charged solar particles with the Earth's atmosphere. They are seen as a display of dynamic patterns of lights that appear as different…

Was the referendum on the EU accession of the Republic of Croatia illegal? No, that's not true: The referendum conducted on January 22, 2012, that resulted in the Republic of Croatia joining the European Union, followed the Croatian Constitution and laws. The claim originated from a TikTok video (archived here) published on August 24, 2023, under the title: "A.P. THE…

Did the pop star Madonna predict the Hamas-Israel conflict four years before it began? No, that's not true: Madonna's 2019 Eurovision Song Contest performance made an apparent call for peace by showing embracing dancers wearing Israeli and Palestinian flags. It's not the first time that her controversial mid-show act has been linked to conspiracy theories. The claim appeared in a…

Did Kosovan and Albanian presidents say that Israel should keep on bombing "Palestine" and "hospitals in Palestine"? No, that's not true: Kosovan President Vjosa Osmani and Albanian President Bajram Begaj both expressed their support for Israel in the ongoing conflict with Hamas on October 7, 2023, but never called for violence. Lead Stories did not find any statements or reports…

Did an electric bus catch fire in Bradford, England, highlighting issues with lithium-ion batteries? No, that's not true: The fire started on a diesel bus, an email from the transport operator that owns the vehicle and a search of the U.K. government's vehicle tax records confirmed. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on October 13, 2023,…

Has the Republic of Croatia pledged to send five hundred million euros in aid to Ukraine in October 2023? No, that's not true: Croatia will help Ukraine with five million euros for demining purposes, in addition to the five million euros already donated for the same purpose, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced at the opening of the International Donor Conference…

Is the army going to guard fences around Zagreb's historical center, under renovation plans that draw on a "15-minute city" urban planning concept? No, that's not true: The concept, in which people can access most of their daily needs or services within a 15-minute walk, bike or public transport ride, is mentioned in Zagreb's 2021 urban renovation plan in relation…

Is the Croatian government implementing a population replacement policy by forcing the Croatian population away and importing foreigners into the country? No, that's not true: The decrease of the resident population and the increase of the foreign population stem from different factors. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok by Nikola Grmoja, a Croatian member of parliament and the…

Will all Balkan immigrants who have been granted asylum have to leave Germany? No, that's not true: Germany is introducing a tougher asylum policy, as the German Cabinet approved on October 25, 2023, a legislative proposal that would ease the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers. Immigrants who successfully obtained asylum, though, would not be deported, and the draft legislation still has…