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 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…

Do Ukrainian refugees in Croatia have all their expenses paid, receive free villas on the Adriatic coast, free pensions and health insurance, and receive a monthly allowance of 2000 euros per month? No, that's not true: Refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection in Croatia, can access free care through public health care institutions, have open access to the Croatian labor…

Will migrants have the right to vote in the Republic of Croatia? No, that's not true: Currently, in Croatia, foreign citizens who wish to obtain the right to vote must have a permanent or temporary residence status in the country and they have to apply for registration in the voters' register three months before the elections they wish to vote…

Did Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić declare war on Kosovo and order Serbian soldiers to go there? No, that's not true: Lead Stories did not find a single report of Vučić announcing war on Kosovo or sending Serbia's national army to attack Kosovo. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on May 28, 2023. The text overlay (translated…

Did a CNN correspondent and a Croatian Radiotelevision journalist try to mislead viewers while reporting on the Hamas-Israel conflict? No, that's not true: A video purporting to show American journalist Clarissa Ward taking instructions in her earpiece has been manipulated while the Croatian journalist was reporting in an area where Israel issued rocket warnings. The claim reappeared as a video…

Did American actor George Clooney make a video, in Serbian, advising on the value of choosing peace instead of engaging in unnecessary conflict? No, that's not true: The video was made using AI tools. The claim appeared in a video (archived here), on TikTok on September 19, 2023, with the following hashtags in the caption (translated by Lead Stories from…

Do Rainforest Alliance labeled products contain herbicide that changes human gender and is the organization owned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? No, that's not true: The Rainforest Alliance logo indicates that the product comes from farms that meet environmental and human rights standards as defined by the Rainforest Alliance certification program. Bill and Melinda Gates do not own…

Did directed energy weapons cause the wildfires and destruction in Maui, Hawaii? No, that's not true: There's no evidence the technology was used despite numerous theories posted on social media. The claim reappeared as a video published by TikTok on August 13, 2023, by a Serbian account called "Teorije.istine" (archived here). The video starts with shots from a helicopter showing…

Are PCR tests only designed to study DNA samples, making the tool unsuitable to show whether an infectious disease is present? No, that's not true: the tests search for a match to the RNA/DNA of an infectious disease. While scientists report that the tests sometimes return false positive and false negative results, the tests are regarded as effective. The claim…

Is human meat about to be served up instead of animal meat? No, that's not true: an English mockumentary has fooled some people into believing the TV production was real. What some call a "documentary" is actually a satirical mockumentary called "Gregg Wallace: The British Miracle Meat" by UK broadcaster Channel 4. Gregg Wallace is a British TV chef who…

Has the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) draw revealed that four Balkan countries will compete against each other in the 2024 European Football Championship? No, that's not true. The draw rules prohibit two of the countries from playing against each other and Kosovo, Serbia, Albania, and Croatia are all in separate groups. The claim appeared in a video (archived…

Did US Vice President Kamala Harris intend to say the population should be reduced so more of our children can breathe clean air? While it is true that during a speech about climate change Harris said the words "reduce population", it's understood that the vice president misspoke and meant to say "reduce pollution". Now Croatian politician Marin Miletić has labeled…

Did Kosovar soldiers march in North Mitrovica? No, that's not true: Geolocation analysis by Lead Stories shows that the soldiers in the video were in South Mitrovica and heading in a southerly direction. Tweets from Kosovar and European Union officials also stated that the troops were south of the River Iber. The claim originated in a video (archived here) by…

Did a trans woman wearing a dress made of condoms attend Zagreb Pride naked and harm children? No, that's not true: the person was wearing underwear, and Croatia's children's ombudsperson says children "were not directly threatened." The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on 06/14/2023 under the title, translated from the Croatian language by Lead Stories…