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…

Does a picture being shared on social media prove that COVID-19 tests are being used to cause cancer in the general population? No, that's not true: The image just shows a list of different COVID-19 diagnostic tests available, with the names of their manufacturers. No elements in the list or the picture indicate that they have been used to harm…

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…

Did an angel spread its wings and fly into the sky above Gaza on November 12, 2023, as shown in a video on TikTok? No, that's not true: The original video was uploaded months earlier by another TikTok creator who has made dozens of videos using computer-generated imagery, often showing shapes in the form of angels, hands held in prayer…