Do viral screenshots prove that U.S. taxpayers paid $411,634.00 for Senator Lindsey Graham's hotel stay in Kyiv, Ukraine, in May 2025? No, that's not true: His name is not linked to the spending documented in the images. The Department of State told Lead Stories that the screenshot of the agency's government contract in Ukraine had nothing to do with congressional travel.
The senators visited Kyiv on May 30, 2025, but the alleged $814,000 expense covered a State Department hotel contract for June lodging in Kyiv.
Trump never made the above statement, nor did he call on Ukraine to compensate Russia for destroyed aircraft. We found no evidence in his publicized statements, in the news media or on his social media accounts to corroborate the claim. As such, it is an incorrect attribution.
Multiple social media users shared a photo showing a heavily damaged and likely destroyed military vehicle, specifically a radar or air defence system. The user claimed that Pakistan destroyed India's S-400 defence system. However, the Desk found that the photo shows a Russian S-400 defence system destroyed by Ukraine in 2024. The image was shared with a false claim on social media.
Did U.S. President Donald Trump complain on social media that Ukraine's attacks on Russia interfere with his sleep? No, that's...
Did President Trump say that Ukraine must compensate Russia for the aircraft it destroyed in a June 1, 2025, drone attack on Russian air bases? No, that's not true: There is no record of President Trump posting these words on his social media accounts or saying them publicly. A Google search for the quote finds it only on social media posts not related to Trump. No news media reported the quote, although the photo on the meme of Trump speaking in the Oval Office would suggest he said it there in front of journalists.
Does a viral image confirm that the Ukrainian government issued new rules prohibiting taking pictures of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from certain angles? No, that's not true: Talking to Lead Stories, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States referred to the image as "fake". The "rules" were self-contradictory and lacked any specific identifying information tying it to Ukrainian officials.
Multiple social media users recently shared an image claiming it depicted a key military installation in Punjab's Adampur that suffered damage due to Pakistan's airstrikes in the region. In its investigation, the Desk found that the viral image reportedly depicted Russian S-400 missile launch units destroyed by a Ukrainian airstrike in occupied Crimea in April 2024. An old and unrelated image was falsely shared on social media as recent with a false claim.
The footage does not depict Pakistani forces shooting down an Indian drone. Rather, it shows a Russian drone falling outside Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Propagandists distorted the content of the publication. In fact, the columnist expressed his personal opinion on why such a move would be appropriate from a political point of view.