WHAT WAS CLAIMED: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer posted a statement on X saying that American forces must withdraw from UK airbases within 48 hours and pay historic rent if the United States ends its commitment to NATO.
VERDICT: False. The image of the post is fabricated and originally came from a satirical social media account. No such statement has been published on Keir Starmer's genuine X account or made publicly by him.
Videos of an explosion on a bridge have been shared on social media alongside claims the King Fahd Bridge linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia was hit by a missile. But the video actually shows a 2022 explosion on the Kerch bridge, which connects Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula.
In reality, the video features a woman talking about anti-government protests in Iran. Propaganda edited the footage and faked the heroine's voice using AI.
As Kenya works to bring home citizens duped into fighting for Russia in Ukraine, two graphics have falsely claimed that Kenyan cabinet secretary for labour Alfred Mutua admitted recruiting them.
Was a video about Ukrainian drone operator Miroslav Radchenko shared on social media actually produced and distributed by Al Jazeera? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no traces of such a report broadcast or shared online by Al Jazeera or any other media outlet. Spreading false narratives through clips with logos of real media organizations is a well-known tactic used by misinformation networks.
In March 2026, a rumor circulated online that Russian President Vladimir Putin posted (archived) on X that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu died in an airstrike. [...] However, the post originated from the X account @MrputinSpoof (archived) - not the Russian president. The account's bio identifies it as a "fan/commentary page" and the handle itself includes the word spoof, which Merriam-Webster defines as "a light humorous parody." Therefore, we found the post originated as satire.
Footage of a drone strike on a building has been shared on social media with false claims it shows a recent Iranian attack on Bahrain. But it actually predates the recent conflict in the Middle East and shows a Russian attack on Ukraine.
An unrelated video of a Russian drone attack on Kyiv in January 2026 is being falsely shared as visuals of an Iranian strike targeting a residential building in Manama, Bahrain.
The claim does not appear on any of USA Today's official platforms, and Parker Hempel, the ISW analyst cited in the video, has no record of making the statements attributed to him. Iran's missile arsenal draws exclusively from Soviet and North Korean design lineages, and U.S.-manufactured systems are mechanically incompatible with Iranian launch infrastructure. The video is the latest iteration of a recurring disinformation narrative - the so-called "NATO weapons black market" - a claim that has been repeatedly investigated and never substantiated.
A viral video is shared online claiming to show an Iranian missile striking the King Fahd Bridge between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia [...]The video is from October 2022 and actually shows an explosion on the Kerch Strait Bridge in Crimea, not related to Iran or the current conflict