Does a viral image of world leaders showing their middle fingers as an act of apparent disagreement with U.S. President Donald Trump show a real 2026 TIME Magazine cover? No, that's not true: The magazine's website did not contain such a cover. The image displayed shows signs strongly pointing to generative AI.
With the Pentagon potentially seeking a $200 billion supplemental package to fund the ongoing war with Iran, President Donald Trump defended that figure in part by saying U.S. ammunition "was taken down by giving so much to Ukraine." He then exaggerated the amount of aid to Ukraine and falsely said that former President Joe Biden "didn't rebuild anything" in the defense stockpile. Trump has a point that the military assistance provided to Ukraine reduced the U.S. reserve of weapons. But that aid largely has not affected the military operations in Iran, defense experts told us. Furthermore, Biden signed multiple spending bills passed by Congress that included funding to replace the older weapons that the U.S. gave to Ukraine with new items. Experts also told us that Biden's administration put money into increasing the production of munitions for the military.
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.
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.
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.
India Today Fact Check found that all three videos are old and do not show attacks in Israel.
According to a viral graphic, US president Donald Trump warned his Russian counterpart of military action if he did not release Kenyans from combat duties in the war in Ukraine. However, the graphic is fabricated.
Eleven charts illustrate the extraordinary level of support the United States has provided Ukraine in recent years - though there has been no new U.S. aid legislation since 2024, and combined European aid tops U.S. contributions.
Following the attack on Venezuela, the US military has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker and another ship in the North Sea. A video is circulating on social media, showing soldiers rappelling from a helicopter onto a ship. Some users are sharing the video and claiming that it shows the US military seizing a Russian-flagged oil tanker coming from Venezuela. Vishvas News investigated and found that while the US military did seize the Russian-flagged oil tanker, the viral video dates back to October 2025, when US Navy SEALs demonstrated their capabilities to President Trump. The same video is now being shared as a recent incident.
Claim
Social media posts claim the video shows US troops capturing a Russian oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean
Fact
The video is from April 2025 and actually depicts a US-Philippines military exercise called Balikatan in Subic Bay