Did a muezzin, an Islamic official who proclaims the Muslim call to prayer, sing at a 2023 Christmas market in Berlin? No, that's not true: The event at which the man was singing was not a Christmas market and was not in Berlin. The claim appeared in a Hungarian-language video (archived here) on TikTok on December 24, 2023, under the…

Is Hungary's governing Fidesz party moving to abolish private property ownership with its new law on real estate registration? No, that's not true: The claim is based on a minor semantic change to the current rules governing property records. The new law, which will digitize Hungary's cumbersome paper-based system of registering deeds, does not contain any language about eliminating individual…

Are Germans afraid to use the word "Weihnachtsmarkt" (Christmas market) and therefore use "Lichtermarkt" (market of lights) or "Märchenmarkt" (fairy tale market) so as not to offend Muslims living in the country by using an expression referring to Christian religion? No, that's not true: Even cities used the word Christmas market on their official websites in December 2023 to publicize…

Did Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sign a "secret pact" with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he promised to push Hungarians out of their homeland to make way for Jewish immigrants? No, that's not true: The claim was promulgated in 2017 by an ultranationalist politician who offered no proof to back it up. There is no evidence of…

Are half of Romanian children born outside Romania? No, that's not true: This myth is spread by Romanian and Hungarian politicians but data from Romania's National Institute of Statistics (INS) contradicts the claim. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published by the Hungarian government party, Fidesz, on December 11, 2023. It features a quote from one of…

Did Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the inauguration of Javier Milei as Argentina's new president, that Russian President Vladimir Putin knew something "special" about him? No, that's not true: Orban and Zelenskyy exchanged a few words in front of cameras during the ceremony, as shown by footage shared by major international media. Their conversation,…

Did German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expel Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban while other European Union Council members voted on the accession of Ukraine? No, that's not true: The chancellor suggested this tactic to Orban so they could have unanimity. According to Scholz, he offered some time for Orban to think, but Orban made a quick decision and left the room.…

Did immigrants in Germany complain in a documentary by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that white-skinned bureaucrats decided on their asylum applications? No, that's not true: The complaint is based on an incorrect translation of the English version of the video. Neither of the two immigrants interviewed for this video complained in this way, and neither of them applied for…

Does Member of the European Parliament Klara Dobrev think that Hungarians are manual laborers, cheap, stupid, vulnerable and unnecessary people? No, that's not true: One of her sentences from 2020 was twisted. The claim originally appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on December 9, 2023, under the title (translated from Hungarian to English by Lead Stories staff): Dobrev's…

Is Germany "replacing" its native citizenry with Islamic immigrants from the Middle East and Africa? No, that's not true: Official statistics show that a small minority of Germany's population is composed of people from African, Asian or Islamic countries. The majority of registered immigrants hail from other European Union member states or European countries where Islam is not the dominant…

Did the European Commission question Hungary's right to hold its latest National Consultation, a direct-mail campaign in which the government criticizes European Union policy, calling it a "fraud"? No, that's not true: The Commission's only public comment on the National Consultation affirmed Hungary's right to conduct the exercise and never labeled it a "fraud." The claim appeared in a video…

Does Prime Minister Viktor Orban want to take Hungary out of the European Union? No, that's not true: Despite repeated criticism aimed at the EU and its leadership, in official statements Orban states that it is in Hungary's national interest to remain in the European Union, while seeking to reform it from the inside. The claim appeared in a video…

Does a United Nations resolution predict a new pandemic in which all humanity will be forcibly vaccinated and the World Health Organization (WHO) will send anyone who rejects its pandemic policies to a concentration camp? No, that's not true: The UN General Assembly Resolution on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) does not predict an imminent global disease outbreak and…

Did Noga Weiss, an Israeli girl kidnapped by Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, obtain a Hungarian passport because her father bought a "golden visa" that bestows citizenship in return for investment? No, that's not true: Weiss got Hungarian citizenship based on the fact that her grandfather was from Hungary, a relative told Hungarian media. Hungary's…

Az Európai Unió megtagadott minden fillér költségvetési támogatást Magyarországtól 2023-ban? Nem, ez nem igaz: Magyarország 2023-ban becslések szerint majdnem 3 milliárd euró (1,2 ezer milliárd forint) uniós pénzben részesült - áll Johannes Hahn európai költségvetési biztos nyilatkozatában. Ezek a támogatások annak ellenére érkeztek, hogy az Európai Bizottság 22 milliárd euró Magyarország számára elkülönített kohéziós forrást befagyasztott, többek között a vélt…

Did the Ukrainian border police bar former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko from entering Poland because he is under sanctions? No, that's not true: Ukrainian intelligence services withdrew his permission to leave the country as they suspected that his trip will be used by Russia's propaganda machine. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on December 2, 2023, under…

Is the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations' global health agency, going bankrupt? No, that's not true: The WHO's audited financial statements reported a surplus for both 2022 and 2021, and the organization has not made any statements warning of fiscal turbulence ahead. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on December 3, 2023. The still…

Did European Union Commissioner Nicolas Schmit acknowledge that the EU is withholding funds from Hungary because the country refuses to expose its children to what is referred to as LGBTQ propaganda? No, that's not true: Schmit did highlight four concerns with Hungary, one of which is the controversial child protection law, at a public meeting in November but the quote…

Is Hungary a net contributor to the European Union budget, paying more than it receives in funding? No, that's not true: European Commission data shows that Hungary has been a net beneficiary of the EU budget every year since it joined the bloc in 2004. In December 2022, the European Commission postponed the transfer of cohesion funds to Hungary due…

Did Alex Soros negotiate in Ukraine on behalf of the European Union? No, that's not true: He represented the Open Society Foundation, the global grantmaking network founded by billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros. Alex Soros was named the official successor in June 2023. Soros met with Ukrainian officials in rooms where EU flags were placed alongside Ukrainian flags to…