Can the regular consumption of cow's milk lead to cancer? No, that's not true: No conclusive evidence exists that establishs a direct link between cow's milk or its casein content -- the main protein in milk -- and cancer development. Milk is considered a component of a healthy diet. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) where it…

Does this video show 50,000 bikers crossing the Jordanian border into Israel to fight? No, that's not true: The video is at least three years old and appears to have been filmed in Syria. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (archived here) by @imreboros59 on October 9, 2023, under the title (translated from Hungarian to English by Lead…

Were 6 million Jewish settlers resettled in Hungary? No, that's not true: According to the country's 2022 census 7,635 Jewish people live in Hungary. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (no longer available but archived here) that was published by Ildikó on October 14, 2023, under the title (translated from Hungarian to English by Lead Stories staff): ...…

Did the Illuminati start the Hamas-Israel conflict to make a human sacrifice and feed astral demons? No, that's not true: The current conflict started when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. There is no evidence the Illuminati exist The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (archived here) by @elkurtatok.ebred.a.nep on October 13, 2023. The narrator of the video…

Is a video evidence of a Hamas rocket reversing and striking a Gaza hospital in October 2023? No, that's not true: The video had already appeared on social media in 2022, long before the devastating explosion at Al-Ahli hospital, where hundreds were killed. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (archived here) by @klaudia_rafael on October 18, 2023, under…

Did European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen say that Israel has the right to defend itself even by cutting off water and electricity in the Gaza Strip? No, that's not true: She supports the right of Israel to defend itself but with full respect of international humanitarian law. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by…

Are most Israelis descendants of the Khazars, who established a medieval empire that ruled much of modern-day Ukraine, thus undermining their ancestral claim to the Holy Land? No, that's not true: Geneticists and historians have investigated this theory, long accepted as fact by many, and turned up no evidence to support it. The claim appeared in a Hungarian-language video (archived…

Did Muslim men film themselves smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary in Europe, betraying their plan to "invade" the continent? No, that's not true: The clip was shot near the city of Idlib, Syria, in 2013 by members of the Nusra Front, a jihadist group struggling to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to Arabic-language media. Idlib was home…

Did "Palestinian terrorists" carry out five attacks that killed hundreds of people in France, Belgium and Germany? No, that's not true: The perpetrators were of Arab origin but were not Palestinians. All have been linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an Islamic extremist group that is not the same as Hamas, the Palestinian political party…

Did President Joe Biden leave Israel just two hours before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023? No, that's not true: White House press releases prove he was in Washington, D.C. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok published by @tomika2121 on October 9, 2023, under the title (translated from Hungarian into English by Lead Stories staff):…

A szupermarketek becsapják az embereket azzal, hogy nehéz műanyag tálcákat használnak a gyümölcs- és zöldségmérlegeken? Nem, ez nem igaz: a rendszeresen ellenőrzött mérlegeket a tálcák használatával kalibrálják nullára. Az állítás egy TikTok videóban (archiválva itt) jelent meg 2023. október 1-jén az „am 60 ft-ot spóroltunk a hagymán" leírással. A videó feliratain a következő olvasható: Mutatom, hogy vernek át a szupermarketekben.…

Did Nostradamus predict that Hungarians would overthrow a ruler he described as a "hyena?" No, that's not true: The "prophecy" appears in a 1996 book by Péter Szentmihályi Szabó, a Hungarian author who claimed to have discovered what might be a long-lost collection of Nostradamus' prognostications. Szentmihályi Szabó later acknowledged that he had written the text himself, according to Hungarian…

Is Hungary's governing Fidesz party replacing indigenous Hungarians with Ukrainian Jews and other foreigners? No, that's not true: The claim focuses on a refugee center in Hungary that hosts observant Jews fleeing the war in Ukraine, most of whom did not stay for long. And while the total number of foreigners residing in Hungary has increased since Fidesz came to…

Is Hungary's government planning to bring in 500,000 migrant workers to fill industrial jobs that it expects to create in the coming years, "replacing" Hungarian laborers? No, that's not true: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an anti-immigrant firebrand, said his administration will give priority to workers from Hungary and neighboring countries with sizable ethnic-Hungarian populations. Guest workers will be hired as…

Minden idők csúcsát, 12 százalékot érte el a magyar munkanélküliség 2010-ben, a Magyar Szocialista Párt (MSZP) kormányzása alatt? Nem, ez nem igaz: 1989 óta, amikor a kommunizmus összeomlott az egyetemes foglalkoztatás alkotmányos garanciájával együtt, Magyarországon 1993-ban volt a legmagasabb a munkanélküliségi ráta, amikor az MSZP ellenzékben volt. Ráadásul a munkanélküliség nem érte el a 12 százalékot 2010-ben. Az állítás egy…

Did female members of Hungary's opposition wear T-shirts saying "I do not have sex with Fideszers," referring to members of the governing Fidesz party? No, that's not true: The image of this had been doctored. The still photo (archived here) appeared on TikTok on August 12, 2023. It showed opposition politicians Bernadett Szél, Tímea Szabó, Zita Gurmai, Anett Bősz and…

Does a list of indispensable government employees mean the state plans to fire those not on the list and give their jobs to migrants? No, that's not true: According to news reports, the government is collecting data on the public sector labor force in order to estimate the minimum capacity needed to run the state, but there are no plans…

Az új személyi igazolványok egy rejtélyes terv miatt legkésőbb 2030-ban lejárnak? Nem, ez nem igaz: a magyar személyi igazolványok érvényességi ideje 2016 óta hat év, ezért nem volt senkinek 2030 után lejáró igazolványa 2023-ban. Az állítás egy TikTok videóban jelent meg (archiválva itt) 2023. augusztus 2-án a következő felirattal: Akik mostanában újítottak meg személyi igazolványt azok nézzék már meg legyenek…

Is organ trade flourishing in Ukraine as organs of fallen soldiers are sold? No, that's not true: The claim is spread by Russian sources with no evidence. Moreover, organ transplant surgeries are too complicated to be done on a battlefield. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (archived here) published by a Hungarian newspaper, Magyar Hírlap, on August 12,…

Tényleg "terjednek a no-go zónák" - azaz olyan területek, amelyekbe még a rendőrség sem mer bemenni a magas bűnözési ráta miatt - Magyarország-szerte? Nem, ez nem igaz: a hivatalos statisztikák ezt nem támasztják alá. Magyarországon 2011 és 2022 között drámai mértékben csökkent az erőszakos bűncselekmények száma, és az elmúlt években a legmagasabb bűnözési rátával rendelkező régiókban is a bűncselekmények aránya…