Does eating cashews kill bacteria? No, that's not true: Scientific research suggests that there isn't enough anacardic acid in the cashew itself to kill bacteria or provide any therapeutic value. But, discarded cashew shells could possibly have antibacterial and immune-boosting properties, if reduced and purified to drug form. The claim appeared as a meme in a Facebook post on November…
Are symptoms of the omicron variant being used to cover up effects of COVID-19 vaccines? No, there is no evidence that there is a cover-up of COVID vaccine adverse effects via symptoms of the new omicron variant. An article making that claim gives no scientific, medical or reputably published proof. It also repeats a false claim that 183 professional athletes…
Did Japan endorse the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, sending cases plummeting in late August 2021? No, that's not true: While Haruo Ozaki, the chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association, said at an August 13, 2021, press conference that the anti-parasitic drug showed promise, he also said it needed to be studied thoroughly. The Tokyo Medical Association…
Did a federal magistrate approve a $110 million defamation suit filed by Kyle Rittenhouse against LeBron James? No, that's not true: The article making the claim is from a network of satire websites that have published fictitious claims about lawsuits filed against celebrities by Rittenhouse, who was was acquitted after shooting three men at an anti-police brutality protest in 2020.…
Is the media barred from the courtroom in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial? No, that's not true: An order from the presiding judge said that a press pool can be in the courtroom, and other media personnel can cover the trial from overflow courtrooms. The judge cited COVID-19 distancing requirements for that arrangement. The trial, which began on November 29, 2021,…
Did the military arrest Mike Donilon, President Joe Biden's senior advisor? No, that's not true: An official at the Pentagon told Lead Stories that this claim was false. Also, there has been no other media coverage of Donilon being arrested by the military except for the original article published by Real Raw News -- a site that has a history…
Did various leaders of major companies and public figures resign or get fired on the first day of the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was multimillionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's girlfriend and alleged co-conspirator? Not for the most part: Although former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down on November 29, 2021, the same day as the start of the trial, other…
Is a drink containing sheep feces now in demand in China because it is high in protein and also can make a person high? No, that's not true: This spoof post includes genuine images showing a popular Taiwanese drink called bubble tea, or boba tea. This drink can be made to order with several choices of the type of tea…
Was a green screen used to produce one of the more memorable images of rioters inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021 -- with actors posing in another location and superimposed onto still and video images of the riot? No, that's not true: An image circulating online is a photoshopped prank composed of two different images after-the-fact. The…
Did Kyle Rittenhouse file a $400 million lawsuit against CNN? No, that's not true: The article containing that claim was posted on a satirical website, with several indications that it was a fictitious story. The claim originated in a November 26, 2021 article (archived here) published on the satirical site Daily World Update titled "Rittenhouse files $400 Million suit against…
Is Bill Gates charged with murder in India's High Court for an alleged COVID-19-vaccine-caused death? No, that's not true: A $134 million lawsuit has been filed against Gates and others in India but it was done so by a private citizen who claims her son died after adverse effects from a COVID-19 vaccine. This is not a case filed by…
Did the head of a German hospital who killed himself release a video before his death, calling COVID vaccines a genocide and saying he could no longer live with the lies? No, that's not true. Instead of showing Dr. Thomas Jendges, the now-deceased managing director of Chemnitz Clinic, the video shows a German gynecologist named Guido Hofmann, who is active…
Was a German video blogger and chemist murdered for exposing the truth about graphene oxide in vaccines? There is little information available on Dr. Andreas Noack's death other than two videos his life partner posted to Telegram. Statements made in these videos do, however, dispel rumors that Noack was killed by police. Noack's partner posted a video to a Telegram…
Does this video unmask new-in-November-2021 evidence that Dr. Anthony Fauci helped mastermind the COVID-19 pandemic to bring humankind under government control? No, that's not true: The October, 2019 C-SPAN video has been the subject of conspiracy theories since October, 2021. In this version of the conspiracy theory, a One America News (OAN) news reader puts words in the mouths of…
Is Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, undergoing a lockdown during the 2021 holiday season despite having a 100% COVID-19 vaccination rate? Not exactly: Although Gibraltar -- which has vaccinated most of its adult population and the workers who commute there -- has experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases since October 2021, the territory is only canceling its large, government-sponsored holiday…
