&Quot;Health Claims&Quot;

Will the earth experience "colder weather than ever before" during the "aphelion phenomenon" in August, 2025, as its elliptical orbit takes it to its most distant-from-the-Sun position of the year, as multiple social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Earth's distance from the Sun changes daily and at aphelion, the Earth's distance from the Sun is only about 3%…

What is chlorine dioxide, and is it a safe and effective cure or treatment for multiple health ailments, including childhood autism and COVID-19 infection? No, that's not true: Chlorine dioxide is a gaseous chemical that makes a bleach-like substance when added to water. The highly reactive chemical is used as a cleaning agent and can be fatal if ingested. Even…

Is Barbara O'Neill a medical doctor certified by the American Board of Urology, or ABU? No, that's not true: The American Board of Medical Specialties, which maintains records on medical certifications, told Lead Stories that O'Neill is not certified by the ABU. The American Urological Association also did not find her as a member of their association. Lead Stories independently…

Does nicotine eliminate brain tumors? No, that's not true: A brain cancer expert from the University of Nebraska Medical Center said nicotine doesn't help and may actually reduce a person's chances of recovering from brain tumors or cancer. Nicotine is harmful, addictive and can raise the risk of certain cancers. The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here)…

Did Melania Trump, the wife of President-elect Donald Trump, participate in an interview with an alternative health Instagram account, during which she said she uses "moringa powder"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence Melania Trump took part in such an interview. The account that posted this information does not appear to be a news outlet but a business…

Does a video on social media show podcaster Joe Rogan discussing the topic of rat meat supposedly in Chinese food, and how a person might find out about "how to heal the body from the toxins they feed us" in a podcast? No, that's not true: The deepfake detection platform TrueMedia.org determined with 100 percent confidence that the audio in…

Is a video that shows naturopath Barbara O'Neill promoting a remedy for prostate inflammation authentic? No, that's not true: Multiple online AI detectors categorized the video as fake. They reported that the images and audio in this video post were most likely AI-generated. Lead Stories has previously debunked similar claims involving O'Neill, an unregistered health practitioner, and AI-generated video manipulation.…

Does a still image in a video on social media show the daughter of naturopath Barbara O'Neill being sentenced to prison for supposedly revealing "health secrets"? No, that's not true: A tool used to detect AI-generated images found evidence that the image of a woman in an orange prison jumpsuit in a courtroom is not real and was likely created…

Does an authentic video show naturopath Barbara O'Neill recommending oxygen pills for tiredness, as a video on Facebook claims? No, that's not true: This is not an authentic video of O'Neill, but one that appears dubbed. Lead Stories traced the clip shared on Facebook to the original video shared on YouTube. O'Neill did not make the statements expressed in the…

Did controversial naturopath Barbara O'Neill endorse a recipe of thyme oil said to "eliminate 97% of lung tumor cells," as a post on Facebook suggested? No, that's not true: O'Neill is the subject of a fake post on Facebook designed to look as though it belongs to O'Neill. A link in the post's comment section redirects users to an unrelated…