Did World Economic Forum (WEF) Chairman Klaus Schwab suffer a second heart attack? No, that's not true: A WEF press spokesman denied the claim and confirmed that Schwab is in "good health." The claim appeared in a Twitter post (archived here) on December 1, 2022. It opened: 🚨BREAKING: Hearing *unconfirmed* reports via Continental Telegraph that Klaus Schwab has suffered a…

Do COVID-19 nasal test swabs contain both lithium and DARPA hydrogel that allow recipients to be remotely controlled? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told Lead Stories that nasal swabs used to test for COVID do not contain lithium or hydrogel from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The claim appeared in a TikTok video…

Does the movie "Died Suddenly" demonstrate that COVID-19 vaccinations cause widespread sudden death or severe medical outcomes? No, that's not true: The film recycles previously debunked claims that the vaccine is lethal or dangerous for the average person receiving it. More than 5.45 billion people have been vaccinated worldwide and public health experts recommend immunization against the virus, saying it…

Did Canada or the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario -- a Canadian professional medical association -- "mandate psychiatric medication for those that refuse mRNA injections or any kind of vaccination"? No, that's not true: The official websites of the governments of Canada and the province of Ontario don't mention anything similar as of November 22, 2022. The spokesperson…

Did billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates tell the world leaders gathered at the November 2022 Group of 20 (G-20) summit that "death panels" will soon be required? No, that's not true: Gates did not attend the conference in Indonesia, and his remarks about health care that included the words "death panels" were made in 2010. The claim appeared in a story…

Did Maricopa County, Arizona ballots make a stop with no observers at "Runbeck Printing Company" to be sorted before they were sent to the county for counting? No, that's not true: The claim was made without direct evidence. Maricopa County's spokesperson said bipartisan teams of election workers took sealed envelope packets to Runbeck Election Services, where envelope signatures are scanned…

Did "Jacinta Ardern", the prime minister of New Zealand, threaten to put mRNA vaccines in the water supply if enough people did not take the shot? No, that's not true: This claim originated in late January 2022 with an image of a made-up news article that was never published. Although that false image has been debunked, the rumor that Ardern…

Is Seattle billionaire Bill Gates now chairman of the Maricopa County, Arizona Board of Supervisors? No, that's not true: A representative for Maricopa County told Lead Stories that a different Bill Gates serves Maricopa County. Gates the billionaire and villain of many conspiracy theories, is a longtime resident of Seattle, where the company he co-founded, Microsoft, is headquartered. The claim…

Were Dominion Voting System tabulators the machines that caused problems in Maricopa County, Arizona on Election Day, November 8, 2022? No, that's not true: "Runbeck is our printer vendor," Maricopa County Elections Department Communications Director Megan Gilberston told Lead Stories. "It was not the Dominion Voting System tabulators." Runbeck Election Services, Inc.'s spokesperson confirmed to Lead Stories that it had…

Does a viral video prove that the founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, and other speakers at WEF events planned to establish the "new world order" and "microchip human race"? No, that's not true: The heavily edited social media clip only shows short soundbites taken out of context, which alters the meaning of the speeches. The claim appeared…