Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Did Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. post on X he could bench Ukrainian President Zelenskyy with one hand? No, that's not true: The message originated on an unaffiliated X account that says it posts "commentary", not on Kennedy's own account. The bio section of the account that posted the message says it has "no affiliation…

Is a study that claims vaccinated children have a 170 percent higher risk of autism reliable? No, that's not true: An infectious disease expert told Lead Stories the study is "just junk," saying the journal it was published in and the study design both lack credibility. Numerous large studies have found no proven link between vaccines and autism. The claim…

Does a genuine U.S. government document show that Rafael Cruz, Sen. Ted Cruz's father, was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy? No, that's not true: The document is fake. The real record contains a report from Swiss police regarding Lee Harvey Oswald's plan to study at a school in Switzerland. The document appeared in a post (archived…

Did Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speak at length about a cure for diabetes on the Joe Rogan podcast? No, that's not true: While this video footage originated from episode #1999 of the "Joe Rogan Experience," a fake audio track mimicking Kennedy's distinctive voice has been added. The topic of diabetes did come up, but the podcast transcript does not match…

Did a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study find that children who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are more likely to get infected than those who are unvaccinated? No, that's not true: The study of children aged six months to four years found there was not a big difference in infection rates, especially for those who hadn't had COVID…

Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s only stated position on vaccines that they should be studied "like any other pharmaceutical product" as a social media post claims? No, that's not true: In 2023, Kennedy said, "There's no vaccine that is ... safe and effective," and he has a long history of questioning vaccine safety and suggesting links between vaccines, autism and…

Did Dr. Anthony Fauci ever say that 72 mandatory childhood vaccines were never safety tested? No, that's not true: Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Lead Stories, "This claim is not true." Vaccines are carefully tested in multiple stages of clinical trials to ensure they are safe and effective before being approved…

Were COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by military contractors rather than by Pfizer and Moderna? No, that's not true: FDA inspection records show the vaccines were made in drug industry labs. Pfizer pointed Lead Stories to publicly available documents about its facilities in Belgium, Germany and at least two locations in the U.S., including Kalamazoo, Michigan. Under Operation Warp Speed, the government…

Did President-elect Donald Trump release a statement ordering the Dallas police to prepare to make an arrest over John F. Kennedy's assassination? No, that's not true: The image that mimics a Trump/Vance Transition press release is fake. A search of Trump's Truth Social account did not find any matching statement. There are no credible news reports of him ordering the…

Did Joe Rogan say "he will not be voting for Trump after having him on the podcast"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories reviewed Rogan's podcasts and public statements in the days after Donald Trump's appearance. Neither subsequent episodes of Rogan's podcast, his social media accounts nor credible news reports included any statements by Rogan that he had decided not…