Snakes

Did a video show several Black men in Springfield, Ohio, opening a suitcase full of frogs and showing them to the camera? No, that's not true: The video appeared earlier on TikTok with a caption that said it was from a Carnival in Grenada. It likely shows a Jab Jab masquerade where greased-up performers sometimes carry around live animals. Lead…

Did an accident involving a semitrailer transporting venomous snakes release "hundreds" of "deadly snakes" along a highway in Georgia? No, that's not true: The site that published the claim calls itself a "satirical page" and is labeled a "comedian." The image used in the post is from a real traffic accident that occurred in 2024, but it had nothing to…

Did a police department report that an autistic teen named "Ivan Moore" is missing? No, that's not true: The teen shown in social-media images captioned with this name is not urgently sought by any police department. This attention-grabbing narrative is a classic trick to get people to share the missing-child post, which will later be edited to become a scam…

Do photos circulating on social media show a catalytic-converter thief caught in the act in Saint Joseph, Missouri? No, that's not true: These photos were taken in Oldham, on the outskirts of Manchester, England. A Facebook account that tries to recover stolen vehicles in the United Kingdom first posted the photos in 2020 to identify people allegedly stealing catalytic converters…

Is a post about the danger of copperhead snakes that can be detected by their cucumber-like scent a legitimate warning to a community? No, that's not true: This post is part of a well-known scam that functions to trick concerned people to share it. After some time passes, the snake post will be edited to become a real estate scam.…

Was an unidentified young woman robbed, stabbed, and left for dead by the side of the road, and will sharing a post on social media help to identify her? No, that's not true: This post is a fabrication designed to trick people to share the post within their local community. The photo, which appeared in several news articles, actually shows…

Did "Mr. Luke Jones," purportedly a man with dementia, drive away from his home and fail to return, triggering the activation of a silver alert? No, that's not true: No elderly man named Luke Jones is missing at the time of writing. This story is a part of a scam formula that begins with a ruse to entice people to…

Will eating a leaf with chlorophyll provide relief to a person bitten by a venomous snake? No, that's not true: A board-certified emergency medicine toxicologist specializing in herpetology and envenomation (exposure to poison from a bite or sting) treatment told Lead Stories, "Chlorophyll does not neutralize snake venom." A botany expert also told Lead Stories there is "no scientific basis…

Do COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and treatments for the virus come from snake venom and do the vaccines then cause humans to produce venom in their bodies? In addition, is nicotine the "perfect antidote" for COVID, making the vaccines unnecessary? No, none of those things are true: These assertions have no basis in science, infectious disease experts told Lead Stories. The…

Is a "deadly Eastern diamond rattlesnake" actually being found in several locations across the United States that are not known as native habitats for these snakes? No, that's not true: Social media posts that make the claim are repurposing similarly worded posts to carry out a "bait and switch" scam. Social media accounts will make alarming, sensational posts that draw…