Watermelon

Does ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's sell a flavor called "From the River" featuring a Palestinian flag on the packaging? No, that's not true: A viral image which also showed people with "Press" on their clothes carrying watermelons and cameras was generated using artificial intelligence. Ben & Jerry's website featured no such flavor or packaging. The viral image appeared…

Did South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem prohibit sales of sliced watermelons, proclaiming the fruit "antisemitic"? No, that's not true: As of May 2024, no executive action or local bill outlawed the sale of watermelon slices, despite claims in a social media post. The author of the post hinted in later updates that it was meant as satire. The governor's press…

Should cracked watermelon not be eaten because the cracks may be from the plant growth regulator forchlorfenuron, which causes cancer and neurological complications? No, that's not true: The cracks in the flesh of watermelon are caused by poor pollination, a University of Delaware expert told Lead Stories. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says forchlorfenuron is used on grapes and kiwifruits…

Are seedless watermelons genetically modified organism (GMO) products, and are they poisonous? No, that's not true: A representative of Walmart, one of many stores that sell seedless watermelons, told Lead Stories that these claims are false. An article published by Michigan State University reported that "No current seedless plants are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)." Also, a previous Lead Stories fact…

Does a "terminator gene" exist that creates seedless fruits that "sterilize" or cause infertility in humans who consume these fruits? No, that's not true: Multiple professors who study plant genetics told Lead Stories that these claims are false because terminator gene technology was never commercialized and seedless fruits, which are created naturally, are safe for people to eat. The claim…

Can eating grapefruit while on antidepressants cause a fatal overdose? Probably not: Grapefruit can increase, or in some cases decrease, the effect of dozens of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. However, only a few antidepressants are recognized for interacting with grapefruit, and those interactions are not known to cause fatalities. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on…

Did a woman frighten her husband and cause him to have a heart attack by making a likeness of his girlfriend's head and leaving it in their refrigerator? No, that's not true: This unnerving refrigerator photo of an item wrapped with paper printed with a life-size image of a woman's face went viral in early April 2019 without the accompanying…

Do these photos show watermelons with a viral infection that make them dangerous to eat? No, that's not true: These ailments -- ring spot virus and hollow heart disorder -- do not make a watermelon dangerous for people to eat, though a watermelon producer might be upset as it could affect their crop's marketability or quality of the fruit. The…

There is a trending NOT TRUE story stating "Black Donor's Sperm Mistakenly Sent To Neo-Nazi Couple." It's hard to imagine that anyone would actually believe this racist nonsense, but people continue to share the story. The NOT TRUE story comes from a known satire and hoax site but not everyone is aware of that. At least this time the website…