Is monkeypox the same thing as modern-day leprosy or the condition mentioned in the Bible? No, neither is true: Whether using the biblical or today's medical definition, leprosy is very different from monkeypox. "In ancient times, leprosy was a 'catchall' term for any disease that particularly affected the skin," according to The Leprosy Mission International. In an email to Lead…

Is an online video advertisement showing women rapidly losing weight due to wearing a piece of jewelry realistic? No, that's not true: This is a misleading ad. A bariatric surgeon who also serves as a spokesperson for The Obesity Society (TOS) told Lead Stories, "There is no scientific evidence to prove that anything you wear will help achieve any meaningful…

Was George Soros banned from Hungary, his birth country? No, that's not true: According to a communications director at the Open Society Foundations, where George Soros is the founder and the chair, as of this writing he has not been banned from Hungary. The claim appeared in a Facebook post with a video on August 3, 2022, under the title…

Did Amazon's Alexa offer this reply: "Joe Biden died in National Naval Medical Center" when asked: "Where did Joe Biden fall off his bicycle?" Yes, for several days in late July 2022, Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa responded to that specific question with a perplexing answer. But President Joe Biden did not die in July 2022. He fell off his bicycle…

Was President Joe Biden caught in a child predator sting by NBC "Dateline" host Chris Hansen and a decoy pretending to be a 13-year-old girl? No, that's not true: This video mashup uses clips from two unrelated videos that were filmed more than a decade apart to fabricate a dialogue. Some of the footage is from a 2007 "Dateline" segment…

Is this picture an accurate depiction of former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: This picture has been widened to make it look as if Trump has gained weight. The true picture, credited to Getty Images, is not as wide and features Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the personal banker to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. The claim appeared in a…

Is it fact that viruses have never been isolated and there is no measles virus? No, that's not true: Scientists first isolated a virus in the 1890s. And a Persian doctor published written accounts about measles disease in the late 800s. In 1912, measles became a "nationally notifiable disease" in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control…

Did the U.S. president announce a program giving "Health Credits" to anyone making under $50,000 a year? No, that's not true: This claim does not contain any proof of the purported program, and government resources do not show any information detailing any such program as of this writing. The claim originated from a Facebook post published on July 30, 2022,…

Did the U.S. military arrest Avril Haines, the director of National Intelligence, on August 2, 2022? No, that's not true: A duty officer at the Pentagon told Lead Stories that this claim was "false." The claim is not corrobrated by contemporaneous reports from reputable media outlets that Haines has been arrested. The U.S. military is not allowed to arrest civilians…

Was a DNA test ordered to "determine male or female prison" professional basketball player Brittany Griner would be placed in while imprisoned in Russia? No, that's not true: There have been no reports in any reputable media that a DNA test was ordered for Griner at any time since she has been in Russia. There is no corroboration of the…

Is there still a mystery surrounding the bright red glow under the clouds seen by a pilot flying over the north Pacific Ocean? No, that's not true: Pilot Dustin Maggard spotted the red glow on July 16, 2022. Although there was initially some question about what caused the glow, experts verified that there were commercial fishing boats in the area…

Did a study find potentially disease-causing bacteria and fungi on face masks? Yes, that's true, but the study's authors only made one recommendation based on their findings and that was for immunocompromised people to avoid repeated use of masks to prevent infections. In an email to Lead Stories, study author Ah-Mee Park, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology…

Are Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) weather cameras offline along the entire coastline of the lower 48 states? No, that's not true: In an email to Lead Stories, the FAA said it has no weather camera systems in those areas. Hundreds of sites are operational as part of the agency's weather camera program. More than 200 cameras are being used in…

Does a video shared on Facebook and YouTube show a guesthouse of the Russian ministry of defense under attack? No, that's not true: The clip reuses shots of a fire in a Moscow residential building that took place more than a week earlier, and there is no evidence it has ever been used by the Russian military as a guesthouse.…

Is there a program approved by "the authorities" offering up to $150,000 in benefits to U.S. citizens? No, that's not true: The claim is one of the many posts on social media that falsely insinuate that people can receive government-approved benefits, illustrated with public-domain images from government chambers. In reality, the "benefits" are just an advertising strategy. The claim was…

Did rainwater collected in a man's backyard show dangerously high levels of barium in lab test results conducted for a 2007 TV station investigation about "chemtrails"? No, that's not true: The lab results for the test sample did not show an unsafe level of barium. The reporter made an error converting the units of measure used in the lab report…

Do election ballots have serial numbers to protect against voter fraud? Yes, that's true, but those numbers are removed during processing to protect the identity of the voter. In an email to Lead Stories, Christopher B. Mann, an associate professor of political science at Skidmore College in New York, said, "Putting serial numbers on ballots is a good idea that…

Is monkeypox an airborne disease that causes paralysis? No, that's not true: While its transmission might occur during prolonged face-to-face contact, the particles do not stay in the air for long and thus it cannot be classified as an airborne disease, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) says. Experts interviewed by Lead Stories said that monkeypox has been…

Did the Facebook page Tiny House give away a home to "everyone who shared and signed 'Done' before August 5rd [sic] at 6pm"? No, that's not true: The real owners of the home have told Lead Stories that the owners of this Facebook page do not own this house and it's not in their possession. A separate Facebook user wrote…

Did COVID vaccine trials skip animal testing and go straight to people because all the animals were dying? No, that's not true: In an email to Lead Stories, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said, "The claim is completely false. All authorized and approved COVID-19 vaccines underwent animal studies." The claim appeared in an Instagram post and video on…