Fact Check

Do gene editing mRNA vaccine patent holders own vaccinated people outright once injected, and does mRNA alter natural human DNA? No, that's not true: A Stanford University professor of law specializing in bioethics told Lead Stories that these claims are "too absurd even to be wrong." Also, many credible medical organizations have debunked the claim that mRNA vaccines alter the…

Did British naturalist Charles Darwin, best known for his contributions to the evolutionary theory in biology, who died in 1882, predict "the rise of The Woke," a modern-day slang term frequently used by the opponents of those raising awareness of social and racial issues? No, that's not true. Lead Stories performed numerous searches on Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yandex and Google…

Does the laxative MiraLAX contain ethylene glycol, a chemical commonly used in antifreeze that can be poisonous if ingested? No, that's not true: MiraLAX contains polyethylene glycol, a compound commonly used in medications. Although the two ingredients' names sound similar, they are two entirely different substances. The claim originated in a post shared on Instagram on February 25, 2023 that…

Is the man presented as "John Fetterman's doctor" in a post about the U.S. senator's condition a doctor? No, that's not true: He is porn actor Jonny Sins and the post is the latest version of spoofs in which Sins, who plays a doctor in films, is presented as an actual medical doctor. The claim, along with a photo of…

Is Bill Gates engineering a seed that "will target Black people" and possibly kill them? No, that's not true: A video making that claim offers no evidence that Gates is producing a seed for plants that can attack the immune system of Black people and thereby kill them. According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the…

Does a line graph in a peer-reviewed medical study published by The Lancet show that the oral anti-COVID-19 medication Paxlovid starts working before the patient ingests it? No, that's not true: The lead author of the study told Lead Stories that blue and orange lines on the graph start at zero, which is the origin of the graph's X-axis (horizontal…

Did Twitter make a rule that users may not display the flag of Ukraine on their profile because it is considered a political statement against Russia? No, that's not true: A post from Walter Report contained a fabricated image which appeared to be a screenshot of a notification from Twitter. A day later, Walter Report published a notice that this…

Was Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the first time 100,000 troops had invaded another country since World War II? No, that's not true: There are many examples of military forces totaling more than 100,000 invading other countries since the end of the Second World War in 1945. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted…

Was a 19-year-old girl in Texas sentenced to "96 years in prison" after traveling across state lines to gain access to an abortion procedure? No, that's not true: The social media account that shared this post is a satirical one. Furthermore, Texas law enforcement officials did not publicly announce such an arrest and conviction, and no reputable media outlet covered…

Can the Alaska-based HAARP project, a former military research facility for studying the ionosphere, remotely initiate natural disasters such as earthquakes anywhere on Earth? No, that's not true: An "explanation" of its purported capabilities to manufacture disasters, posted on social media, contradicts well-established scientific facts. The manager of the HAARP project told Lead Stories that the facility "cannot create or…

Did the word "horizon" come from the word "horizontal," and is this evidence that the Earth must be flat? No, that's not true: The word "horizon" came first, and the adjective "horizontal" followed. The adjective describes something "relating to or near the horizon." The word "horizon" originated from the ancient Greek term "ὁρίζων κύκλος" (horízōn kýklos), which means "separating (or…

Did a dog in Pennsylvania test positive for exposure to vinyl chloride, a chemical that officials have confirmed has leaked from the train derailment site near East Palestine, Ohio? No, that's not true: In an interview with Lead Stories, the veterinarian who treated the dog confirmed that, as of February 23, 2023, no test is available to determine whether a…

Does a report assessing the safety of a plant-based meat product made by a company in which Bill Gates has invested prove that meat grown in a laboratory causes cancer in humans? No, that's not true: Since the report doesn't even consider lab-grown meat, it can't prove it's carcinogenic when eaten by people because the two products are not the…

Will the "15-minute city" require residents to carry permits for more than 15 minutes of travel, track "in real time" their carbon footprints and block violators of city rules from accessing "daily activities"? No, that's not true: The 15-minute city, an urban model in which everyone living in a city would be within a 15-minute walk or bike ride of…

Was there an uptick in industrial fires in the U.S. in early 2023, indicating that the country is "under attack"? No, that's not true: Annually, there are between 2,600 and 3,100 structure fires in industrial properties in the U.S., according to 2016-2020 data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a U.S.-based international fire safety nonprofit. When compared with data…

Can 49 percent of COVID-19 vaccine ingredients produced under emergency use authorization (EUA) be changed without telling the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)? No, that's not true: Even very small changes to a vaccine must be reported to the regulatory agency. A member of the FDA's vaccine advisory panel said such a notion about vaccines could only come from "someone…

Did Pope Francis say that pedophiles have a special place in heaven? No, that's not true: There is no record of Pope Francis saying that, as an article in NewsPunch claims. Other quotes in this article are real quotes from the pope that were taken out of context and their meaning reversed. The article was published by NewsPunch on February…

Do cholesterol-lowering drugs, also known as statins, cause Alzheimer's disease (AD)? No, that's not true: A neurologist told Lead Stories there is no truth to this claim and such statements "are not based on any scientific data or valid understanding of the disease." Furthermore, modern scientific literature largely suggests that statins may actually play a role in the prevention of…

Was Andrew Tate, who was arrested in late 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and participating in organized crime, released as of February 22, 2023? No, that's not true: The former kickboxing champion and internet influencer remains behind bars after a Romanian court ruled to extend his detention by another 30 days, according to Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for…

Did an aerial video capture a deep and wide chasm in the Earth's crust in southern Turkey's Hatay province, part of the area hit by earthquakes in early February 2023? No, that's not true: This video footage does not show earthquake fault lines in Turkey. It shows China's Loess Plateau, which is a drainage basin for the Yellow River. The…