Did President Joe Biden not go to Dover Air Force Base (AFB) on August 29, 2021, to attend the dignified transfer of the remains of service members killed in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport in Afghanistan? No, that's not true: A spokesperson from Mortuary Affairs at Dover AFB told Lead Stories that "President Biden was here" for the transfer…

Did a photo circulating online show the servicemen killed in Afghanistan in August 2021? No, that's not true: The men shown in this photo were killed in a military plane crash in Mississippi in 2017. The claim was in a Facebook post (archived here) published on August 27, 2021. It reads: FRIDAY AUGUST 27TH 2K21 NEVER FORGET...........A Salute to our…

Does the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hand over all its testing of new drugs to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and does that put Dr. Anthony Fauci's wife, NIH chief of bioethics Christine Grady, in a position to somehow benefit her husband by determining which drugs and vaccines are approved for use? No, that's not always true: Pharmaceutical…

Did the U.S. government fail to lower flags to half-mast in honor of the Marines who lost their lives in the August 2021 bombing at Kabul airport? No, that's not true: The claim was made without supporting evidence and President Joe Biden issued a proclamation ordering the flags to be flown at half-staff on August 26, 2021. Lead Stories staff…

Does a video of Indian soldiers rendering aid to other soldiers who have collapsed show a strong connection to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: This video appears to show the first aid care rendered during a mass heat stroke incident involving a reconnaissance troop competition among soldiers of the Indian Army. The soldiers were competing on a hot…

Does a video posted on Twitter show footage of a suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan that killed more than 170 people including 13 U.S. service members? No, that's not true: The footage is from an Israeli airstrike that targeted Hamas days earlier. The claim appeared in a tweet published on August 26, 2021. The text of the…

Did German film director Werner Herzog say, "Dear America: You are waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that 1/3 of your people would kill another 1/3, while 1/3 watches"? No, that's not true: The quote originated on a parody Twitter account called @WernerTwertzog, which emulates the existentialist aphorisms and dark humor for which Herzog is known. Werner…

Was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's younger brother arrested on charges of sexual conduct with a minor? No, that's not true: The Montreal Police Department told Lead Stories they had "no file" on Alexandre Trudeau. The website that posted the story has a history of publishing false stories. The claim appeared as an article by The Conservative Beaver on August…

Have no politicians died from COVID-19? No, that's not true: Various politicians have died from the disease, both in the United States and around the world. They are not immune. Among the politicians who have died are Herman Cain, a former presidential candidate; Ron Wright, a congressman from Texas, and Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Colombia's defense minister. The claim appeared in…

Does a photo show hundreds of coffins delivered by FEMA stacked on a Georgia roadside because "something is brewing"? No, that's not true: The photo shows plastic burial vaults produced by a Covington, Georgia, manufacturer. The location has been used for years as an outdoor storage area for the vaults, which have been sold to individuals who don't need them…

Did CNN publish an article describing a 40-year-old COVID-19 victim's sentiments toward unvaccinated people? No, that's not true: The satirical story about a severely obese woman who was vaccinated and is now dying from COVID-19 was not published by CNN. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) published on August 26, 2021. It featured what appeared to be…

Does this picture, with dust rising and a jet's wing in the foreground, capture the August 26, 2021, explosion at the Kabul airport? No, that's not true: The picture in the screenshot below was taken on August 16, 2021, by a photographer for Agence France-Presse. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on August 26, 2021. It…

Are cigarettes approved by the FDA? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration does not "approve" tobacco products, but it does regulate the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of tobacco products. There is a difference between regulating a product and approving it for use. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here), published on August 24, 2021, with…

Did Nazi Germany concentration camps sterilize prisoners with fluoridated water? No, that's not true: This is a recycled conspiracy theory, and an expert in this field told Lead Stories it didn't happen. In addition, water fluoridation has been deemed safe for the past 75 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The claim appeared in an…

Does an online course completion certificate qualify a person to obtain a concealed carry permit in a specific state mentioned in a targeted ad campaign? That's frequently not true: Individual state laws on carrying concealed weapons vary greatly. Some states do not require a permit to carry a concealed firearm, some states issue a permit but do not have a…

Does a study say fully vaccinated health care workers carry 251 times the viral load of unvaccinated and pose a threat to unvaccinated patients and co-workers? No, that's not true: This is a distortion of what the published paper actually says. The paper studied vaccinated health care workers who were infected with COVID-19 in June 2021 versus health care workers…

Could Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' fortune be divided amongst all earthlings, netting each of us $1 billion and leaving Bezos still wealthy? No, that's not true: Assuming it could all be reduced to cash, Bezos' net worth distributed equally to every person on Earth would yield about $27 per person. The meme making the math-illiterate $1 billion-per-person claim appears to…

Do seven well-known agencies and pharmaceutical companies listed in a social media post not require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19? Partially, that claim is true: but the list lacks context. The agencies and organizations listed all have COVID prevention protocols in place, and some are requiring vaccinations for their employees currently or will in the near future. The…

Does an opinion column in The Pulse accurately characterize the fatality risk COVID poses and does it correctly describe what is shown by data in the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)? No, that's not true: Without noting that COVID-19 is an unusually contagious infection, the article greatly de-emphasizes the risk of COVID to communities, while grossly overstating the proof…

Is Bill Gates on trial before a military tribunal on charges of trafficking children? No, that's not true: A duty officer at the Pentagon told Lead Stories: "No." And Gates has been active on social media during the time of the supposed tribunal. The story originated from a Real Raw News article published on August 23, 2021, titled, "Bill Gates…