Did the queen "surprise everyone by declaring new king and queen"? No, that's not true: Queen Elizabeth, the 96-year-old British monarch, has not decided that her son Charles and his wife Camilla will be skipped over in favor of Prince William and Kate Middleton becoming the next king and queen of England. Queen Elizabeth issued a statement declaring the exact…

Are the ingredients put in vaccines toxic to people? No, that's not true: Before a vaccine is licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended for use by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) it's tested and evaluated in labs. While there are substances used in the production of the shots that are toxic to humans,…

Did U.S. military "White Hats" arrest Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on April 26, 2022? No, that's not true: The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Secretary of Defense told Lead Stories that Vilsack was not arrested. Vilsack also made public appearances on the day of the alleged arrest and in the days afterward. The only source…

Was Great Britain's Prince Charles "rush towards hospital" and was his wife, Camilla, not showing any "signs of improvement at all" following her COVID-19 infection? No, that's not true: The royal heir to the throne had not been rushed to any hospital as of May 2, 2022. Prince Charles has not been hospitalized in recent weeks or months, as a…

Was the "Ghost of Kyiv" identified after dying in battle? No, that's not true: The Ghost of Kyiv is not a real person. The mythical aviator "embodies the collective spirit of" Ukrainian pilots, according to the Twitter account of the Ukrainian air force. The Ghost of Kyiv has been both a rallying point and a source of pride for the…

Does this video show the moon eclipsing the sun over the North Pole at "the border of Russia and Canada"? No, that's not true: A NASA spokesperson told Lead Stories that this video "isn't showing a real phenomenon." This footage is from a computer-generated image (CGI) video created by a Ukrainian digital artist. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived…

Did an email about "otherkin" -- nonhuman entities in human bodies -- being integrated into Kokomo High School get leaked to the public? No, that's not true: This email is fake and did not come from the school but from a Facebook page called The Kokomo Press. A representative for the school in Kokomo, Indiana told Lead Stories that an…

Did Donald Trump issue a statement on his "Save America" letterhead that encouraged "all the Great MAGA Patriots" to boycott the midterm elections in November? No, that's not true: According to Trump's chief spokeswoman, that April 27, 2022, statement is fake. The fabricated statement appears to have originated from The Halfway Post, a Twitter account that describes itself as liberal…

Was a video recently leaked showing U.S. Marines and an international team of scientists on an Antarctic expedition to investigate three ancient pyramids, and did they explore inside the pyramids after they lost contact with their base? No, that's not true: This claim has two elements, the question of pyramids in Antarctica and the images of a mysterious military operation.…

Did England's National Health Service confirm that only 5,155 people have died of COVID-19 in England since the beginning of the pandemic? No, that's not true: As of April 28, 2022, the death toll for the pandemic was more than 161,000, according to the U.K. government's coronavirus website. The U.K. Office of National Statistics says COVID deaths are cases where…

Did "the same system" determinine that Johnny Depp's defamation lawsuit could be live-streamed while the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was not broadcast? No, that's not true: There are different media rules for different types of courts. The trial of Maxwell, now a convicted child sex trafficker, was in a federal court in Manhattan, while Depp's defamation lawsuit took place in…

Did the government of Hawaii announce that it is "importing 174 adult saltwater crocodiles from Australia" to reduce the number of shark attacks? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources told Lead Stories that such a claim is "totally false." Also, the claim came from a self-described entertainment website. The claim appeared…

Does a keto diet alleviate "the issue" with the spike protein in the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: The spike protein in the COVID shot is not something to avoid. It's a desirable thing. An infectious disease expert from the University of Nebraska Medical Center says, "We actually WANT spike protein to be produced, so that your body will…

Does frankincense oil treat cancer? No, there's no evidence to support that: While some lab studies have shown that frankincense oil will cause cell suicide in cancer cells, there is no evidence that it can treat cancer in a human body. Australia's Cancer.org says there are a small number of studies that show that frankincense oil has an effect on…

Was there a child sex trafficking ring run by "high-ranking 'Establishment' members" that was linked to the "Franklin scandal" in Omaha, Nebraska? No, that's not true: The Franklin scandal, which consisted of rumors and statements from alleged victims that credit union funds were used to finance a child sex trafficking ring, was investigated by state and federal officials and deemed…

Did Queen Elizabeth II award the honors of Knight Bachelor to a cat named Ruben? No, that's not true: This post was made on April Fools' Day 2022. The original photo from October 10, 2019, was digitally altered to replace stage actor Sir Simon Russell Beale with a cat. The claim that a cat had been awarded honors by Queen…

Is Snickers removing the "beloved 'dick vein'" from their candy bars? No, that's not true: Snickers said on Twitter, "THE VEINS REMAIN!" The edited image is a spoof of Fox News Channel TV host Tucker Carlson and cancel culture. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on April 24, 2022, under the title "He's just mad cause he…

Did several Drug Enforcement Administration agents accept the assistance of two men they pulled over who were in a purportedly stolen vehicle to then go into the woods and bust an active drug-cooking operation? No, that's not true: This video depicts a fictional scenario, one of a series made by video creator PhilTheThrill. The video was published on Facebook by…

Did American food processing facilities mysteriously and suspiciously begin to catch fire after President Joe Biden predicted that there could be real food shortages due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine? No, that's not true: Several incidents on a list of food processing facilities where incidents have occurred predate Biden's comments on food shortages and also predate Russia's invasion. Some…

Do social media posts show Russian agents arresting neo-Nazis for an assassination plot and then displaying their confiscated property? Maybe, it's not clear what the images show: A video of the purported raid was released by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that included still images of what its agents allegedly found. The "evidence" displayed was staged in such a way…