Did police in Germany arrest YouTuber Dr. Andreas Noack for speaking out against the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic? No, that's not true: Local police in the state of Bavaria confirmed that a raid took place, but said it was not directed at Noack. The chief prosecutor's office, the Generalstaatsanwaltschaft in Berlin, confirmed that the house search was part…

Did the Denver Broncos sign Colin Kaepernick to play quarterback on Sunday, November 29, 2020, after all of the team's quarterbacks were ordered into quarantine for COVID-19 exposure? No, that's not true: The same NFL COVID-19 protocols that benched all four of Denver's quarterbacks would also prevent Kaepernick from suiting up on short notice to play in the Bronco's game…

Do masks, gloves, vaccines, and synthetic handsoaps suppress human immune systems? No, that's not true: Public health experts and medical research say the opposite is the case and the claims were made with no evidence in a meme that spread to hundreds of thousands of Instagram users in the midst of a COVID-19 surge that saw more than 160,000 new…

Does medical research show COVID-19 is not transmitted in the air and that infection risk is unaffected by distance? No, neither claim is true: The claims ignore the accumulating recent evidence that airborne coronavirus is the major mode of infection. The claims ignore scientists' peer-reviewed conclusions -- which are based on what the full universe of study data show --…

Is it true the lethality of COVID-19 is being overblown by government mortality data, and was a Johns Hopkins University student paper censored when it posted a story about that claim? No, that is not true. There is no evidence that official COVID-19 death tallies have hidden some other cause of unexpected deaths in 2020. The student paper's retracted article…

Is it true that Pfizer's vaccine candidate to battle COVID-19 is made and stored in such a way that scores of people could be severely sickened or even killed by its use? No, that is a conspiracy theory not supported by scientific studies. According to vaccine experts and literature, the use of PEG -- polyethylene glycol --- in Pfizer's potential…

Do many studies find that cloth masks don't stop viruses like COVID? No, that's not true: An article making that claim does not cite any recent or specific studies showing masks don't work. To the contrary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites several studies as the basis for recommending the "community use of masks, specifically non-valved multi-layer cloth…

Did Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf finalize and issue on October 27, 2020, a list of 13 rules for Thanksgiving household visits? No, that's not true: The document offered in support of the claim is not an official state document. It is designed to resemble the format of PDF files that could be downloaded from an official state website, but no…

Has Pennsylvania banned alcohol? No, that's not true, with one specific and limited exception: State officials banned the sales of alcohol for on-site consumption in bars and restaurants from 5 p.m. Thanksgiving-eve to Thanksgiving morning at 8 a.m. to discourage large crowds during a rise in COVID-19 cases. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) where it was…

Are vaccines definitively linked to autism? No, that's not true: While some people believe this to be the case -- and are spreading their belief online in advance of release of vaccines to battle COVID-19 -- it remains just that, belief. Peer-reviewed and replicated medical research shows no causation between vaccines and autism. There is also no evidence that a…

Is it true ages and pre-existing medical conditions for U.S. residents who died from COVID-19 are not available? No, that's not true: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website shows ages, additional medical conditions and other data for people who have died from COVID-19. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook on November…

Is Canadian pathologist Dr. Roger Hodkinson correct when he asserts that COVID-19 is "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting public" and "just another bad flu"? No, neither of those claims is true: Data from the CDC show that COVID-19 deaths so far in the United States are four times greater than the highest level of deaths reported each…

Is it true that the U.S. government has "never forced anyone to stop smoking" to save lives? No, that's not true: There are many places where smoking is prohibited to preserve the health of others. The claims appeared from a post (archived here) where it was published by singer-songwriter Ted Nugent on November 13, 2020, with the caption "lyin scammin…

Was Dr. Anthony Fauci indicted for treason, conspiring with the enemy and fraud? No, that's not true. A video posted by David Zublick on his "Truth Unsealed" Facebook page in May 2020 has gone viral, claiming that Fauci was indicted for crimes including "treason, conspiring with the enemy and fraud." Fauci has not been indicted. There are no court documents…

Did a Danish study show mask-wearing has a statistically insignificant impact on COVID-19 infection and "basically doesn't do a damn thing"? No, that's not true: Both the study authors and an editorial in the journal where it was published clearly point out the study was designed to test if recommendations to wear a mask outside the home reduced infection-catching, but…

Does the first study of an effective COVID-19 vaccine show that it only reduces symptoms without stopping transmission? No, that's not true: The transmission part of the study is not complete, so it's too soon to say, either way. But, among infectious diseases that spread person-to-person, this would be the only vaccine that didn't both prevent infection of the vaccinated…

Has it been confirmed that cells from an aborted male fetus are in the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: AstraZeneca's ChAdOx1 vaccine candidate has been tested using MRC-5 cells, which are replications of lung tissue cells taken from an aborted male fetus in 1966, but there is no evidence that the cells are in the vaccine itself. MRC-5 cells…

Did Ticketmaster announce a plan for mandatory COVID-19 vaccine ID to attend concerts or other live events? No, that's not true: Ticketmaster, and other companies, have been working to design systems to safeguard fan safety at local venues holding live events. This plan is not finished, but some of the logistics were discussed in a Billboard Magazine article. The proposed…

Did HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson announce that he is treating his COVID-19 with oleander? No, he didn't "announce" it, but he did confirm to Lead Stories that oleander, an extract for the leaves of oleander trees, is one of the "therapeutics" he is taking. The secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who is also a retired neurosurgeon, confirmed to…

Was the COVID-19 pandemic pre-planned with help from billionaire Bill Gates and have the illnesses associated with it been spread by 5G technology? No, that's not true: The claims made in the "Covid-19 Genocide of 2020" video are a rehash of conspiracy myths previously debunked by Lead Stories and other fact checkers. The claims originated in a video of an…