Did Bill Gates say that he has a company trying to make a coronavirus outbreak and that they were successful? No, that's not true: This video is an altered fabrication. While Gates did say these words and phrases in an interview, several short snippets were taken out of context and spliced together to produce a fake quote. The original Marques…

Are thrombosis deaths in the United Kingdom 500% to 600% greater than in any of the last 14 years? No, that's not true: The UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS) says there's no evidence of an increase in thrombosis deaths in 2021. In addition, a funeral director making the claim provides no evidence to support his assertion that he says…

Did White House press secretary Jen Psaki imply that the Biden administration was interested in suppressing people's ability to "exercise their fundamental rights"? No, that's not true: When Psaki said the administration was "looking at efforts across the country to prevent people from being able to exercise their fundamental rights," an instagram video took that out of context to suggest…

Does this video show German farmers and truckers heading out to an anti-vaccine mandate demonstration? If you thought this had something to do with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, that's not true: This video shows a tractor parade protest in Schwerin, Germany, staged by farmers who object to a land ordinance that would regulate how much fertilizer they could use and…

Did Dr. Sherri Tenpenny make a case that the COVID-19 pandemic, treatments and mitigation efforts are a global government plot to kill people -- a "democide" -- or a plot to transform people into genetically modified "transhumans" who are externally controlled and without God? No, that's not true: The controversial osteopathic medical doctor, marketer and evangelist from Ohio repeated many…

Are leaders including billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates; Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID); and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), facing the death penalty in a legitimate court of law? No, that's not true: The leaders have been the target of several conspiracy theories since the start of the…

Do data from England and Wales show teens vaccinated for COVID-19 are three times more likely to die than unvaccinated teens? No, that's not true: The United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics (ONS) says the information lacks context and doesn't take into account clinically vulnerable children. In addition, the office says, there's "no evidence in the ONS mortality data to…

Is ivermectin "effective" against the omicron variant of COVID-19 in Phase 3 clinical trials? No, that hasn't been proven: The incorrect information comes from a January 31, 2022, Reuters story that was later updated by the news organization. The original story misstated that ivermectin was "effective" against omicron in Phase 3 clinical trials, which are conducted in humans. The story…

Did Department of Defense (DOD) "whistleblowers" reveal what a headline claims were "mind-blowing COVID-19 vaccine injury numbers"? Yes, they did, but their figures were based on a comparison with what the Pentagon says were under-reported medical data from years preceding COVID-19 vaccines. A Pentagon spokesperson says the data has been taken "offline to identify and correct the root-cause of the…

Are doctors in Western countries being arrested for prescribing ivermectin? No, that's not true: Representatives of the American Medical Association, the Federation of State Medical Boards and Health Canada said they knew of no health professionals who had been arrested for authorizing the use of the antiparasitic medication, which has been promoted by the anti-vaccination movement as a treatment for…

Did the so-called "Freedom Convoy" of Canadian truckers who were primarily protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates make it into the Guinness World Records book for "longest convoy?" No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Guinness World Records told Lead Stories that the convoy was not an official attempt to break such a record. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on…

Are Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Pearl Jam and Dave Grohl all removing their music from Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young? No, that's not true: Only Joni Mitchell actually did remove her music from the music streaming service in support of Young and his protest against Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan spreading COVID-19 misinformation. The rest on the list still have their…

Do COVID-19 vaccines cause patients to suffer by triggering them to produce spike proteins throughout the body, including the brain, lung, heart, bone marrow and reproductive organs? No, that's not true: The claim was made without citation to peer-reviewed, independently confirmed research, raw data or checkable specific examples. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared the vaccines…

Are remotely detonated graphene bubbles exploding like bombs in the bodies of COVID vaccine recipients, causing Marburg/hemorrhagic fever-like symptoms? No, that's not true: COVID-19 vaccines do not contain graphene oxide and therefore "bubbles" of graphene cannot be remotely detonated inside an individual to trigger an explosion that would cause internal bleeding, which would then be blamed on Marburg virus and…

Did a U.S. Navy pilot have to eject themselves from an aircraft before a crash caused by their reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine booster? No, that's not true: Although a Navy pilot was involved in an incident with a fighter jet that caused them to eject themselves from the aircraft, a Navy spokesperson told Lead Stories that the cause of…

Are vaccine-makers Moderna and Pfizer not mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for their employees? No, that's not true: Since August 2021, Moderna and Pfizer have had COVID vaccine requirements in place for their U.S. workers. Medical and religious accommodations are available on an individual basis. The Pfizer mandate also extends to its contractors. The claims appeared in multiple social media posts…

Did Alberta, Canada inadvertently publish, then quickly delete health data exposing that more than half of vaccinated deaths had been counted as unvaccinated? No, that's not true: A spokeswoman for the government of Canada said the claim misrepresents a routine data update on the government website, which regularly changes as new statistics reports are completed. The claim appeared in an…

Do COVID-19 vaccines for children fail risk/benefit analysis, permanently damaging children's brains and reproductive systems to prevent a harmless infection? No, that's not true: The claim is made without scientific evidence to support it and in the face of data showing some children are killed and seriously sickened by COVID. Meanwhile, the consensus of published, peer-reviewed and field tested expert…

Did the number of COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths in Taiwan eclipse the cumulative death toll from the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself? No, that's not true: There is no data to support the contention that the vaccines are more deadly than COVID. Cumulative deaths did rise after the country launched a vaccination program, but Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control has not investigated nor…

Are COVID-19 vaccines "dangerous and ineffective" and do they "need to be withdrawn from the market"? No, that's not true: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the vaccines are "safe and effective." More than 535 million doses of COVID vaccines have been administered in the United States since December 2020. Serious adverse events are rare, and reports of…