Does a form circulating on social media show an official report of the American military describing as unsatisfactory the level of the Ukrainian army's preparedness? No, that's not true: This form, easily downloadable from one of the U.S. Army websites, is not intended to be completed for this type of large-scale assessment -- instead, it is for counselors working with…

Was the second plane to hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, a military plane? No, that's not true: The plane that hit the south tower was United Airlines Flight 175, a commercial plane. The 9/11 Commission Report described "The Hijacking of United 175" with eyewitness accounts including phone calls made from the plane. The claim was inferred…

Was ivermectin "vindicated (again)" in a peer-reviewed study that showed a 92% reduction in COVID-19 mortality? No, that's not true: The claims about ivermectin were published on an "open science" site where scientists may share findings before they have been vetted by independent experts. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not authorized the use of the anti-parasite drug…

Is it true that Walmart doesn't pay taxes? No, that's not true: In 2022 Walmart paid nearly $4.76 billion in income taxes as recorded on the annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The claim appeared originally during an episode of the Sarah Silverman podcast (at 15:46 minutes in) that was posted on YouTube on August 19,…

Did the RCMP announce Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson were shot after they refused to surrender to them, and did police find antifa flags in their vehicle? No,that's not true: As of early September 5, 2022, the suspects of the September 4, 2022, stabbings that left 10 people dead in the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan remained on the…

Did President Trump extend his power as president by law on January 6, 2021, and is the National Guard activated to Federal Duty and in complete control? No, that's not true: There is no constitutional authority under which a president can extend his legal authority past the end of his term. Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president…

Did NASA stop investigating the deepest layers of the world's oceans 34 years ago? No, that's not true: NASA's main exploration ventures are in space, but, according to the agency's website, it still explores the ocean, too. A claim asserting that NASA has stopped its oceanographic work appeared in an Instagram video on August 30, 2022. The video appears to…

Were mental health professionals at the Wisconsin Pride festival in August of 2022 "just handing out" letters declaring patients' readiness for gender affirmation surgery? No, that's not true: letters were not handed out. A photograph of a booth at the Magic Pride Festival in Madison offering free "Letters of Readiness," service is real. But, the letters were not handed out…

Is it illegal for anyone under 21 to buy whipped cream in New York? No, that's not true: A 2021 law made it illegal for minors to buy whipped cream chargers, not whipped cream, according to both the text of the law and the law's sponsor. The claim appeared in a Facebook post published by "Chicks On The Right" on…

Is Starbucks "going cashless" regarding payment options for customers as of August 2022? No, that's not true: The article seen in this particular post that includes comments made by the Starbucks CEO fails to disclose that the cashless option was concerning the 2020 pandemic -- not a permanent change to cashless payments at all Starbucks stores. Starbucks also debunked this…

Are these posts proof that British elementary school students and kindergarteners are being taught to tolerate sexual abuse? No, that's not true: There's no evidence to authenticate pictures of a brochure about strangers who approach, with the brochure saying, "do not call him a pedophile." Posts about the brochure first appeared on a Russian social media platform, citing an un-named…

Is the U.S. Navy ready to deploy a multi-billion-dollar aircraft carrier that can go airborne? No, that's not true: A video that announced supposed U.S. Navy plans to deploy such a carrier used images from the fictional Marvel Cinematic Universe. A U.S. Navy spokesperson told Lead Stories that the video's claim is not accurate. The video (archived here) was published…

Was a young man who was not carrying any identification hit by a car locally, and is the public's help now needed to identify him? No, that's not true: The teen in the photo was involved in a serious crash with a car on June 8, 2022, while he was riding his bicycle in the port town of Grimsby, in…

Does a Facebook video capture a scene showing Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina demanding that FBI Director Christopher Wray disclose the name of the person who ordered the raid of Donald Trump's residence in Florida? No, that's not true: The clip simply doesn't contain the exchange promised in its headline. The claim appeared in a Facebook post published…

Did NATO's most lethal fighter jets arrive in Ukraine? No, that's not true: As a close NATO partner -- but not a member country -- in 2022 Ukraine received non-lethal defensive support in its battle against invading Russian forces, according to NATO's website. The photograph with this claim is from 1998, and is of a partially disassembled F-22 Raptor being…

Did the U.S. military arrest Brian Stelter, a former CNN host, on August 27, 2022? No, that's not true: "This story is completely false," a duty officer at the Pentagon told Lead Stories. The Posse Comitatus Act forbids the U.S. military from arresting citizens. In addition, these claims were posted on a satirical website. The claim appeared in an article…

Does a video show Sen. Ted Cruz telling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi she is guilty? No, that's not true: The video shows a clip of Cruz speaking about various political topics but not about Pelosi. The video's headline does not match the footage. It appears to be clickbait to draw attention to a Facebook page. The claim appeared in a…

Did 44 percent of pregnant women in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine trial have miscarriages? No, that's not true: Author/activist Naomi Wolf incorrectly analyzed public information when making the claim that "out of 50 pregnant women, 22 of them lost their babies." Wolf and two publishers have all retracted the claim, which continued to circulate nonetheless. Jeffrey Morris, professor of biostatistics at…

Does the student loan forgiveness program announced by the Biden administration on August 25, 2022, treat canceled student debt as taxable income? No, that's not true. Although debt cancellation is usually considered taxable, the Biden student debt relief falls under the American Rescue Plan, which exempts most student debt relief from taxation through the end of 2025. The claim appeared…

Did four robots powered by artificial intelligence kill 29 scientists in Japan on August 28, 2022? No, that's not true: This is a 4-year-old hoax with a fluctuating time and place of the purported incident, not backed up by any corroborating reports from credible sources. The current variation includes old shots of two different robots, but neither of them was…