International

Does consuming seafood cause the form of cancer called leukemia? No, that's not true: No scientific proof exists that eating seafood causes leukemia, a University of California, Riverside expert, who specializes in the study of how environmental factors cause cancer, told Lead Stories. The Mayo Clinic, a leading medical research institution, does not name seafood as one of the possible…

Does a short video show in reality a lanky extraterrestrial boarding a hovering spaceship in a snowy field before flying away above a Siberian forest? No, that's not true: The animated clip is a cropped version of a science fiction short film that first appeared on social media in early 2018. The claim appeared in a post and video on…

Did it "rain worms" in China in early March 2023? No, that's not true: Two separate botanical experts confirmed individually to Lead Stories that the "worms" reported by some publications and social media users were the result of the annual flower blooms, called catkins, from poplar and other trees found throughout northeastern regions of China. One version of the claim…

Did a study find that men should masturbate 21 times a day to "significantly" reduce the risk of prostate cancer? No, that's not true: A 2016 study that looked into the relationship between ejaculation frequency and prostate cancer made no specific mention of masturbation. It did say its findings show more frequent ejaculations throughout adult life can play a beneficial…

Did Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg say the "world will end in 2023" in a deleted tweet from 2018? No, that's not true: She cited an article authored by another person, using quotation marks, and her tweet did not contain the words the "world will end in 2023." The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by The Post…

Can women get pregnant by sunlight as a result of the process called parthenogenesis? No, that's not true: Mammals, including humans, do not reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Facebook on March 13, 2023. The male host said: Women can do that. They can get pregnant by sunlight. It's called parthenogenesis. The description…

Does a medical case study prove there's a link between the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and a fivefold increase in a cancer biomarker? No, that's not true: The case report looks at one person, a 79-year-old woman with ovarian cancer. It doesn't establish a causal link between the vaccine and the increased level of a biomarker, which are molecules that don't…

Does this article prove a piglet with human features was born between 2015 and March 10, 2023? No, that's not true. The article that reported it relied on the old photos of sculptures created by an Italian artist and provided no other evidence. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by Latedaily.com in the section "Weird & nature"…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin intercept an adrenochrome shipment that was in transit to the United States? No, that's not true: The claim contains a hodgepodge of conspiracy theories and it originated in an outlet known for publishing fictitious "news" stories. The claim originated in an article titled "Putin Intercepts Adrenochrome Shipment Headed to United States," published on February 8,…

Does the caption on a video on social media correctly state that the video shows NATO military equipment arriving in Europe? No, that's not true: These vehicles were preparing to leave Europe. The video shows U.S. Army vehicles from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division staged at the Port of Gdynia, Poland in preparation to being shipped…

Did tech entrepreneur Elon Musk "expose" the professional incompetency of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in a series of tweets on March 2, 2023? No, that's not true: An archived version of Musk's Twitter account does not contain any entries about this. The story appeared in an article (archived here) published on Weveryday.com on March 3, 2023. It opened: Elon Musk…

Did Sarah Ferguson, the host of the Australian daily current affairs news program "7.30," pose several testy and loaded questions to Bill Gates when she interviewed him, resulting in Gates finally declaring, "OK that's enough. This interview is over. Thank you"? No, that's not true: It's a deepfake video circulating on social media. Ferguson did have Gates as a guest…

Is Hungary preparing to prosecute "lifelong Nazi" George Soros? No, that's not true: The claim, posted by a prolific publisher of fake news, is based on a single anonymous source. It repeats the oft-debunked claim that financier and philanthropist Soros was a Nazi. In fact, Soros, who is Jewish, lived through the Nazi occupation of Hungary in 1944-45, when he…

Did Elon Musk ban activist Greta Thunberg from Twitter? No, that's not true: Thunberg's Twitter account is still active. The claim appears in a publication with a disclaimer that its satirical articles are "not meant to be taken seriously" and "We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate." The claim appeared in a…

Are humans never supposed to get sick and does the power of the human mind heal all sickness? No, that's not true: Medical experts have identified several causes of diseases other than human thoughts that affect the human body. The claim appeared in a reel published on Facebook on February 8, 2023. It featured a clip from an interview with…

Are transgender people and gender fluidity "products" of modern Western civilization? No, that's not true: Non-binary gender expression in many communities across the globe throughout history has been documented and researched. Professor Lisa Duggan told Lead Stories that even though people of earlier epochs did not necessarily conceptualize themselves through the optics of present-day terms, the phenomena are not modern…

Are the "Sandford Police" in the U.K. looking for information on the identity of the driver of a red car allegedly committing a "Dangerous Driving offence" by stopping for a three-legged dog crossing the street and having a motorcycle smash into them? No, that's not true: The "Sandford Police" Twitter account that posted the call for information is satirical. The…

Can taking black sesame seeds heal "all chronic illnesses after 100 days"? No, that's not true: There are no cures for many chronic illnesses, from heart disease to cancer to diabetes, and the simple treatment of eating black sesame seeds is not medically proven to heal "all chronic illnesses after 100 days." The claim appeared in a post published on…

Did a 2020 Australian study find dangerous levels of heavy metals in pink Himalayan salt? No, that's not true: Although the study found metal contaminants, all pink salt samples in the study -- with the exception of one, from Peru -- were within safe and allowable limits. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on March 2, 2023.…

Is Migrante rescatado en Frontera N.A. a Facebook page to help search for missing migrants? No, that's not true: The page with over 8,000 followers claims to help families find their missing loved ones on the U.S.-Mexico border. But experts and victims say this page has instead been set up to find families of missing migrants to extort, demanding payment…