Technology

Are aborted fetal cells added to artificial flavors in food products? No, that's not true: The false claim mis-states the use of HEK 293 cells in taste research by the Senomyx company, which was purchased by Firmenich, a Swiss flavor and fragrance company, in 2018. "Neither Firmenich products nor Senomyx products have ever contained any human cell or material," Firmenich…

Were "electrically charged rocks" discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2023? No, that's not true: No such discovery had been formally announced in the scientific community as of this publication, and a geology expert told Lead Stories that there are no known minerals "that produce electricity naturally without adding energy to the system." The rock in the…

Was Andrew Tate found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in prison as of January 24, 2023? No, that's not true: The former kickboxing champion and internet influencer remained in detention as of January 24, 2023, but had not been tried, convicted or sentenced. He was arrested in late 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and participating in organized…

Was New York bombed on or directly before January 22, 2023, and was there an exclusive video of the attack on a Telegram channel? No, that's not true: The attack referenced in the claim is from 2017. The prompt to visit a specific Telegram channel to watch a video of the supposed attack seems to be a ploy to get…

Did the Chinese military equip its soldiers with self-destruct helmets? No, that's not true: There's no evidence from the Chinese government or from official Chinese state media that members of the military are being given helmets with that feature. The claim appeared in a video on YouTube (archived here) published by Roman Balmakov, a reporter for The Epoch Times, on…

Does a recent Facebook Reel accurately depict devastating damage from a 2023 plane crash? No, that's not true: This footage is from the set of director Steven Spielberg's 2005 movie "War of the Worlds." A twin-engine ATR 72 airplane crashed in Nepal on January 15, 2023, but the plane seen in the Reel is a 747. The location of the…

Did President Joe Biden propose a ban on gas stoves? No, that's not true: He is against the idea of a future ban on gas stoves, a White House spokesperson has said. A Consumer Product Safety commissioner said gas stoves posed a "hidden hazard," but clarified that he meant regulations would only apply to future products. The claim appeared on…

Did Microsoft founder Bill Gates tweet about forcing COVID-19 vaccinations on people by injecting mRNA into their food supply? No, that's not true: A search of Gates' Twitter account reveals the tweet is fake. The claim appeared in an article published by NewsPunch on January 10, 2023, titled "Bill Gates Vows To Pump mRNA Into Food Supply To 'Force-Jab' the…

Has NASA footage of a spaceship 3,200 kilometers (1,988 miles) long been recently released by a NASA engineer turned whistleblower? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that a spacecraft of this size followed the Apollo 13 mission to the moon and back. The UFO claims made by Bob Dean, who died in 2018 and was never a NASA…

Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admit that COVID-19 vaccines were created as part of a "depopulation kill plan"? No, that's not true: The CDC has never described COVID vaccine programs as a "depopulation plan." There is no record of the health agency having made this statement, and an article claiming as much did not cite any…

Is the World Economic Forum (WEF) or its founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab, planning a major cyberattack that would effectively shut down "our society as a whole"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the WEF or Schwab have such a scheme in the works. The allegation, which was widely circulating on social media in early 2023,…

Did a YouTube video reveal that Elon Musk bought the search engine giant Google? No, that's not true: The video has a clickbait title, offers no details of a sale and appeared on a YouTube channel that admits its videos are fictional and have no connection to Musk. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has no record that Google, a…

Are there massive hidden structures located below Antarctica, hiding a "lost city unlike any other"? No, that's not true: There is no written record, geological or archeological evidence to prove that there are hidden structures or a lost city underneath Antarctica. Images shared in an article published by TheDailyWorld.NET are either altered versions of authentic photographs or scenes from the…

Does the word "coronavirus" mean "heart attack virus" in Latin? No, that's not true: A translation shown in a video circulating on social media relied on the intentional misspelling of the word, which triggered Google Translate glitches. The claim appeared in a video published on Instagram on January 7, 2023. The caption said: @ericmoutsos_ if #you #go to #god #forsaken…

Did Alyssa Milano's "temper tantrum" over Elon Musk cost her $13 million? No, that's not true: This satirical article was published by a website connected to the satire network, America's Last Line of Defense, which clearly identifies its content as untrue and not to be taken seriously. The story appeared in an article published by dunning-kruger-times.com on January 8, 2023,…

Is the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) introducing plastic as a new food group for Americans? No, that's not true: An FDA spokesperson told Lead Stories, "This claim is false." The video that makes the claim appears to be connected to an article from The Seekonk Reporter, a satirical news site. The claim appeared in a video of B-roll footage…

Did Romanian authorities free social-media influencer Andrew Tate from jail two days after arresting him in connection with human-trafficking charges? No, that's not true: A spokeswoman for Romanian law enforcement told Lead Stories that, as of January 3, 2023, Tate remained behind bars. Tate's attorney confirmed that status. The claim appeared in a Facebook video post on December 31, 2022.…

Do COVID-19 vaccines contain an "HIV protein" that is causing "vaccine AIDS," resulting in an increase in people "showing up HIV-positive"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to suggest COVID mRNA vaccines currently available in the U.S. contain an HIV protein. Neither of the ingredient lists for the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty or the Moderna Spikevax COVID vaccines contain an…

Does a NASA photograph show a "perfectly built" pyramid located on the surface of Mars? No, that's not true: A photo shared on Facebook in December 2022 said to show a pyramid on Mars is a digitally altered image using actual NASA photos, with an Egyptian pyramid added. An Egyptologist told Lead Stories that the top image in the post…

Did Max Loughan, a 13-year-old who gained fame in 2016 for creating an "energy harvesting device," disappear for "about six years"? No, that's not true: There's no evidence that Loughan was or is missing or hiding. A video posted by his school, Tahoe Expedition Academy, shows him giving his senior passage presentation in 2021, and his school also posted an…