Is the United Kingdom's current head of state, Charles III, expected not to become the country's crowned king? No, that's not true: Upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, Charles, the prince of Wales, became King Charles III. The clickbait title of a video that suggests otherwise is false and is designed to make…

Did hospitals force the vaccination of millions of children for COVID-19 and are they now trying to normalize a rare side effect? No, that's not true: Hospitals do not have that kind of power and less than a handful of states have mandated COVID shots before kids can attend school. There's also no evidence to suggest that the health care…

Does the U.S. government own or co-own Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, giving it an "ulterior motive" for mandating the shots? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support this claim. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which collaborated with Moderna on the shot, told Lead Stories in a September 28, 2022 email that it "neither owns…

Can high-dose intravenous treatments of vitamin C kill cancer cells and act as an alternative to chemotherapy? No, that's not entirely true: Though preliminary evidence suggests that treatment by intravenous vitamin C (IVC), or ascorbic acid, may boost the effectiveness of cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy and reduce their side effects, there is not enough scientific evidence to…

Did Melania Trump just announce her divorce? No, that's not true: There have not been any public announcements by the former first lady or former President Donald Trump regarding a divorce as of September 27, 2022. No news outlets have reported that Melania Trump made any such announcement. The claim appeared in a video on Facebook on September 24, 2022,…

Are cinnamon and apple cider vinegar "Natural Diabetes Cures"? No, that's not true: Multiple publications report there is not yet a cure for diabetes. And while cinnamon has been shown to help stabilize glucose levels, taking insulin and adjusting to your lifestyle via healthy dieting is ultimately the best way to combat diabetes, a Ph.D. clinical dietician told Lead Stories.…

Did thousands of soldiers deploy on the streets of London, crossing the iconic Tower Bridge in the early hours of September 24, 2022, local time? No, that's not true: Not only were there no news reports of any such deployments in the British capital but the bridge shown in the video does not appear to be Tower Bridge, which has…

Is the U.S. blood supply contaminated by donors who have had the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence that the vaccine enters the bloodstream and Lead Stories spoke to experts who refuted the claim. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on September 23, 2022. It opened: YOU TELL LIES This is what the post…

Are former President Donald Trump and his allies able to "implore" the U.S. military to trigger the Emergency Alert System (EAS), a national public warning system, if they don't like the midterm elections results? No, that's not true: The EAS is used on a state and local level by officials to notify the public about urgent events such as violent…

Did Russian airlines ban men between 18 and 65 years old from buying tickets to other countries in response to the "mobilization" announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21, 2022? No, that's not true: Despite rumors on social media, there was no such ban at the time of writing. However, high prices, a limited number of available destinations…

Was Barron Trump kicked out of school because his tuition had not been paid? No, that's not true: This clickbait title for a video is false. The title's claim is not discussed in the video, which contains a montage of stock photos with a robo voice-over reading articles from a tabloid website. The video was posted on Facebook Watch by…

Did Russians fleeing President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilization of troops for deployment in Ukraine immediately form a "35KM" (about 21.7 miles) line on September 21, 2022 at the Finnish border? No, that's not true: The viral video started circulating online two days before this announcement. According to Finnish officials, border checkpoints saw a slight increase in traffic on September 21,…

Did the death of a child result in a parent's social media offer to give away a Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) game console for free because it painfully reminds them of their loss? No, that's not true: The post is a device used to initiate a scam that Lead Stories has traced to more than 200 nearly identical posts. The…

Did no Republicans thank U.S. President Joe Biden for taking out the leader of Al Qaeda? No, that's not true: Several GOP members of Congress publicly acknowledged Biden for the July 31, 2022 drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda and one of the conspirators behind 9/11. The claim was shared on a…

Did the U.S. military convict and execute Brian Stelter, a former CNN host, on September 20, 2022? No, that's not true: These claims were posted on a satirical website. Lead Stories had already debunked the site's prior claim that Stelter was arrested by the U.S. military on August 30, 2022, which renders this claim even more impossible. Further, the Posse…

Did an internationally recognized legal tribunal go after "Charles Windsor, aka 'King of England'" on September 20, 2022 to hold him accountable for "Crimes against Humanity committed by his parents"? No, that's not true: The "International Common Law Court of Justice" and its "Special Tribunal" do not exist under international law. The claim's assertion that the late Queen Elizabeth II,…

Did CNN or Fox News report about "Two nurses fired after being caught at work"? No, that's not true: CNN or Fox News never published a story with this headline. This post is designed to introduce the name of a website to an audience on social media. Similar tactics have been used to advertise other dating and hook-up sites since…

Was an American flag with no stars behind former President Donald Trump at a rally and does such a flag mean those that refuse to surrender will face "total annihilation"? No, that's not true: The lighting in the image may appear to be obscuring the stars but multiple photographs from news sites and photo agencies from the rally where the…

Does a viral video describing a father's "deathbed confession" prove the U.S. government faked the 1969 moon landing? No, that's not true: There is a significant amount of evidence that NASA landed on the moon and experts Lead Stories spoke with refuted claims suggesting otherwise. In the video, a man who identifies himself as Gene Gilmore (given name Eugene Reuben…

Does a video of a metal spoon being rubbed on a foot reveal a seven-second method to reverse Alzheimer's disease, the most frequent cause of dementia in the U.S.? No, that's not true: The video has nothing to do with a proven medical method to cure Alzheimer's. There is no cure for Alzheimer's, an expert told Lead Stories. The claim…