Business

Did Elon Musk offer to pay 100 homeowners to test the "newest technology of solar panels"? No, that's not true: This offer that's too good to be true is a ruse to collect personal information and is not associated with Musk or Tesla in any way. Schemes such as this, involving false solar panel installation promotions in order to generate…

Was human meat discovered in a McDonald's meat factory in Oklahoma City? No, that's not true: The video in this post was taken from a now-defunct satirical website and has been around since at least 2014. The claim resurfaced in a post on TikTok (archived here) on February 27, 2023. The 4-minute-plus video opened: OKLAHOMA CITY First Horse Meat, then…

Is there proof that a Harvard Medical student discovered a "secret mineral" that can help someone lose "52 lbs in 28 Days"? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence for this claim in an online article. The images in the article purporting to show Harvard Medical student "Emily Senstrom," who supposedly discovered the secret mineral, are actually photos…

Was a homeless couple found living in a Walmart's attic with a hot plate, meth lab and 42-inch TV? No, that's not true: This story has been ripped from a fake news website called Now8News and reposted to another fake news website. No other news websites have reported on this event. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published…

Is Elon Musk buying Facebook? No, that's not true: The article saying so has a clear disclaimer at the end that reads, "Recall that this is satire and not actual news." The claim originated in an article (archived here) published by Topad.News24.Info website on February 25, 2023, under the title "Breaking: Elon Musk confirms he's buying Facebook." It opened: We…

Did a teenager named Brandon Smith go missing on February 28, 2023, in multiple American cities simultaneously? No, that's not true: Lead Stories analysis shows that a series of social media posts about a boy and his dog has characteristics of a scam campaign aimed at collecting people's personal information. One of the earliest posts said the youth had gone…

Does the laxative MiraLAX contain ethylene glycol, a chemical commonly used in antifreeze that can be poisonous if ingested? No, that's not true: MiraLAX contains polyethylene glycol, a compound commonly used in medications. Although the two ingredients' names sound similar, they are two entirely different substances. The claim originated in a post shared on Instagram on February 25, 2023 that…

Did Twitter make a rule that users may not display the flag of Ukraine on their profile because it is considered a political statement against Russia? No, that's not true: A post from Walter Report contained a fabricated image which appeared to be a screenshot of a notification from Twitter. A day later, Walter Report published a notice that this…

Does a report assessing the safety of a plant-based meat product made by a company in which Bill Gates has invested prove that meat grown in a laboratory causes cancer in humans? No, that's not true: Since the report doesn't even consider lab-grown meat, it can't prove it's carcinogenic when eaten by people because the two products are not the…

Was there an uptick in industrial fires in the U.S. in early 2023, indicating that the country is "under attack"? No, that's not true: Annually, there are between 2,600 and 3,100 structure fires in industrial properties in the U.S., according to 2016-2020 data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a U.S.-based international fire safety nonprofit. When compared with data…

Can 49 percent of COVID-19 vaccine ingredients produced under emergency use authorization (EUA) be changed without telling the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)? No, that's not true: Even very small changes to a vaccine must be reported to the regulatory agency. A member of the FDA's vaccine advisory panel said such a notion about vaccines could only come from "someone…

Do a paper published in a medical journal and a video based on it prove the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine causes brain and heart damage? No, that's not true: The paper looks at the case of a single elderly man with Parkinson's disease who died weeks after his final vaccination. It doesn't establish a causal link between the vaccine and the…

Does Apple have to pay $700 "to anyone with a slowed-down phone, if they claim it"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Apple has to pay $700 to anyone with a slowed-down iPhone. In 2020, the company settled a lawsuit for $310 million over the sluggish performance of certain older models of iPhones only. The text of…

Did Disney decide to remove Mickey Mouse as the official mascot in 2024 because the famous mouse's copyright is going to expire -- and will the purple dragon Figment take Mickey's place? No, that's not true: The claim, along with a digitally edited photo, originated on a satire website called mousetrapnews.com that specializes in fake stories about Disney parks. Clear…

Did members of the U.S. Marine Corps kill FBI agents at an electrical substation in Meridian, Idaho, on February 12, 2023, Super Bowl Sunday? No, that's not true: The claim was made by Real Raw News, an online publication that repeatedly publishes fake news stories. The claim originated in an article (archived here) published by Real Raw News on February…

Did the U.S. military arrest vaccine scientist Richard Tillyer for "accessory to mass murder and negligent homicide" in regards to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: The U.S. military does not have the authority to arrest civilians outside of certain circumstances authorized by an act of Congress. The claim was made on Real Raw News, a website that publishes…

Did the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shut down access to a website that showed a real map of "how far the deadly plume from East Palestine, OH had traveled by Feb. 8," as podcast host Stew Peters claimed? No, that's not true: As of February 17, 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hysplit Model website, which displays…

Did Walmart sell eggs for "illegal prices" and are $500 store credits being given to customers to "make it up"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Walmart sold eggs at illegally high prices nor is there any evidence of consumers being able to get $500 in store credit from the world's largest retailer as compensation. The claim…

Did KFC tweet for Black History Month a photo of a chicken drumstick in front of a drumstick shadow that looks like a raised fist? No, that's not true: KFC's U.S. corporate account never posted this image, which has been altered. The Instagram account for KFC Trinidad and Tobago, part of the restaurant's international franchise network, tweeted the image in…

Does a picture circulating on social media prove that Pfizer has a patent "for tracking vaccinated humans worldwide via microwave and graphene"? No, that's not true: The pictured document is not a Pfizer patent and it does not mention graphene or microwaves. Pfizer's office of media relations confirmed to Lead Stories that Pfizer has nothing to do with the patent,…