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Did apricot seeds cure a man's cancer? No, that's not true: The New York City man, Jason Vale, is again in legal trouble, accused of peddling a bogus cancer cure. Medical experts say the seeds contain a compound that is converted into cyanide, which could be lethal if consumed. The story appears to have originated from a meme (archived here)…

Have scientists issued a warning against use of canola oil with studies that show it causes brain damage, dementia, and weight gain? No, that's not true: There are no scientific studies supporting the claim and medical websites, including the Mayo Clinic and the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, recommend use of canola oil and dispel health concerns. The false claim is…

Did 12,000 doctors urge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to put cancer warnings on cheese? No, that's not true: The vegan advocacy group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed a petition asking the FDA to put a warning on cheese packages that "dairy cheese contains reproductive hormones that may increase breast cancer mortality risk." While the group claims…

Did an experienced butcher admit that "When we see cancer in the pork, we just cut it and still sell it to customers"? No, that's not true: The only sourcing for the claim is a tweet from a self-described vegan that included a meme featuring an anonymous quote along with a photo of a cut of meat with an unidentified…

Did a dog fall into a Florida canal and almost drown before a dolphin rescued it, as pictured in this story? No, that's not true: The image purportedly of a brown dog riding on the back of a dolphin is from a short film titled "Zeus and Roxanne," which was created by a Dutch filmmaker. There was a doberman named…

Is cancer caused by acidity in the body and can you prevent cancer by alkalizing your body? No, that's not true: The claim is a medical myth that has been repeatedly shot down by cancer experts. While it is true that cancer cells cannot survive in a high-alkaline environment, neither can any of your body's cells. If you raised your…

Can you do sixteen easy tests at home to check if your food is "real or fake"? No, that's not true: a viral video making that claim seems to be based mostly on examples from China or India and several of the "tests" are not adequately explained making the results useless. There are some bits of real advice in there…

Did Pepsi admit that its soda contains cancer-causing ingredients? No, that's not true: The drink company settled a legal dispute with a health group in September 2015 by agreeing to change its manufacturing process to reduce the level of a questionable chemical, but it did not admit the chemical was a cancer-causing ingredient. The story originated in 2016 in several…

Did neuroscientists claim forgetfulness is a sign of extraordinary intelligence? No, that's not true: an article cribbing from an old CNN report about a scientific paper added a headline with a hyperbolic claim that does not match what the paper actually says. The claim recently went viral through an article published on March 12, 2019 published by Healthy Food House…

A video/infographic on the Facebook page of David "Advocado" Wolfe claims that sugar is eight times more addictive than cocaine and quotes "Dr. Mark Hyman" as saying "And What's interesting is while cocaine and heroin activate only one spot for pleasure in the brain, sugar lights up the brain like a pinball machine." The pinball machine quote is not even…