&Quot;National Geographic&Quot;

Is it true that "Yellowstone officials just closed down the park & said the volcanic uplift is rising" on December 18, 2022? No, that's not true: A video that made this claim reused shots from a fictional movie that has been available on YouTube since at least 2021. Officials say the park is open, and the U.S. Geological Survey says…

Did actor Morgan Freeman announce after performing at the 2022 World Cup that he has converted to Islam? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Freeman ever publicly confirmed that he converted to Islam. The claim appeared in a Facebook post published on November 23, 2022. The post's caption read: Morgan freeman converted to islamThe famouse hollywood actor#MorganFreeman…

Did the Smithsonian Institute admit to destroying thousands of giant human skeletons? Did the U.S. Supreme Court order the Smithsonian to release classified documents that would prove this? No, neither are true: A representative for the Smithsonian told Lead Stories that the claim that they've destroyed thousands of giant human skeletons was not true. There are no press releases from…

By Uliana Malashenko and James Rosen Was U.S. citizen Brent Renaud, who was killed March 13 by Russian troops at a checkpoint near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, an American intelligence operative? No, it is not true. The claim was made with no evidence of Renaud's affiliation with the CIA or any other U.S. spy agencies. He was an award-winning…

Does the grid pattern on a seismic activity map indicate the La Palma volcanic eruption and earthquakes are an artificial attack? No, that's not true: The grid effect which appears on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (ESMC) map, showing the seismic activity on the island of La Palma is not the result of a pattern on the ground, but is due…

Is an image appearing to show a giant skeleton being discovered real? No, that's not true: This is a doctored image, and digitally altered photos featuring a giant skeleton have been debunked since 2007. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on July 11, 2012, with the image of what seems to be a giant human skeleton being…

Did mini tsunamis recently hit the resort regions of Spain? No, that's not true on several points. The foreboding clickbait captioning on this video implies that this footage is from an event that just happened -- but it's over a year old. Apparently, the whole video and its thumbnail image have been flipped to make it difficult to identify the…

Does this photo show people praying over, or even "worshipping" a golden, life-sized graven image of former President Donald Trump? No, that's not true: It is an altered photo. The actual photo, taken January 3, 2020, shows a group of Trump supporters, eyes closed with outstretched hands, praying over the actual president at an "Evangelicals for Trump" coalition event in…

Did 19th century industrialist John D. Rockefeller pay scientists at the 1892 Geneva Congress on Organic Nomenclature to have petroleum designated a fossil fuel to make it appear scarce, to drive the price up? No, there's no evidence that he did that: Despite the fact that this allegation has been making the rounds since at least 2015, no one has…

Did National Geographic send a photographer to northern Alaska to capture this photo of the Star of Bethlehem in December of 2020? No, that's not true: This image has been circulating online since at least 2014 and is not credited to National Geographic. It is a screenshot of a 'motion background' stock image titled "North Star Galaxy" available from the…