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Did several videos in countries around the world accurately show that tiny sharp nails or pins were in medicine capsules sealed in tamper-evident blister packs? No, that's not true: In February 2021 several videos circulated on the internet showing adulterated medicine capsules. The medicines pictured, from different manufacturers, have limited distribution in several different countries. Aside from the suspicious videos…

Does a viral clip show protesters attacking what is described as "one of the HAARP platforms in Brazil"? No, that's not true: The footage in question portrays an unrelated local protest in Brazil. The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is based in Alaska, and no credible sources reported an attack on HAARP in April 2023. HAARP doesn't have any…

Does a viral snapshot of a poster portray authentic recruiting efforts of Ukraine to encourage the homeless and welfare recipients in the United States to join the fight against Russia? No, that's not true: The rumor was promoted by Kremlin-affiliated entities citing unidentified and unconfirmed social media posts. The Ukrainian Embassy in the United States denied the country's involvement in…

Did Volodymyr Zelenskyy announce that he would "no longer take a call from Xi Jinping?" No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the Ukrainian president made the comment about Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Lead Stories previously debunked another made-up quote from the same Twitter account. The claim appeared as a post published on Twitter on April 6, 2023…

Did Ukraine stage war scenes to boost the morale of its soldiers at the frontlines by exaggerating their success? No, that's not true: A clip used as "proof" by social media users actually shows backstage footage from a real movie set located outside Ukraine. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on April 4, 2023. It said: Ukrainian…

Did White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre say that the United States is "deeply concerned" about China and Brazil switching to national currencies when conducting business with each other? No, that's not true: A search of sections of the White House website covering "Statements and Releases" and "Press Briefings" produced no such statements by Jean-Pierre or any other White House…

Is the Federal Reserve's FedNow service now the primary form of currency in the United States? No, that's not true: FedNow is just an instant payment system and will not change the currency infrastructure in the United States. Rather, the service will make it easier to transfer money between entities and financial institutions. The claim appeared in a video (archived…

Can women get pregnant by sunlight as a result of the process called parthenogenesis? No, that's not true: Mammals, including humans, do not reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Facebook on March 13, 2023. The male host said: Women can do that. They can get pregnant by sunlight. It's called parthenogenesis. The description…

Will FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football Association) keep Pele's feet in its museum? No, that's not true: A FIFA spokesperson who replied to a Lead Stories query by email on January 5, 2023, said, "We completely refute this claim." The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on January 3, 2023. The tweet's text, under adjacent photos of…

Did Brazilian soccer fans throw projectiles at the Brazilian soccer team coming home from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? No, that's not true: The video on which this claim is based dates from 2018, and shows protesters throwing projectiles at a bus that they believed was part of the 2018 presidential campaign of former Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula…