Was the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on abortion only passed because Norma McCorvey, who was called "Jane Roe" during the case, had lied about her pregnancy being caused by rape? No, that's not true: The question of how McCorvey had become pregnant was not a factor in the Supreme Court decision. According to 1987 reporting by UPI, Sarah Weddington,…

Are Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events of special interest? No, that's not true: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in an email to Lead Stories that the vaccines meet the agency's rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. In addition, the authors of this study created their…

Is the Apple logo honoring Alan Turing, whose theoretical work led to the computer and died, possibly by suicide, after eating an apple that may have been poisoned? No, that's not true: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs denied it, saying, "It isn't true, but God we wish it were!" The designer of the logo gave an interview in 2009 where he…

Should people who are pregnant take herbs such as pennyroyal, black cohosh, blue cohosh and parsley in order to miscarry? No, that's not true: While there are studies that suggest some herbs can cause complications during pregnancy, many health organizations assert that they are less effective, ineffective or dangerous if trying to end a pregnancy. In the United States, approved…

Was Moscow blown up by rockets? No, that's not true: Video posted in support of the claim actually shows footage from a Russian airstrike on a mall in central Ukraine. The claim appeared in a Facebook post on June 28, 2022. It includes a roughly 12-minute video and a caption that reads: KREMLIN Electricity is Under Attack! PUTIN Panics When…

Do a new study and Pfizer documents prove COVID-19 vaccination will cause mass depopulation through infertility and premature death? No, that's not true: The shot temporarily lowers sperm count, much the same as after a "simple viral infection," according to Itai Gat, one of the authors of a study published June 17, 2022, that looked into the connection. The Centers…

Did a Russian missile do a complete U-turn and return to strike the troops who fired it? No, that's not true: This missile launch was a failure, but the missile did not return precisely to the site of its launch. It exploded in a field nearby. The angle of one video makes it appear that the missile doubled back to…

Is this video of the Russian warship, Moskva -- the English-letter spelling of the Russian term for Moscow -- sinking in April 2022 after an ammunition explosion while being towed back to Sevastopol, a major maritime port in the Black Sea? No, that's not true: This video offers no evidence that it is. It's actually a video of the USS…

Is the government sending letters to farmers offering them "$3,800 an acre to dispose of their crops"? No, that's not true: An official of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) told Lead Stories that this claim is false as "there is no such program at USDA." Lead Stories has also debunked variations of this claim since at least 2021. These…

Do "trans kids" not exist in the "rest of the world" outside the United States or only in "certain countries"? No, that's not true: There have been multiple news reports about transgender children around the globe, from Japan to South Africa to Colombia and more. The United Nations runs an international campaign that began in India to "raise awareness among…