Did conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweet "next Joe Biden is gonna tell me how long my pubes have to be"? No, that's not true. A tweet allegedly by Shapiro that claimed he "doesn't have any pubes yet" is a fake satirical message. The claim appeared as an Instagram post on October 19, 2021. It opens: Next Joe Biden is gonna…

Did a Harvard study show that a large number of countries and U.S. counties with high vaccination rates may have higher rates of COVID-19 infection than places with low vaccination rates, and is the vaccination rate the cause? No, that's not true: A letter to the editor written by Harvard professor S.V. Subramanian and a high school student was posted…

Does every peer-reviewed study in existence suggest that being infected with COVID-19 builds stronger immunity to the delta variant than does vaccination? No, that's not true: Conclusions drawn from research into COVID immunity differ, depending on the methods, population tested and other variables. Though infection can yield some degree of immunity, medical professionals emphasize that vaccination cuts the risk of…

Is trisodium phosphate, an inorganic compound utilized as a cleaner among other uses, unsafe to eat as an ingredient in Lucky Charms cereal? No, that's not true: While the compound is an ingredient in the cereal, it essentially works as a salt and is fine as a food additive. The Food and Drug Administration has given trisodium phosphate the regulatory…

Have cancer cases increased from 1 in 20 people in the early 1900s to 1 in 3 people, according to the latest available data? It depends: While there does not appear to be widespread cancer data from the early 1900s for comparison, the current probability of cancer varies by geographical area. In addition, cancer-detection technology has radically changed since 1900,…

Did the Canadian government ban its employees from using the phrase "Let's Go Brandon"? No, that's not true: The document seen online is not from the Canadian government agency mentioned in the document; it is a fake email that someone created. A spokesperson from the agency, Shared Services Canada, told Lead Stories that this document was not issued by them…

Did this video prove its claim that the proposed oral COVID drug called molnupiravir is poisonous and causes cancer and mutations? No, that's not true: There's no credible and peer-reviewed lab or clinical data supplied, and the publicly-available evidence does not support the claims. The claims originated in an October 10, 2021, video (archived here) posted to BitChute by the…

Are Facebook's independent fact-checking partners funded by vaccine makers? No, that's not true. While one of the 10 U.S. Facebook fact checkers discloses that one of its 2021 grants comes from a foundation whose stock-holdings include vaccine-maker Johnson & Johnson, vaccine makers do not fund fact checkers and have no control over fact checkers' writings. The grant in question, from…

Did U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg pose for a photo wearing a breastfeeding device? No, that's not true: This image seen in the top portion of this meme has been digitally altered using photo-editing tools. The actual person's face, modeled in a blog for mothers, was replaced with a professional headshot of Buttigieg. The image appeared in a meme…

Were "50,000 secret USA troops" just deputized by Donald Trump? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that any service members have been deputized by former President Donald Trump and made "Federal Marshals." A parody Twitter account made the original claim and used non-related social media posts to make the false connection. Trump is no longer the commander in…