Did "United States Special Forces" raid a "regime warehouse filled with drug shortage" medicine headed to Ukraine? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories this article "is false." The article is also located on a website that regularly publishes fabricated content. The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on May 14, 2023,…

Does a study reveal that disposable face masks are the cause of the high levels of microplastics found in human lungs? No, that's not true: Contrary to a headline about the study, the study never mentions disposable masks as a cause of the microplastics detected in human lung samples. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram on…

Is an image showing a baby whose lower body resembles that of a fish legitimate? No, that's not true: The original image actually shows a baby girl born with a rare condition that fused her legs together. However, her legs did not look like a fish or mermaid tail as the fraudulent image presents. The claim appeared in a post…

Did NATO sign a written agreement not to expand eastwards after the fall of the Soviet Union? No, that's not true: On its website, NATO refutes the claim, and even Russia -- which historically argued that it was offered verbal guarantees -- did not take it as far as stating that such a formal agreement was signed in the aftermath…

Does solely maintaining a healthy liver prevent the spread of any cancer in the human body? No, that's not true: A Harvard Cancer Center professor of medical oncology told Lead Stories that this claim is "entirely false." Also, the woman making this claim is an unregistered naturopathic practitioner who has been publicly barred from practicing medicine by Australian health officials…

Does a video that shows a long queue for charging Tesla vehicles indicate some sort of government failure? No, that's misleading: The earliest version of this video was reportedly shot over Thanksgiving in 2019. Charging station locations have expanded since then. The claim, which has been made on other platforms, reappeared in a post on Instagram on April 6, 2023.…

Is a photograph of what appears to be a woman with a tail an authentic record of a real appendage, providing support for claims about the origins of white people? No, that's not true: The image was digitally edited and is a work of art. It doesn't support this conspiracy theory. The photo appeared in a video (archived here) on…

Was Shirley Caesar, a Grammy award-winning gospel singer and celebrated pastor, deceased as of May 9, 2023? No, that's not true: Caesar made at least one public appearance after May 9, 2023. There is also no indication that her health was failing at the time of writing. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on YouTube on May…

Junsik Jung is a Seoul-based freelance writer and fact-checker. He is currently studying journalism at Yonsei University. Previously he worked as an intern at CNN Seoul and wrote for various publications as a student reporter, ranging from the school newspaper to The Hankyoreh. When not working on a factcheck he can usually be found reading the news or playing a…

Did Anheuser-Busch blame Elon Musk for a decline in sales in April and May 2023? No, that's not true: The article attached to this post was originally published on a website that says its satirical articles are "not meant to be taken seriously." There are also no corporate statements or credible independent reporting that support the claim. The claim appeared…