Does data pulled from the Adverse Event Reporting System and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System prove that COVID-19 vaccines have caused more than 1.4 million adverse events and over 32,000 deaths as of November 25, 2022? No, that's not true: The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, known as VAERS, is a government database of negative health reactions to vaccines…

Does a viral video show proof that the U.S. national debt was paid off in 2017? No, that's not true: The U.S. Treasury website shows the current U.S. national debt, which is about $33.7 trillion, a number accepted by U.S. financial markets, independent economists and the Federal Reserve Bank. The video relies on paperwork that has nothing to do with…

Does the Fair Credit Reporting Act allow anyone to permanently remove anything hurting their credit report? No, that's not true: Consumers have the right to dispute inaccurate information, but there is no new provision that allows a customer or company acting on their behalf to remove accurate but negative information from a credit report. The FCRA, which was passed in…

Is the U.S. government planning to order young women to enlist in the military? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, November 17, 2023, there is no plan afoot to draft women, a Defense Department spokesperson told Lead Stories. There is currently no draft -- there hasn't been since 1973 -- and the law requires that only men…

Does a video on Facebook show singer Cardi B. endorsing a "health spending card" from the U.S. government? No, that's not true: The footage of music artist Belcalis Almanzar-Cephus comes from a video in which she promoted a "holiday drink" she had made; not a health spending card. The U.S. government has denounced as scams any "spending cards" supposedly issued…

Did House Speaker Mike Johnson say that "homosexual relationships" were "more satisfying than hetero relationships"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Johnson ever publicly made that statement. The fake quote may have been inspired by an opinion column Johnson wrote in 2004 that supported a same-sex marriage ban in Louisiana, his home state. The claim appeared in…

Did Indian billionaire and businessman N.R. Narayana Murthy endorse a quantum computing software that uses quantum AI to trade stocks? No, that's not true: A fake voice has been used in a video on social media to make it appear Murthy made this endorsement. Lead Stories could not find any evidence to substantiate that Murthy made these statements. We also…

Did the Ministry of Health in Gaza announce that all the ICU patients at the Al Shifa hospital had died in mid-November 2023 because of Israeli bombardments and cutting off electricity as well as blocking supplies? No, that's not true: Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila misstated at a November 11, 2023, news briefing that all 39 babies at the hospital…

Does a compilation of gun camera clips show Israeli Apache helicopters firing on civilians who were running from the Supernova music festival during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023? No, that's not true: Independent investigators with GeoConfirmed identified locations in the footage near one of the Gaza border fence breaches several miles away from the location of the music…

Did music artist Carrie Underwood cancel all remaining shows with music artist Garth Brooks, saying she "didn't enjoy the booing"? No, that's not true: This claim appeared in an article on a satirical website known for publishing fabricated content. That website has a disclaimer that reads, "Everything on this website is fiction." The claim appeared in an article published by…