Fact Check

Did two Ukrainian soldiers driving a vehicle with a Ukrainian flag and a Nazi-style straight-armed cross on the tailgate stop a woman driving on a rural road and argue with her because she spoke Russian -- and then as she and her child became increasingly panicked and cried, did one of the soldiers fire a gun several times in her…

Does a video on social media show NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg faking a visit to the International Space Station (ISS) in front of a green screen? No, that's not true: In the original version of the clip, the narrator never identifies the woman in the video as Nyberg. He calls her Paige. One iteration of the video posted by podcaster…

Are castor oil compresses a proven effective treatment for tumors and breast cancer? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence that suggests castor oil has therapeutic benefits beyond its approved laxative properties. Claims that castor oil compresses cured breast cancer and uterine fibroids, as well as treated tumors, are purely anecdotal stories from a former naturopath barred from…

Do gay men and gay women make up 2 percent of the world's population but commit 45 percent of all sexual assaults against children? No, that's not true: Experts in the field say there is not a greater risk that gay people will be child molesters. Also, 3 percent of people in the world identify as gay, not 2 percent,…

Do viral images of Russian President Vladimir Putin actually show him being arrested? No, that's not true: The "photos" were created by AI-based software, and, as of this writing, Putin is not under arrest, despite a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. The claim appeared in a post published on Facebook on March 26, 2023. It contained a video…

Does a "real tweet" from a Twitter account called "Taliban Public Relations Department, Commentary" proclaim that Afghanistan has the second-largest collection of Humvees behind the United States? No, that's not true: There is no proof that the tweet cited on social media is from the PR arm of the Taliban. Also, another post on the same Twitter account appears to…

Do recently released photos show some inexplicable changes to John Fetterman's appearance -- evidence that a clone has been substituted for the real senator from Pennsylvania? No, that's not true: Fetterman has been out of the public eye in recent weeks since he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression on February 15, 2023.…

Was "Samantha Hyde" positively identified as the suspected shooter in the Nashville Covenant School shooting? No, that's not true: According to local police, it was Audrey Elizabeth Hale. Posts on social media were based on a long-running internet prank that a comedian named Sam Hyde, or some derivation of his name, is named as the suspected gunman by internet trolls…

Did the LGBTQ+-focused dating app Grindr threaten to "reveal every Republican legislator and party official who secretly uses" it, if "Florida doesn't stop passing homophobic and transphobic laws"? No, that's not true: The original wording for the allegation comes from the Twitter account of a satirical website. Grindr also told Lead Stories that it values the privacy of its users.…

Did the World Economic Forum suggest that governments decriminalize bestiality? No, that's not true: The claim came from a story that used a fake screenshot of a non-existent article. No credible source published reports confirming that the statement was made. The claim originated from an article (archived here) published by News Punch on March 1, 2023, under the title: WEF…

Did Pope Francis appear walking on the street wearing a high-fashion white puffer coat? No, that's not true: This image is one of a series of four AI-generated images which were posted on the subreddit forum r/midjourney, "an official subreddit for Midjourney related content." Midjourney is an artificial intelligence program that creates images from natural language prompts. The images were…

Did the military sendoff for Donald Trump on January 20, 2021, and Air Force One's departure at nearly noon that day mean that Trump actually was inaugurated for a second term as president of the United States? No, that's not true: The official archived report from Trump's last day in office shows that Trump left Joint Base Andrews at 9…

Do images circulating on social media show press photos of Anthony Fauci under arrest and in police custody? No, that's not true: Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has not been arrested. These are not photos of a real incident but are images generated by an artificial intelligence program. Jack Posobiec posted the…

Do the photos in a post that purportedly depict the Statue of Liberty in 1898 and 2017 prove that sea levels aren't rising? No, that's not true: Without detailed information about tides and sea conditions at the moment each photo was taken, the photo comparison has little value. An oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provided detailed…

Is Child Protective Services a "for-profit corporation" that has no legal power to make demands or exercise authority "over you and your children"? No, that's not true: No public Child Protective Services (CPS) agency is registered in the U.S. as a for-profit corporation. Federal law gives states the authority to investigate reports about child abuse and neglect and they do…

Do Pfizer documents show that the company's COVID-19 vaccines contain graphene oxide? No, that's not true: The section of the document in question describes a procedure for analyzing a protein sample from the virus under a sophisticated microscope that includes the use of graphene oxide to help with imaging. Graphene oxide is not among the ingredients for the COVID shots.…

Does drinking urine improve eyesight? No, that's not true: A medical doctor told Lead Stories there are no clinical studies concluding that drinking urine would improve one's eyesight. In addition, drinking urine can give the body bacteria like E. coli, salmonella or staphylococcus, a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center article says. The claim appeared in a video on Instagram on…

Did Rep. Lauren Boebert literally mean that banning pistol braces is causing "millions of boating accidents" when she posted a tweet critical of "Biden's ATF rule"? No, that's not true: The term "boating accident" is a well-known in-joke among gun owners. The hypothetical "boating accident" is offered as a tongue-in-cheek explanation to the government for a registered gun that has…

Were Corn Flakes, the cereal product that launched the Kellogg Company, invented to "kill the libido" of patients at a health resort? No, that's not true: Several versions of the Kellogg Company's website attribute the creation of the cereal to an accident. Although John Harvey Kellogg, who is often credited as the creator of the cereal, was known for his…

Did British publisher Robert Maxwell, who owned Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Co. in a joint venture from 1989 until his death in 1991, put false information in American textbooks? No, that's not true: McGraw Hill told Lead Stories that Maxwell exerted no editorial control over the learning materials produced by the company. The claim appeared in a post and video on…