Are U.S. states liquefying "vaccine-murdered people" and spreading them on food crops? No, that's not true: A video claims that a Wisconsin bill is legalizing such actions -- but the legislation does not allow for liquefied remains of "vaccine-murdered people" to be spread on food crops. "There is nothing in the bill that allows that," Michelle Bryant, chief of staff…

Did a computer-generated (CGI) hologram that looked like President Joe Biden appear before a group of reporters and take questions before walking across the lawn and boarding Marine One? And is this the only logical conclusion to explain why Biden's hand appeared to drift through a reporter's microphone in a glitchy way in one recording of the scene? No, that's…

Was rapper NBA YoungBoy found dead in his jail cell? No, that's not true. The claim was made without any documentary evidence or eyewitness proof to support it. The Atlantic Records artist, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, is alive and remains in custody in the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center in Louisiana, the St. Martin Parish sheriff's office confirmed…

Was Joe Biden caught "fake driving"? No, that's not true: Footage from various news organizations show the president in control, behind the wheel, on May 18, 2021, when he test-drove Ford's electric F-150 Lightning pickup. Claims to the contrary are based on illogical leaps from snippets of video. "This rumor is badly misguided," a spokesperson for Ford told Lead Stories.…

Does a video show a real giant creature with glowing eyes in the sky during a thunderstorm? No: the whole thing was created by a video artist who combined footage of a rubber ducky with rainstorm footage and some digital effects in 2018. Since then the video has been endlessly re-used by conspiracy websites and livestreamers looking to create a…

Does this video of coronavirus conspiracist David Martin say that Dr. Anthony Fauci owns a patent on the coronavirus and that his income is 100% dependent on keeping the COVID-19 pandemic going? No, that's not true: Martin makes neither claim in the video. To be clear, Martin is no defender of Fauci or of policies of the Centers for Disease…

Are COVID-19 vaccines self-spreading vaccines? No, that's not true: The shots are not infectious. The COVID-19 vaccines can only enter the body through an administered dose; they can't be passed between people. An example of the claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by Natural News on May 7, 2021. Titled "The Health Ranger warned back in 2012 that…

Did Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), admit to wearing protective masks only for show? No, that's not true: In a televised interview, Fauci stated that because he is fully vaccinated, he feels comfortable in indoor settings without a mask. He said he wore masks indoors to avoid "mixed signals" after being…

Did a soldier come home from deployment with plans to surprise her partner, only to discover that he was seeing another woman? No, that's not true: This contrived "caught on tape" drama is a skit using actors for entertainment and monetization -- it does not represent something which really happened. The video appeared in a post (archived here) published by…

Is a radio host correct in saying the Material Safety Data Sheet for one part of an mRNA vaccine proves there is a poison in the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true. Chemicals in which lipids like SM-102 are maintained before use are removed in the manufacturing process, the way the lye used to preserve cod is removed from…

Did a giant flying saucer hover over a military convoy while a soldier stood guard, seemingly oblivious? No, that's not true: This image was entered in a creative UFO Photoshop contest in December of 2005. It is a doctored composite of several elements including the military convoy, the UFO, the chain link fence and some additional sky to extend the…

Did Dr. Anthony Fauci's "project manager" confess to creating COVID-19? No, that's not true: The claim is based on an old interview with Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a global environmental health organization. The video that purportedly includes his admission only shows Daszak talking about coronavirus research; he says nothing about creating SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.…

Did the White County Sheriff and Beebe Police Department in Arkansas issue an Amber Alert for a kidnapped and missing 8-year-old girl? No, that's not true. A little girl did go missing in the town on May 13, 2021, but she was found "within one hour," and was with a family member, the Beebe Police Department told Lead Stories. An…

Are hundreds of electric cars sitting in a lot near Paris because of failed battery systems and barriers to repair? And are these stockpiled electric cars now leaking battery toxins into the ground? No, that's not true: These photos are authentic but the captions attached to them does not tell the true story of why all these identical cars are…

Did Kit Kat release a diagonally cut, "not straight" candy bar to celebrate Pride Month? No, that's not true: the manufacturers of Kit Kat candy bars (the Hershey Company in the United States and Nestlé around in the world) confirmed with Lead Stories that they have no record of such a product. The claim, which may have originated from a…

Did Joe Biden grope Jen Psaki's breasts? No, that's not true: this is a photoshopped revision of an image that had already been photoshopped. The original photo, from a 2013 holiday party, does not show Biden groping a woman's breasts. The first alteration, debunked by Lead Stories in April 2020, moved Biden's hands from the waist of a reporter to…

Have federal unemployment insurance (UI) rules changed to require recipients to search for jobs starting on June 1, 2021? No, that's not true: although more than half of the country's states have reinstated their job search requirements, a job search is not a national requirement to receive UI benefits. The claim, which did not explicitly state where the specified UI…

Are Turkey and Russia getting ready to attack Israel? No, the claim is purely speculative, not supported by facts or evidence. A video making the claim cites two irrelevant sources: The first is a video in which a narrator reads a news story about Turkey's diplomatic efforts to resolve the mid-May 2021 crisis in the Middle East, but no makes…

Did a doctor prove that transgender girls have no performance advantage over cisgender girls in athletics? No, that's not true: Contrary to the claim in a British website's headline, medical researchers have documented trans women's performance advantage over cisgender women, although the advantage starts to shrink once trans women start taking hormones. There is no peer-reviewed study cited to support…

Are "about 40 To 50% Of CDC, FDA employees" refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Drs. Anthony Fauci and Peter Marks? No, that is not true. Fauci, who is director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Food and Drug Administration officer Marks testified before the U.S. Senate on May 11, 2021, where they were asked how…