Did a woman frighten her husband and cause him to have a heart attack by making a likeness of his girlfriend's head and leaving it in their refrigerator? No, that's not true: This unnerving refrigerator photo of an item wrapped with paper printed with a life-size image of a woman's face went viral in early April 2019 without the accompanying…

Did a team of all-Black, all-female chess champions get snubbed by mainstream media? No, that's not true: the middle-school-aged team, which competed in 2016, was recognized by both local and national media outlets. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on July 14, 2021. It featured an image of the all-female University Prep Science & Math team…

Is a letter rejecting AARP membership and criticizing President Joe Biden's "Socialist politics" from 2021? No, that's not true: The letter was written in 2009 during the administration of former President Barack Obama. A copy of the letter circulating online in 2021 included language that didn't appear in the original letter, including comments about the "Biden Regime" and "illegal perpetrators,"…

Are all the "I just left the ER...We are officially getting crushed" memes about the COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak part of a fear campaign aimed at the unvaccinated? Not all of them. Some have been altered to refer to a "Ligma" variant, which does not exist. "Ligma" is the set-up for a "knock-knock"-type prank, in which the person who hears…

Is the United States the only country in the world without universal health care? No, that's not true: At least nine other countries did not have viable universal health care as of 2020. The claim appeared as a meme published in a Facebook post (archived here) on July 21, 2021. A makeshift infographic features an image of a primarily gray…

Did Marjorie Taylor Greene say, "Jesus loves the U.S. most, and that is why the Bible is written in English?" No, that's not true: There is no evidence the Republican representative from Georgia ever said that. There is evidence, though, that the quote or variations of it has been around for decades and has been misattributed to mock a range…

Can a rise in COVID-19 variants be determined by "test kits" that don't detect variants? No, that's not true: Routine tests for COVID-19 indicate whether a person is infected by the virus; they don't determine which variants have been detected. However, it's entirely possible to determine which variant caused a person's infection through genomic sequencing tests. The U.S. Centers for…

Was Gloria Steinem the author of a comparison between abortions and buying guns? No, that's not true: Although Steinem posted such a comparison on social media, she noted that she was not the author of the message. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on July 26, 2021. It featured a graphic that read: Brilliant from Gloria…

Did Hermann Goering say that the only reason Nazism worked in Germany was because the government convinced the German people to be afraid? No, that's not true: A history professor says there is no evidence of Goering, a leader in Nazi Germany who was convicted of war crimes, saying this in the official transcripts during the Nuremberg Trials that followed…

Did young males vaccinated against COVID-19 report more myocarditis and pericarditis than expected among their peers? Yes, the early data suggest that is true: Compared to the rate among the population at large, there is evidence suggesting the incidence of these heart inflammation disorders among vaccinated teenage men may be higher than among the population at large. While the number…

Are Internal Revenue Service (IRS) income taxes voluntary? No, that's not true: The duties to file a tax return and pay federal income taxes owed are not voluntary. The requirements are enshrined in the Internal Revenue Code as well as relevant case law. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on March 27, 2021. The title of…

Do the non-vaccinated and people who don't wear masks not get tested for COVID-19 and therefore was the July, 2021 increase in cases faked or from the vaccinated? No, that's not true. There is no proof that unvaccinated people and people who do not wear masks are not getting tested for COVID-19. What there is proof of is that a…

Does Delaware have a "child support card" that controls what mothers can purchase with child support payments? No, that's not true: While Delaware does give a client the option to enroll in its U.S. Bank ReliaCard program (previously the First State Family Card program) to receive child support payments, the card does not restrict choices the user can make. The…

Does Denmark require its citizens to grow field flowers for bees using 5% of the country's land? No, that's not true: Although Denmark has biodiversity measures in place and there are recommendations for measures to help bees, a spokesman for the Danish Agriculture & Food Council said the claim of such a requirement is "not correct." The claim appeared in…

Does this photo show the San Andreas fault? And is the San Andreas Fault 132 kilometers long and 32 kilometers deep? No, none of that is true: This is a photo from a trail in Canyonlands National Park in Utah, not of the San Andreas Fault in California. Also, the San Andreas Fault is more than 800 miles long. The…

Does placing a wet towel near the cutting surface when slicing onions prevent crying by absorbing the irritating enzymes released? No, there is no evidence that this cooking hack works better than any other methods. The reason why slicing onions makes cooks cry is a complicated reaction between various enzymes released from the onion's sliced cells that form to produce…

Do Denzel Washington and Dr. Ben Carson endorse a brain pill that boosts a person's IQ and focus level? No, that's not true: Carson's representative told Lead Stories "he does not take this," and Washington's representative told Lead Stories that claims he is a supporter or spokesperson for a "brain supplement that increases intelligence and ability to focus" are "fake."…

Would Washington state police reforms prevent officers from chasing a violent suspect? No, that's not true. A series of new laws do not prohibit police officers from pursuing a violent criminal even if they didn't witness the initial violent crime. A new law specifically allows peace officers to pursue someone in a vehicle if they are suspected of committing a…

Were Democrats the original "anti-vaxxers" less than a year ago? No, that's not true: Old tape of three Democratic leaders appearing to say they didn't support the COVID-19 vaccine is clipped. Partial footage doesn't tell the whole story. The leaders' full comments made clear they supported the vaccine and would recommend others get it, assuming scientists and public health professionals…

Did a woman's husband break her foot with a baseball bat when he saw what he thought was a snake come out from under the blanket? No, that's not true: These two photos are not related. The photo of a bandaged foot was published in a medical article in 2016; the injured was a man who dropped a cutter on…