Did Facebook change its hate speech policy to forbid posts that say, "Let's go, Brandon"? No, that's not true: The post that made the claim is from an account that clearly states it produces satire and the account posted a message saying it was just a joke. The phrase "Let's go, Brandon" has become a veiled way for conservatives to…

Did the U.S. Army Delta Force raid a storage facility on October 18, 2021? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such a raid occurred and the claim was published on a known fake news website. The claim appeared as an article (archived here) published by Real Raw News on October 21, 2021, titled "Delta Force Raids Adrenochrome…

Did John Gruden make statements about poor kids, people with Indian accents and the "first mainstream African-American"? No, that's not true: Four statements attributed to ex-NFL football coach John Gruden were not made by him but by Joe Biden over the years, all of which were reported by national news outlets. The claim appeared as a Facebook post (archived here)…

Is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a private business? No, that's not true: It's a government agency. The IRS, which is tasked with determining, assessing and collecting internal revenue, is a bureau of the Treasury Department. The claim provides no proof of incorporation or business registry that would document the IRS existence as a private company. The claim appeared in…

Did the FBI say that there were no killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, the same year as the mass shooting at the school that resulted in 26 deaths? No, that's not true: Although data from the FBI's Crime in the U.S. 2012 publication list zero murders in Newtown, Connecticut, where the school was located, the figures in…

Have 250,000 deaths been caused by the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States? No, that's not true: There is no proof that 250,000 deaths have been caused by receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. In a video, Dr. Zev Zelenko shares no evidence of hundreds of thousands of people dying from the COVID vaccine, only citing a debunked claim by a "whistleblower"…

Does this photo show what Michelle Obama looked like in April 2017? No, that's not true: This photo has a fake five o'clock shadow added. Michelle Obama has been targeted by baseless claims that she is not a woman before, and this altered image is part of that trope. The original photo of Michelle Obama went viral on April 2,…

Do two images in a social media post show the Hubble Telescope and a satellite? No, that's not true: The Instagram post shows a NASA observatory plane, and a balloon that was used to provide mobile Internet service in Africa. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on October 20, 2021, with a picture of a NASA plane and an…

Were two great white sharks found in the Mississippi River near Davenport, Iowa? No, that's not true: A shark expert says great whites could not tolerate being in freshwater. Also, the story was posted on a website that says its stories shouldn't be taken seriously. The site and similar sites have been used several times in the past to fool…

Are sinister clowns coming to a city near you to purge and terrify everyone in sight? No, that's not true: It's a rerun of the same baseless clown threat that appeared in the fall of 2016. There was no evidence then that a clown purge would emerge on the night before Halloween (it didn't), and there is no evidence in…

Is an image depicting an anti-Joe Biden band formation in a football stadium real? No, that's not true: This image has been digitally altered. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on October 16, 2021. The post, captioned, "Relentless lol," features an image of a packed football stadium of people wearing what appears to be red and white,…

Did eight children with uncanny resemblances to the cast members of the TV series "M*A*S*H" pose together to recreate a cast photo? No, that's not true: This photo is a digital manipulation. The clothing and setting in the two images matches almost perfectly with nothing but the adult actors' faces changed to younger-looking versions of themselves. Although there are several…

Is former professional basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson being allowed to continue playing basketball after testing positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) comparable to current professional basketball player Kyrie Irving's restrictions due to his opposition to get vaccinated against COVID-19? No, that's not true: This claim is missing significant context as HIV is not transmitted the same way COVID is.…

Did a hospital in McKinney, Texas, bus FEMA nurses in from out of state to replace staff lost due to a vaccine mandate? No, that's not true: Additional medical staff has been needed in hospitals throughout North Texas for some time. In August, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deployed additional medical personnel from out of state through the Department of State…

Do fact checkers never fact check posts and photos that attack conservatives? No, that's not true: If you conduct a search of fact checking sites like Lead Stories, you'll find examples that disprove the claim. The claim has appeared on several social media accounts, including this October 17, 2021, Instagram post under the title "Ever notice how the so called…

Did conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweet "next Joe Biden is gonna tell me how long my pubes have to be"? No, that's not true. A tweet allegedly by Shapiro that claimed he "doesn't have any pubes yet" is a fake satirical message. The claim appeared as an Instagram post on October 19, 2021. It opens: Next Joe Biden is gonna…

Did a Harvard study show that a large number of countries and U.S. counties with high vaccination rates may have higher rates of COVID-19 infection than places with low vaccination rates, and is the vaccination rate the cause? No, that's not true: A letter to the editor written by Harvard professor S.V. Subramanian and a high school student was posted…

Does every peer-reviewed study in existence suggest that being infected with COVID-19 builds stronger immunity to the delta variant than does vaccination? No, that's not true: Conclusions drawn from research into COVID immunity differ, depending on the methods, population tested and other variables. Though infection can yield some degree of immunity, medical professionals emphasize that vaccination cuts the risk of…

Is trisodium phosphate, an inorganic compound utilized as a cleaner among other uses, unsafe to eat as an ingredient in Lucky Charms cereal? No, that's not true: While the compound is an ingredient in the cereal, it essentially works as a salt and is fine as a food additive. The Food and Drug Administration has given trisodium phosphate the regulatory…

Have cancer cases increased from 1 in 20 people in the early 1900s to 1 in 3 people, according to the latest available data? It depends: While there does not appear to be widespread cancer data from the early 1900s for comparison, the current probability of cancer varies by geographical area. In addition, cancer-detection technology has radically changed since 1900,…