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Did Russian special forces, under the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, destroy an "adrenochrome lab in Ukraine" as of January 23, 2023? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a website that regularly publishes fabricated content. Lead Stories has previously debunked content from this website that mentioned the "adrenochrome" conspiracy theory. The claim appeared in an article published…

Does a video circulating on social media prove that the Social Security Administration (SSA) headquarters in Maryland was abandoned and "nobody works there" as of January 2023? No, that's not true: The clip was shot in 2022, during a COVID-related temporary suspension of operations in the building. As of January 23, 2023, the building is "open and fully operational," the…

Does a background screening document prove that Hunter Biden paid his father, President Joe Biden, nearly $50,000 per month in rent to live in his father's Delaware home? No, that's not true: The amount listed on the form as "Monthly Rent" -- $49,910 -- matches what the younger Biden paid in quarterly rent for an office space in Washington, D.C.,…

Is President Joe Biden actually "unelected" and is his status as president "in violation of the Constitution"? No, that's not true: In accordance with the Constitution, Biden was duly elected as president of the United States. This process is not, as a social media post claims, an overreach of the federal government. The claim appeared in a post on Instagram…

Did President Joe Biden propose a ban on gas stoves? No, that's not true: He is against the idea of a future ban on gas stoves, a White House spokesperson has said. A Consumer Product Safety commissioner said gas stoves posed a "hidden hazard," but clarified that he meant regulations would only apply to future products. The claim appeared on…

Did the chief of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) call for an immediate end to COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: The head of the FDA is Dr. Robert M. Califf and he is not mentioned in the article where the claim appears. The story instead refers to Dr. Paul Offit, who is a member of the FDA's vaccine…

Did President Joe Biden just form a "union" with Mexico and Canada that ended U.S. sovereignty? No, that's not true: The claim misconstrues the Declaration of North America, a trilateral partnership aimed at addressing major regional issues like security, sustainability and inclusiveness. The declaration says nothing about sovereignty and does not "give away American interests." The claim appeared in a…

Did Microsoft founder Bill Gates tweet about forcing COVID-19 vaccinations on people by injecting mRNA into their food supply? No, that's not true: A search of Gates' Twitter account reveals the tweet is fake. The claim appeared in an article published by NewsPunch on January 10, 2023, titled "Bill Gates Vows To Pump mRNA Into Food Supply To 'Force-Jab' the…

Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) find a link between the Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccine and strokes in the elderly? No, that's not true: The U.S. public health agencies did detect a possible safety signal for people 65 and older with the Pfizer shot, but the CDC said, "data currently…

Does remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, cause death? No, that's not true: Remdesivir is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat coronavirus disease. It's prescribed for people who are hospitalized with COVID-19 or are in a high-risk category, such as the elderly or people suffering from autoimmune diseases. It has been rigorously tested in the…

Did Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), ban "vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos due to the safety risk they pose"? No, there's no evidence that's true: The supposed source for the claim denies that he said the WEF had reached out looking for unvaccinated pilots. He…

Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admit that COVID-19 vaccines were created as part of a "depopulation kill plan"? No, that's not true: The CDC has never described COVID vaccine programs as a "depopulation plan." There is no record of the health agency having made this statement, and an article claiming as much did not cite any…

Is the World Economic Forum (WEF) or its founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab, planning a major cyberattack that would effectively shut down "our society as a whole"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the WEF or Schwab have such a scheme in the works. The allegation, which was widely circulating on social media in early 2023,…

Does this video of President Joe Biden speaking show that his face was twisted in a squinty sneer when he misspoke and accidentally referred to January 6th as "July the 6th"? No, that's not true: While Biden did misspeak and the audio track of this video does not appear to be changed, features of Biden's face -- his eyes, nose…

Do health data from the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) show the more doses of COVID-19 vaccine a person has had, the more likely they are to end up in the intensive care unit (ICU)? No, that's not true: Health officials and medical experts contacted by Lead Stories said the figures do not take into account the number…

Does a video featuring actor Tom Hanks prove he is linked to a Hollywood child trafficking conspiracy? No, that's not true: The video is a clip of Hanks acting in a skit that aired on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2011. The social media account that made the claim describes itself as satirical. The claim appeared on Instagram on January 4,…

Did the COVID-19 vaccine cause Canadian reporter Jessica Robb to stumble on air? No, there's no evidence that's true: Robb, a CTV News journalist who appeared to suffer a medical emergency while reporting live on air, has said that what happened was "in no way related to the COVID-19 vaccine." She added: "While I will not share private medical information…

Has the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded more than 16,000 people who have died within a few days of taking the COVID-19 vaccine where the deaths were proven to have been caused by the vaccine? No, that's not true: Only nine deaths of some 18,500 preliminary reports of death have been causally associated with vaccination for coronavirus.…

Did the incidence of the heart conditions myocarditis and pericarditis increase nearly eightfold in the English town of Swindon after the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: The numbers, which were released through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, were initially misreported by the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust due to an Excel spreadsheet "formula…

Did Pope Benedict ask President Joe Biden not to attend his funeral? No, that's not true: According to a Vatican spokesperson, the wish of the retired head of the Catholic Church was to have a simple ceremony, and there is no evidence that Pope Benedict specifically excluded the U.S. president from the list of attendees. The White House told Lead…