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Is Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and former chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, facing imminent arrest for lying to Congress? No, that's not true: The allegation is part of a followbait or clickbait scheme. In a typical bait-and-switch move, the poster of this claim promises social media users a…

Is the claim that President Joe Biden has spent 40 percent of his presidency "on vacation" a straightforward statement? No, that's not true: It's missing context. The count includes days the president makes public appearances and days he spends at home in Delaware and at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland -- time the White House insists he is…

Was Jacob Chansley, aka the "QAnon Shaman," led through the Capitol by police the entire time he was in the building on January 6, 2021? No, there's no evidence that's true: Chansley broke into the building, where he ignored repeated requests to leave and was -- at least for a time -- alone, according to court documents, some video footage…

Are transgender people and gender fluidity "products" of modern Western civilization? No, that's not true: Non-binary gender expression in many communities across the globe throughout history has been documented and researched. Professor Lisa Duggan told Lead Stories that even though people of earlier epochs did not necessarily conceptualize themselves through the optics of present-day terms, the phenomena are not modern…

Do COVID-19 shots cause "vaccine-induced AIDS" (VAIDS) and did they cause a 500 percent increase in HIV in the U.S. military during 2021? No, that's not true: "The claims are false," U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Lisa Lawrence told Lead Stories in a March 3, 2023, email. Only one thing causes AIDS and that's HIV. Even if there had been…

Do Medicare data show that COVID-19 vaccines increase your risk of dying? No, that's not true: "There is no credible scientific evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are causing excess deaths," or deaths that wouldn't have otherwise happened, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote in a March 2, 2023, email. Such deaths are calculated by subtracting the expected number…

Was John Podesta, a career politician and high-ranking operative of the Democratic Party serving as President Joe Biden's senior clean energy adviser, caught on camera dancing while naked? No, that's not true: In 2023, a tweet recycled previously debunked accusations associated with the QAnon conspiracy movement. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) published on March 1, 2023: Here's…

Is the man presented as "John Fetterman's doctor" in a post about the U.S. senator's condition a doctor? No, that's not true: He is porn actor Jonny Sins and the post is the latest version of spoofs in which Sins, who plays a doctor in films, is presented as an actual medical doctor. The claim, along with a photo of…

Can 49 percent of COVID-19 vaccine ingredients produced under emergency use authorization (EUA) be changed without telling the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)? No, that's not true: Even very small changes to a vaccine must be reported to the regulatory agency. A member of the FDA's vaccine advisory panel said such a notion about vaccines could only come from "someone…

Do a paper published in a medical journal and a video based on it prove the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine causes brain and heart damage? No, that's not true: The paper looks at the case of a single elderly man with Parkinson's disease who died weeks after his final vaccination. It doesn't establish a causal link between the vaccine and the…

Did liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race? No, that's not true: In remarks to the Munich Security Conference in February 2023, Soros said DeSantis is "likely to be a Republican candidate," but he didn't say he was endorsing the Sunshine State's governor or wanted him to run.…

Can "illegal immigrants" be police officers in California? No, that's not true: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that allowed non-citizens who are legally authorized to work in the U.S. to become police officers. There are no citizenship requirements to become a police officer in the state. And federal law prohibits employers from hiring immigrants who are not authorized to…

Is a recording sounding like President Joe Biden telling people to "own a musket for home defense" real? No, that's not true: Although the voice sounds like Biden, video clearly shows he's speaking different words than those heard in the recording. Also, the phrase -- "own a musket for home defense" -- is the start of a well-known copypasta, a…

During his 2023 State of the Union address, did President Joe Biden say, "Capitalism is exploitation"? No, that's not true: The quote and the video it comes from have been edited. Biden said, "Capitalism without competition is exploitation," not "Capitalism is exploitation." Also, the president's altered words came from his State of the Union address about a year earlier in…

Did former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton state that cash should be banned to combat climate change? No, that's not true: Clinton never made such an assertion during a speech in Gujarat, India, and Lead Stories has not found any proof that she has ever publicly made such a statement. The claim originated from an article (archived here) published by…

Did Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, director of the Immunization Safety Office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), admit COVID-19 vaccines are causing "debilitating illnesses"? No, that's not true: In the context of talking about unverified data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) on COVID vaccine side effects, Shimabukuro acknowledged "reports of people experiencing long-lasting health problems,"…

Did President Joe Biden go on a transphobic rant live on national television? No, that's not true: A viral video mimicking his manner of speech had the authentic sound replaced with a made-up voice-over, probably utilizing a deep fake technology. The claim appeared in a video published on Instagram on February 5, 2023, under the title: Best Speech Ever The…

Has an international blood bank called Safe Blood Donation been opened in at least 16 countries to offer "pure blood," free of COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: A disclaimer on the company's website says the Safe Blood Donation blood bank is not currently in operation and does not grant access to unvaccinated blood. Rather, the company offers a paid…

Did celebrities call for a "total Hollywood strike" until everyone is vaccinated against COVID-19? No, that's not true: The claim, posted by a prolific publisher of fake news, is based on a fake tweet purportedly from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. An Academy representative told Lead Stories it is not their tweet. The claim appeared in an…

Did Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates or any of the business entities affiliated with him cause an egg shortage in the U.S.? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support this theory. The claim appeared in a video on Instagram on January 31, 2023, under the title: BILL GATES SYNTHETIC EGG PLAN COMING ALONG NICELY! EGG SHORTAGE...NOW THIS? The…