Coronavirus

Did the U.S. military find wasp venom in COVID-19 vaccines for children? No, that's not true: As of July 28, 2022, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved for people 17 and under in the United States. Neither of them includes the venom of the tarantula hawk wasp, as a published claim states. U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Lisa Lawrence…

Did British ethologist and conservationist Jane Goodall suggest that the world population be "reduced" less than two months before the first COVID-19 lockdown in New York City? No, that's not true: She never said or implied it while speaking at one of the 2020 World Economic Forum panels in mid-January of 2020. The claim originated in an Instagram post on…

Is getting a virus and acquiring natural immunity the "best thing you can do for your body," rather than getting a vaccine? No, that's not true: The only way vaccines get Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval is if they provide protection against illness and death associated with natural infection while presenting a proportionally very low risk of adverse events.…

Are gyms locked down and are people forced to wear masks to stop the spread of monkeypox? No, that's not true: There have been no federal government orders as of July 27, 2022, for gyms to be closed or mask mandated to stop the spread of monkeypox. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does recommend that people who…

Is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being investigated for genocide by Interpol? No, that's not true: As of July 26, 2022, the International Criminal Police Organization made no announcement regarding Trudeau being a suspect. The article that made the claim was published on a satirical website and did not provide any evidence. The claim appeared in an article titled "Interpol:…

Is Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates being investigated by Interpol for the "plandemic"? No, that's not true: On July 26, 2022, the International Criminal Police Organization website did not contain any mentions of such an investigation. Additionally, the website that published the report says it offers "no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness" and produces satirical stories, not news. The claim appeared…

Do COVID-19 vaccines suppress the human immune system? No, that's not true: There is nothing to suggest that COVID shots have that sort of impact on the body's defenses. "There is no clinical or epidemiological evidence that COVID vaccines generally suppress or weaken the immune system," Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at…

Does this video show Delta Air Lines pilots protesting against the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: This video shows Delta pilots picketing at an airport to demand higher pay. The picket was unrelated to the COVID vaccination. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) posted on July 3, 2022. The video showed pilots walking in a straight…

Did the U.S. military find scopolamine in COVID-19 vaccines for children? No, that's not true: As of July 22, 2022, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved for people 17 and under in the United States. Neither of them includes the anti-nausea medication. In a phone interview the same day, a U.S. Department of Defense official told Lead Stories, "This…

Is there a global recall of all COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: There is no evidence of global public health agencies pulling their support for and endorsement of vaccinations to protect against SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus disease) and its variants. The World Health Organization told Lead Stories, "COVID-19 vaccines are being continuously assessed for their benefits versus risks. The consistent observation…

Did "big tech media" stage a scene featuring workers wearing protective gear who were crying outside a hospital in order to frighten people? No, that's not true: This video shows a behind-the-scenes view of a dramatic production in China about the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Jin Jin, an actress based in Shanghai who played the crying woman, the scene was…

Does a purported increase in child-size casket orders at one company mean that children are dying from the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: There have been no confirmed reports of children dying from the vaccine. However, children have died from COVID. The claim was made during a segment (archived here) of the "Stew Peters Show" that was posted to…

Do fully vaccinated people account for 94 percent of COVID-19 deaths in England? Yes, that's true: However, a simple ratio analysis based on that statistic doesn't fully tell the story. A report that some of the information comes from warns on Page 45 that "Comparing case rates among vaccinated and unvaccinated populations should not be used to estimate vaccine effectiveness…

Are COVID vaccines linked to a 25 percent increase in cardiac arrest for both males and females in Israel? No, there's no evidence to support that. While data show an increase in calls to emergency medical services (EMS) for these types of events, it's unclear whether the final diagnoses of these cases represent "cardiac arrest and/or acute coronary syndromes at…

Was former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assassinated because he didn't follow World Economic Forum (WEF) orders, didn't mandate COVID-19 vaccines, sent 1.6 million doses back and gave citizens ivermectin? No, that's not true: There's no evidence any of those things -- some of which didn't happen -- played a role in his shooting death on July 8, 2022. The…

Is Canada's Prime Minister panicking over statistics that show 80 percent of Canadians who died of COVID were vaccinated? No, that's not true: That percentage isn't a surprise in light of widespread vaccination, which makes a relatively small actual number of deaths into a large percentage of overall deaths. The claim offers no proof of panic. In fact, at the…

Did Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas claim "aborted fetus cells" are in COVID vaccines in writing a decision by the Court to not take up a legal challenge by New York health care workers who opposed the state's vaccine mandate on religious grounds? No, that's not true: Thomas was quoting the petitioners' argument in the case. COVID vaccines are developed…

Are Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events of special interest? No, that's not true: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in an email to Lead Stories that the vaccines meet the agency's rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. In addition, the authors of this study created their…

Do a new study and Pfizer documents prove COVID-19 vaccination will cause mass depopulation through infertility and premature death? No, that's not true: The shot temporarily lowers sperm count, much the same as after a "simple viral infection," according to Itai Gat, one of the authors of a study published June 17, 2022, that looked into the connection. The Centers…

Did the now-suspended COVID vaccine mandate for flight attendants cause a shortage in staffing that was to blame for widespread June 2022 flight delays? No, that's not true: None of the airlines that responded to inquiries by Lead Stories blamed the previous vaccination requirement for impacting summer operations. The federal government stopped enforcing the vaccine mandate in December 2021. The…