Coronavirus

Were the updated COVID-19 vaccines only tested on 10 mice before they were given emergency use authorization in September 2023? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told Lead Stories that the revised vaccines have adhered to the stringent scientific criteria of the agency concerning safety, efficacy and manufacturing excellence. Human vaccines typically go through rigorous clinical…

Did Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist who has repeatedly made anti-COVID-19 vaccine statements, officially appear before the European Parliament and call for a "total recall" of COVID vaccines on September 13, 2023? No, that's not true: McCullough was reportedly at an event that was held in a parliamentary building but on a day when no official committee meetings were scheduled.…

Are cancers appearing in "ways never before seen" following vaccination for COVID-19? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence to suggest that COVID vaccines cause or lead to the development of cancer in unprecedented ways. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also stated, "There are no data that suggest that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, lead…

Did the Mayo Clinic website change in September 2023 to say hydroxychloroquine can be used to treat COVID-19 patients, after previously saying it was ineffective? No, that's not true: First, the Mayo Clinic's website was not "recently" updated to say that the drug, used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, can also be used for the treatment of COVID.…

Did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirm a "143,233% increase in turbo-cancers due to mRNA jabs," including COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: A CDC spokesperson confirmed to Lead Stories that "There is no evidence to date indicating that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer of any sort (including so-called 'turbo cancers')." The article where this claim originated didn't…

Does data from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) briefing from September 2023 show that mRNA COVID vaccines "CAUSE 100,000-200,000 severe side effects" for every one million shots given to "teens"? Yes, that's the label on a data chart, but it's misleading wordplay that makes vaccine aches and pains sound scarier than they are. The Food and Drug…

Did Pfizer recently agree to pay $2.3 billion for medical fraud, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice and was this related to Covid-19 vaccination? No, that's not true: Pfizer did agree to pay such a settlement in 2009, but not in 2023. The settlement was for the misbranding of the anti-inflammatory…

Have COVID-19 vaccines "killed 20 million people" since their rollout? No, that's not true: The article making this claim cited a 2022 study that estimated COVID vaccines had saved -- not killed -- nearly 20 million lives in the first year of the pandemic, the study's lead author told Lead Stories. Also, the calculations used to produce the 20 million…

Does FEMA have a prison camp just outside Fairbanks, Alaska, that can hold up to 2 million people at a time? No, that's not true: "That is absolutely false," an official of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told Lead Stories. The agency said they "do not operate any prison camps in Alaska or elsewhere." There is no credible evidence that…

Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) call on governments to establish "COVID concentration camps" globally for individuals who do not comply with the "official narrative" related to COVID-19? No, that's not true: A WEF representative called it, "fake news." There is no credible information supporting these claims. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by The People's Voice…

Did a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirm that men who receive COVID-19 vaccines "will tragically suffer a 24-year loss in their life expectancy"? No, that's not true: Dr. Nabin Shrestha, an infectious disease expert and one of the cited study's authors, told Lead Stories that such claims are "clearly misleading" and do not…

Has the state of Florida officially classified COVID-19 mRNA vaccines as bioweapons? No, that's not true: There is no legislation in Florida that has classified mRNA vaccines as bioweapons as of September 18, 2023. One county Republican organization in the state voted to send a letter to Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Ron Desantis requesting the classification but the letter…

Did Eglin Air Force Base make masks, COVID-19 testing, and booster shots mandatory after Labor Day 2023? No, that's not true: In a brief statement, the deputy chief of media operations with the Department of the Air Force at the Pentagon denied the rumor. He informed Lead Stories, "There are no COVID guidelines or mandates being implemented at Eglin Air…

Does an image called "Mexico did it," referring to a supposed COVID-19 cure in Mexico, actually spread a virus within five seconds when opened on a phone and did CNN and the BBC report about this? No, that's not true: Lead Stories could find no online evidence that an image file that causes a virus on a cellphone even exists…

Did Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee sign an executive order, around September 2023, to build quarantine internment camps as has been done in many other states at the same time, supposedly? No, that's not true: This TikTok video was first posted on August 17, 2021, shortly after Tennessee Executive Order No. 83 was issued. The executive order (EO) was extended twice…

Did World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus admit that he's unvaccinated for COVID-19 as of September 12, 2023? No, that's not true: A clip of Tedros explaining his delayed vaccination was misrepresented. He received COVID vaccination in May 2021, much earlier than the claim indicated. The claim was implied in a post (archived here) by the official account of…

Did a July 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conclude that children are being harmed by masks, resulting in a 17 percent rise in developmental disabilities in children 3-17? No, that's not true: A misleading headline on a paywalled Substack blog post mentions a "New CDC Report" as if it offers evidence supporting the claim that…

Did talk show host and podcaster Megyn Kelly say she "contracted Vaccine Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (VAIDS)" after getting the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine? No, that's not true: On "The Megyn Kelly Show" in early September 2023, she said, "I tested positive for an autoimmune issue at my annual physical." She never mentions VAIDS, which is not a real medical condition.…

Are the heads of vaccinated people exploding and combusting when the 5G signal in Israel is turned up? No, that's not true: These video clips are real, but the headline is baseless as the video clips have nothing to do with Israel, COVID-19 vaccines or 5G. The first two graphic clips show 2019 footage of Iraqi protestors who were killed…

Did 850 deaths occur in two weeks in Monterrey, a city in the Mexican state of Nuevo León, that were caused by myocarditis? No, that's not true: The increased number of deaths in Mexico during June 2023 occurred during a heat wave, and it wasn't 850 deaths. Myocarditis is a term for the inflammation of the heart muscle and is…