Science

Does a story claiming Bill Gates was "Caught Pumping Deadly Bird Flu Jabs Into America's Food Supply" in its headline actually describe Bill Gates doing that? No, that's not true: There is no mention of any food supply in the U.S. being injected with bird flu vaccines in the entire body of the story, which was published on a site…

What is chlorine dioxide, and is it a safe and effective cure or treatment for multiple health ailments, including childhood autism and COVID-19 infection? No, that's not true: Chlorine dioxide is a gaseous chemical that makes a bleach-like substance when added to water. The highly reactive chemical is used as a cleaning agent and can be fatal if ingested. Even…

Does an image shared online in February 2025 show Jonathan Simpson, the pilot of Delta Flight 4819, which crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport? No, that's not true: The person depicted in the image is porn star Johnny Sins, whose image is often used in fake posts. The image featured a Grok AI watermark and, according to an online detection…

Does a viral screenshot show a real X post from Ashley St. Clair talking about conceiving a baby with Elon Musk using "IVF with PGT-M & CRISPR" and saying the "DNA now includes enhancements from other organisms"? No, that's not true: The post did not appear on St. Clair's X account, and it was not indexed by Google. All versions…

Did a study published in January 2025 definitively establish a link between Ozempic and blindness, as was implied in a post on X? No, that's not true: The study was a small observational analysis of just nine patients that did not establish that the weight-loss drug caused blindness but instead found an association between the two. In other words, it…

Did Bill Gates say that "defunding USAID will bring about another mystery illness across the world. Millions will die" during a TV appearance in February 2025? No, that's not true: Gates did not say that in the clip posted on X with that assertion. Lead Stories watched the full segment of Gates' appearance and did not hear Gates say it.…

Did Elon Musk say two Boeing Starliner astronauts died in space, as a social media post implies? No, that's not true: Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were shown conducting a spacewalk nearly a month after the post -- and there's no record of Musk ever having made the statements attributed to him in the social media post. On February…

Does an article prove that the World Economic Forum "demanded" that the general public be "mass-vaccinated" twice a year with "long-acting mRNA injections"? No, that's not true: The organization told Lead Stories this was "entirely false." The article failed to offer any sources proving any such "demand" was made by the organization. It cited recordings of a conference panel in…

Did U.S. troops enter California under "emergency powers" from President Donald Trump to turn on water from the Pacific Northwest, in January 2025? No, that's not true according to state authorities: The U.S. military did not enter the state to turn on the water, according to a statement posted by the California Department of Water Resources. The statement said the…

Is there an authentic article with a headline that reads, "They knew: why didn't the unvaccinated do more to warn us?" No, that's not true: There is no evidence that an article with this headline was ever actually published on a website. Lead Stories could not find any instance of the headline appearing beyond a supposed screenshot. The purported headline…

Did Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speak at length about a cure for diabetes on the Joe Rogan podcast? No, that's not true: While this video footage originated from episode #1999 of the "Joe Rogan Experience," a fake audio track mimicking Kennedy's distinctive voice has been added. The topic of diabetes did come up, but the podcast transcript does not match…

Are there 45 electric firetrucks in Los Angeles that had to go back to the fire department for 10 hours a day to recharge while the January 2025 wildfires burned? No, that's not true: According to a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson the LAFD "has only one electric fire engine and no electric fire trucks" and that one is equipped…

Were the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires intentionally set to implement "smart city" technology across Los Angeles? No, that's not true: While the cause of the wildfires had not been determined at the time of writing, the "smart city" effort to improve technology for municipalities does not include intentionally destroying them first. Los Angeles unveiled its plan to eventually add…

If a wildfire destroys cars, must it always destroy nearby trees as well? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found other examples of wildfires sparing trees while nearby cars and houses were incinerated. Experts explain that trees generally have a higher moisture content and take longer to heat up than closed structures like a car or home, making trees less…

Is it true that there was no Alzheimer's disease until 1979 -- after the vegetable oils used in margarine were incorporated widely in modern diets? No, that's not true: In 1906 the "unusual disease of the cerebral cortex" was discovered by pathologist Alois Alzheimer. The abnormal brain atrophy he had identified was named after him four years later. An expert…

Does the polio-causing poliovirus infect people exclusively through direct contact between "fecal matter" and "facial orifices"? No, that's not true: While multiple health agencies say that the fecal-oral route is common, that includes a number of possibilities. For example, polio may spread through consuming contaminated food or water. The claim appeared in an image (archived here) being commented on in…

Did a NASA livestream authentically capture a "UFO" or "mysterious craft" before the stream was "abruptly cut," suggesting an intentional disruption to the video? No, that's not true: NASA told Lead Stories that the footage showed the Dragon spacecraft supporting a NASA and SpaceX commercial resupply service on December 16, 2024. The "momentary loss of video is routine, and due…

Was a "mysterious fog" spotted in various areas of the world in late December 2024 something that cannot be explained? No, that's not true: There have been several regions that experienced heavy fog in late December, but there is no evidence that it is anything other than naturally occurring fog. One medical sociologist wrote in an article that social media…

Is CoQ10 a proven treatment for preventing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease? No, that's not true: A neurologist told Lead Stories that it is "false" to say that CoQ10 can prevent either disease. While some studies have explored the antioxidant's potential benefits, experts that Lead Stories spoke with said that results are not clear enough to prove that CoQ10 prevents either…

Does the swinging action of stuffed toys hanging from the ceiling of the Soyuz crew capsule prove that the spacecraft is not really producing the expected G forces during a launch into orbit, suggesting fakery? No, that's not true: A spacecraft will experience varying G forces and vibrations during launch. A social media post's short video clip was taken from…