Technology

Was a massive "sandy UFO" caught on camera? No, that's not true: This footage is not real; it's special effects graphics in the 2022 sci-fi horror movie "Nope," directed by Jordan Peele. A short video clip was published on Instagram by @yeshuachoseyou on March 7, 2023. It was captioned: yeshuachoseyouHUGE SANDY UFO CAUGHT ON CAMREA ‼️😱🛸🔥 #sand #ufo #ufos #rapture…

Was an arrest warrant for Bill Gates issued by the "Heinous Crimes Court" in the Philippines for "premeditated murder" linked to vaccine roll out? No, that's not true: A legal expert told Lead Stories, "Philippine courts do not have the authority to issue international arrest warrants under the Philippines Rules of Criminal Procedure." The expert says there's no such entity…

Does a video on social media show that China has successfully cloned several species of dinosaurs? No, that's not true: The video's clips, shot at different locations, show Jurassic-Park-themed animatronics and puppetry. The dinosaurs are not alive. And, cloning of the species shown would be impossible as they predate the oldest known DNA fragments, which were found in Greenland's permafrost…

Did Elon Musk offer to pay 100 homeowners to test the "newest technology of solar panels"? No, that's not true: This offer that's too good to be true is a ruse to collect personal information and is not associated with Musk or Tesla in any way. Schemes such as this, involving false solar panel installation promotions in order to generate…

Did a pilot capture a photo of a complete full-circle rainbow while flying 30,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean? No, that's not true: This image is not a real photograph -- it's a fabricated image. Several key features present in real rainbows are missing from this image. Lloyd J. Ferraro, the pilot who has been incorrectly credited for taking the…

Is Elon Musk buying Facebook? No, that's not true: The article saying so has a clear disclaimer at the end that reads, "Recall that this is satire and not actual news." The claim originated in an article (archived here) published by Topad.News24.Info website on February 25, 2023, under the title "Breaking: Elon Musk confirms he's buying Facebook." It opened: We…

Did a teenager named Brandon Smith go missing on February 28, 2023, in multiple American cities simultaneously? No, that's not true: Lead Stories analysis shows that a series of social media posts about a boy and his dog has characteristics of a scam campaign aimed at collecting people's personal information. One of the earliest posts said the youth had gone…

Do gene editing mRNA vaccine patent holders own vaccinated people outright once injected, and does mRNA alter natural human DNA? No, that's not true: A Stanford University professor of law specializing in bioethics told Lead Stories that these claims are "too absurd even to be wrong." Also, many credible medical organizations have debunked the claim that mRNA vaccines alter the…

Is Bill Gates engineering a seed that "will target Black people" and possibly kill them? No, that's not true: A video making that claim offers no evidence that Gates is producing a seed for plants that can attack the immune system of Black people and thereby kill them. According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the…

Did Twitter make a rule that users may not display the flag of Ukraine on their profile because it is considered a political statement against Russia? No, that's not true: A post from Walter Report contained a fabricated image which appeared to be a screenshot of a notification from Twitter. A day later, Walter Report published a notice that this…

Can the Alaska-based HAARP project, a former military research facility for studying the ionosphere, remotely initiate natural disasters such as earthquakes anywhere on Earth? No, that's not true: An "explanation" of its purported capabilities to manufacture disasters, posted on social media, contradicts well-established scientific facts. The manager of the HAARP project told Lead Stories that the facility "cannot create or…

Did the word "horizon" come from the word "horizontal," and is this evidence that the Earth must be flat? No, that's not true: The word "horizon" came first, and the adjective "horizontal" followed. The adjective describes something "relating to or near the horizon." The word "horizon" originated from the ancient Greek term "ὁρίζων κύκλος" (horízōn kýklos), which means "separating (or…

Does a report assessing the safety of a plant-based meat product made by a company in which Bill Gates has invested prove that meat grown in a laboratory causes cancer in humans? No, that's not true: Since the report doesn't even consider lab-grown meat, it can't prove it's carcinogenic when eaten by people because the two products are not the…

Was Andrew Tate, who was arrested in late 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and participating in organized crime, released as of February 22, 2023? No, that's not true: The former kickboxing champion and internet influencer remains behind bars after a Romanian court ruled to extend his detention by another 30 days, according to Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for…

Does Apple have to pay $700 "to anyone with a slowed-down phone, if they claim it"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Apple has to pay $700 to anyone with a slowed-down iPhone. In 2020, the company settled a lawsuit for $310 million over the sluggish performance of certain older models of iPhones only. The text of…

Does a collection of photos shared on social media show "another world" and remnants of a lost civilization or buried spacecraft under the ice of Antarctica? No, that's not true: These photos come from several sources. Some are presented with no context, while others are mislabeled or have been digitally edited to create science-fiction fantasy scenes. The collection of 11…

Does a time-lapse video of the midnight sun in Alaska show that the sun appears to get smaller as it approaches the horizon -- thus proving that this is a "local sun" that is very close to Earth in a closed environment, part of the firmament? No, that's not true: The footage of slightly more than one full day has…

Does a picture circulating on social media prove that Pfizer has a patent "for tracking vaccinated humans worldwide via microwave and graphene"? No, that's not true: The pictured document is not a Pfizer patent and it does not mention graphene or microwaves. Pfizer's office of media relations confirmed to Lead Stories that Pfizer has nothing to do with the patent,…

Did Bill Gates create computer viruses and infect Microsoft computers to then sell antivirus software programs? No, that's not true: There's no evidence that either Gates or his company deliberately created and spread computer viruses, and a spokesperson from Gates' private office confirmed to Lead Stories that such a claim is false. Creeper, the first experimental self-replicating computer virus, was…

Did Maxwell Chikumbutso, an inventor from Zimbabwe, develop a technology to turn radio frequencies into free, unlimited, green electricity that can power a car that never needs charging, a television or even a neighborhood? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Chikumbutso's inventions work as described. Although there have been public showcases of some of Chikumbutso's "microsonic energy…