9/11

Has television personality and bounty hunter Duane Lee Chapman, also known as "Dog the Bounty Hunter," passed away as of December 13, 2022? No, that's not true: Chapman's publicist told Lead Stories on December 13, 2022, that he is "alive and well." The claim appeared in a video on Facebook on December 11, 2022. The caption read: Reality TV actor…

Does this video compilation of Yuval Noah Harari, a best-selling author and a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, show him celebrating plans for dystopian mass surveillance? No, that's not true: Harari often warns that humankind is at risk of being dominated by surveillance and artificial intelligence. He speaks and writes about these threats and does not welcome or…

Were the Twin Towers almost empty when the 9/11 attack took place on September 11, 2001? No, that's not true: The recycled conspiracy theory contradicts a large body of evidence that proves the opposite, including government documents, medical examiner's reports and video and photo materials shot by journalists and filmmakers at Ground Zero on the day of tragedy. The claim…

Is it true that germ theory has "NEVER" been proven? No, that's not true: This claim was posted without corroborating materials, nor medical credentials for the person to whom the claim is attributed. The germ theory is a scientifically established explanation for infectious diseases. A medical professional told Lead Stories that "intoxication theory," a supposition that disease is the body's…

Did the European Organization for Nuclear Research, most commonly known as CERN, admit in 2022 that it is "communicating with entities from the other side"? No, that's not true: Online speculations about the CERN-managed particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, were based on a distorted interpretation of a 13-year-old quote from its former research director, Sergio Bertolucci. "Imaginative works, inspired…

Did children read words predicting the 9/11 attack "moments before" planes hit the World Trade Center as then-President George W. Bush sat with the children in a Sarasota, Florida, schoolroom? No, that's not true: An online claim to that effect distorts the facts by manipulating the timeline and changing the content of the lesson to fit the narrative. The claim…

Was Martin Luther King Jr. "killed by his doctor" and "not the bullet" that wounded him? No, that's not true: The official autopsy confirms that King's cause of death was a fatal gunshot wound. The claim that King was killed by his doctor, not by James Earl Ray, is an old conspiracy theory. The claim appeared in a Facebook reel…

Does an image of Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva show Brazil's former leader holding a statuette of the pagan deity Baphomet? No, that's not true: The photograph has been digitally manipulated to place the figure in his hands. Written in French, the claim was posted on Twitter on October 7, 2022, along with the photograph of a…

Did no Republicans thank U.S. President Joe Biden for taking out the leader of Al Qaeda? No, that's not true: Several GOP members of Congress publicly acknowledged Biden for the July 31, 2022 drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda and one of the conspirators behind 9/11. The claim was shared on a…

Did England publish "horrific figures on COVID Vaccine Deaths" that show 1 in 482 people died within a month of receiving their shot, 1 in 246 died within 60 days and 1 in 73 died by May 2022? No, that's not true: While the figures are correct, according to the U.K. Office of National Statistics, the statistics are missing crucial…