China

Are stones depicting dinosaurs and humans coexisting real? No, that's not true: These stones were found to be hoaxes. A Smithsonian article reported that a 20th-century farmer and his wife were the creators of these stones, not an ancient people. The couple confessed to forging the stones using depictions of dinosaurs from comic books. The claim appeared in a post…

Was canola oil first developed as an engine lubricant during World War II, as a post on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: Canola oil is made from a species of plant specially bred from rapeseed. Oil from rapeseed was used during World War II as a mechanical lubricant. However, canola oil, as we know it today, was developed in…

Did a Kentucky man who threw a boomerang that hit himself in the head sue himself for $300,000 and win the lawsuit? No, that's not true: The story was first published in 1996 in a tabloid known for publishing made-up stories. There is no evidence the lawsuit ever happened and later iterations of the claim published elsewhere did not mention…

Does a supposed map of America, purportedly from 1500, prove that Antarctica was inhabited by people for centuries? No, that's not true: The map that is shown in a social media post is not from the 1500s. It is a fake map created by the English illustrator Henry Justice Ford for a 1911 book. The claim appeared in a video…

Does a viral video prove that Israel voted "for Palestine" during a United Nations Security Council meeting? No, that's not true: In the meeting the then-president of the U.N. Security Council read a list of the countries supporting a resolution on Gaza days after the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. He included Israel but he immediately corrected himself and…

Did President Joe Biden give $16 billion of American money away to Iran in 2023? No, that's not true: First, it's important to say that the amount in question is $6 billion, not $16 billion. Secondly, the money wasn't U.S. taxpayer dollars to begin with; the funds were Iranian financial assets that had been frozen in South Korea due to…

Does a video on social media document a barrage of hundreds of cruise missiles and drones launched into Israel by Iran on April 13, 2024? No, that's not true: The video, found in a variety of posts, appeared on social media several years before Iran's 2024 attack on Israel. Lead Stories found examples of the clip dating back to 2022…

Should everyone routinely take dewormer medication, as a post on X suggested? No, that's not true: In certain parts of the world, the World Health Organization recommends periodically giving deworming medication to preschoolers, school-age children, women of reproductive age and those working in high-risk professions. These recommendations are specific to certain regions, primarily sub-Saharan Africa, China, South America and Asia.…

Is patting the elbow pit, the inside of your elbow, a scientifically proven method to eliminate a stomachache? No, that's not true: There is no evidence supporting this claim, a licensed gastroenterologist told Lead Stories. The page that posted the claim described itself as an "entertainment website." The claim appeared in a reel (archived here) on Facebook on March 28,…

Did Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg make remarks about how racism went into design choices after the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed in Baltimore on March 26, 2024? No, that's not true: The video clip in a social media post dates back to a November 9, 2021, White House daily briefing. Buttigieg's 2021 remarks were a response to a direct question…