Health

Did the Canadian Cancer Society "apologize" for using the word "cervix" instead of "front hole"? No, that's not true: The organization added a note to one of the articles published on its website explaining a rationale for the Society's current stand on the matter. The disclaimer did not contain any explicit wording indicating that the purpose of the note was…

Did controversial naturopath Barbara O'Neill give a $10,000 guarantee for her arthritis pain management strategies and were they endorsed by director Bruce Beresford, tennis star Margaret Court, and author David Malouf? No, that's not true: A false promotion of an herbal remedy that supposedly cured their joint pain used AI-generated voice-overs to put words in people's mouths. The fake voice-overs…

Did the British Medical Journal attribute excess deaths since the COVID-19 pandemic to vaccines in a study that appeared in one of its publications? No, that's not true: In a statement on its website, the publication said, "This study does not establish any such link." The British Medical Journal also described the claim as "misreporting," adding that the researchers did…

Did North Carolina implement a statewide ban on face masks in May 2024, as a post on Instagram claimed? No, that's not true: The post in question exaggerates the impact of a bill that would decide who can legally wear a face mask in public and for what reasons. The state Senate passed a version of the measure but as…

Did Sylvester Stallone withdraw from a movie project with Robert DeNiro, calling him "woke" and "creepy"? No, that's not true: The website that originally posted the article making the claim labels the story "Hollywood satire." Stallone's lawyer told Lead Stories the article is "a completely false and fabricated story." And there is no corroborating evidence that Stallone gave up a…

Did entrepreneur Elon Musk discuss in an interview a theory that holds "every single Disney princess is supposed to... represent a disorder", as shown in a video on TikTok? No, that's not true: As of this publication, there's no evidence that Musk talked about that subject in any recorded interview. Additionally, digital forensics and a deepfake-testing website, which analyzes audio,…

Does a still image in a video on social media show the daughter of naturopath Barbara O'Neill being sentenced to prison for supposedly revealing "health secrets"? No, that's not true: A tool used to detect AI-generated images found evidence that the image of a woman in an orange prison jumpsuit in a courtroom is not real and was likely created…

Did a video on Facebook genuinely show TV personality Tucker Carlson endorsing an anti-parasite pill promoted by alternative naturopath Barbara O'Neill? No, that's not true: The video is dubbed with fake audio; an AI detection tool found it was 70.6 percent likely it was created using AI. Lead Stories traced the original clip of Carlson: He was discussing the Foreign…

Does taking bee pollen increase breast size? No, that's not true: Bee pollen has not been shown in medical research to increase breast growth, a medical expert told Lead Stories. There are no "well-established" uses for bee pollen, a medical school reported. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook on May 17, 2024. It began: I was forced to…

Did Barbara O'Neill guarantee that a hypertension medication will clear your vessels and cure the disease in three weeks or she will transfer $10,000 into your bank account -- and have Samuel Jackson, Jane Seymour and Tom Hanks all endorsed this treatment after it cured their hypertension? No, neither statement is true: This false promotion uses AI-generated voice-overs to put…