Lia Thomas

Does a seven-day, once-a-year, water-only fast reduce your risk of cancer by 95%? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence to support this claim and Lead Stories spoke to experts who refuted it. The claim appeared in an Instagram post and video published on September 5, 2022 by Ben Azadi with the title "World Renowned Cancer Researcher Reveals…

Did NASA hand over control of the International Space Station (ISS) to Russia after a Russian official threatened to crash it into Earth? No, that's not true: A NASA spokesperson told Lead Stories that a long-established ceremonial change of command "does not represent overall control of ISS. That remains unchanged with the crew." There was no threat to "crash it…

Is it true that there are no athletes who were assigned female at birth, transitioned and tried to compete in men's sports? No, that's not true: Although transgender female athletes such as swimmer Lia Thomas have received attention for their participation in events that align with their affirmed gender, there are also transgender male athletes who have tried to compete…

Is geotracking the only evidence being used by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to place January 6, 2021, defendants inside the U.S. Capitol? No, that's not true: FBI investigators and the DOJ are using the tracking data, along with Wi-Fi access points, Bluetooth beacons that interacted with phones and security cameras to confirm people were inside the building during the…

Is there proof of law enforcement raids on multiple Arizona nonprofit organizations in a "2000 Mules"-driven ballot trafficking investigation? No, there's no evidence that's true: Reporting by The Arizona Republic puts two uniformed officers and two plainclothes investigators from the Arizona attorney general's office at the office of just one nonprofit: Comité de Bien Estar in San Luis in May…

Does joining The Satanic Temple give a member legal protection to terminate a pregnancy? Not necessarily: According to legal experts, it could -- but joining "opportunistically" probably won't be applicable. Or as Mark Tushnet, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law emeritus at Harvard Law School, wrote in an email to Lead Stories on May 4, 2022, such a claim…

Did a military tribunal sentence Tom Vilsack, the U.S. secretary of agriculture, to hang? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) told Lead Stories that this claim is false. A duty officer for the Pentagon told us that this story was "ridiculous" and "untrue." Real Raw News, the website that published this story, is…

Did U.S. military "White Hats" arrest Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on April 26, 2022? No, that's not true: The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Secretary of Defense told Lead Stories that Vilsack was not arrested. Vilsack also made public appearances on the day of the alleged arrest and in the days afterward. The only source…

Was Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas poisoned? Is that why Thomas was admitted to the hospital on March 18, 2022? No, neither are true: There is no evidence that Thomas was poisoned. A press release from the Supreme Court stated that Thomas was diagnosed with an infection after experiencing flu-like symptoms. The story originated from an article published by Real…

Did a man named William Chester, who was born in 1744, live for 235 years with "McNulty Syndrome," which caused his body to age slower? No, that's not true: This video is made with digitally altered images and footage of actor Charlton Heston who died in 2008 at the age of 84. The images of Heston were taken from various…