News Punch

Does an "official study" confirm that COVID-19 shots increase the risk of infection from the virus? No, that's not true: One of the authors of the study, Laith Jamal Abu-Raddad, said the article uses several numbers from the report out of context. "Our study confirms that vaccines protect," he told Lead Stories in a June 24, 2022, email. The claim…

Did the IRS just begin buying ammunition during President Joe Biden's time in office? No, that's not true: The IRS started buying ammunition, firearms and equipment for its law enforcement divisions more than 100 years ago. It's standard for federal agencies that have many federal law enforcement officers to buy ammunition, firearms and equipment. The claim appeared in an article…

Does a video show U.S. Capitol Police just opening the gates for rioters on January 6, 2021, so they could attack the Capitol? No, that's not true: Marcus DiPaola, the freelance journalist who shot the video, told Newsweek in a January 7, 2021, story, "They definitely didn't just open the barriers, the pro-Trump rioters made a fist like they were…

Does a new National Institutes of Health study find that long COVID isn't real? No, that's not true: Nowhere in the study do the authors say long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2 infection (PASC), is fake. Lead study author Dr. Michael C. Sneller with the National Institutes of Health told Lead Stories, "I want to be…

Did an official study conclude that masks caused more COVID-19? No, that's not true: This is not an official study by a government or medical organization. It is a study written by an individual, Beny Spira, an associate professor of microbiology at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Also, the conclusions section of his report says, "no cause-effect conclusions…

Was the founder of the Timberland boot company an 18th-century slave owner in Mississippi named Timberland Hawkins who hung slaves he couldn't auction from a tree in his field that's still standing and is now featured as the Timberland company logo? No, none of that is true: This post is a spinoff from earlier false social media rumors that the…

Do Pfizer documents reveal vaccinated people will transfer their COVID-19 shots to the unvaccinated through inhalation and skin contact? No, that's not true: The claim is based on the standard clinical study protocol used for a wide range of medicines. There is no publicly available evidence the mRNA COVID vaccines cause vaccinated persons to cast off excess spike proteins. The…

Did the Irish Examiner publish a report about a sudden increase in heart problems among sports players due to referee whistles? No, that's not true: A spoof image was created using a fake story and the masthead of the Irish Examiner. This was circulated on social media via a screenshot -- but this article never appeared in the Irish Examiner.…

Did Russia go back to using a currency that operates on a gold standard? No, that's not true: Although Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the abolition of the value-added tax (VAT) on precious metals in March 2022, this change is unrelated to whether the Russian ruble, Russia's currency, is based on the value of gold. The claim appeared in…

Did the Make-A-Wish Foundation refuse to grant a 4-year-old cancer patient a wish because he is not vaccinated? That's not true: The charity's medical team had ruled out air travel and large group settings for unvaccinated and critically ill children, which is why the charity's staff asked the boy to make a wish other than flying his family to Disney…