Were 1 in every 25 clients of Germany's largest health insurer, Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), treated for side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021? No, that's not true: Only one of the four diagnosis codes (ICD) for billing health insurers used to come up with the ratio was specific to COVID vaccination. Two of the other three codes could pertain…

Did a study find potentially disease-causing bacteria and fungi on face masks? Yes, that's true, but the study's authors only made one recommendation based on their findings and that was for immunocompromised people to avoid repeated use of masks to prevent infections. In an email to Lead Stories, study author Ah-Mee Park, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology…

Did Michelle Obama register to vote as a man in 1994 in Illinois? No, that's not true: A public information officer at the Illinois State Board of Elections told Lead Stories that this claim is inaccurate. The document that is supposedly the former first lady's voter registration record did not come from the Board as an article falsely claims, and…

Has NASA "all but admitted the [moon] landings were fake" in the past 12 months, but mainstream media is not reporting on the revelations so the public doesn't know? No, that's not true: The Apollo missions that orbited and landed on the moon really happened. There has been no new information, no "admission" from NASA that would undermine the historical…

Was a pedophile who molested a 2-year-old girl whipped to death by Eddie Lavelle Wilson, a man who "loves the child dearly"? No, that's not true: These stills were taken from a real video that was filmed in the area around Kommunar in eastern Ukraine and widely distributed in 2016. The video shows a man taped to a post who…

Will the World Economic Forum (WEF) "freeze" the "bank accounts of "meat eaters to 'educate them,'" and does the Doconomy credit card refuse to let a consumer buy items when they are "deemed to be a net polluter"? No, neither are true: The CEO of Doconomy told Lead Stories that this claim is "clearly a lie," as the carbon emissions…

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 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…