Abortion

Did House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson say that "Every woman has a duty to birth at least one able-bodied worker"? No, that's not true: Johnson's director of media affairs told Lead Stories that he "never said anything of the kind." Johnson made reference to "able-bodied workers" during a congressional hearing in 2022, but did not say the words attributed…

Did a study by the University of Seattle and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center discover that women harvest and store in their brain DNA from every man they've ever made love with? No, that's not true: The headline on an article grossly misrepresents the findings from a study that did find male DNA (a phenomenon called microchimerism) in 63…

Is a "WEF agent" revealing a plan to exclude "less desirable" people from digital currency that will take over the world? No, that's not true: The man in the first clip in the video is a renowned Cornell University professor who was speaking at a World Economic Forum event but he is not an "agent" of the organization. He was…

Did Alex Soros, son of billionaire businessman and philanthropist George Soros, say in an interview that he wanted to "eradicate conservatives from the Internet" and that he is "100 times worse" than his father? No, that's not true: In a Wall Street Journal article that featured an interview with the younger Soros, Alex Soros is never quoted as mentioning conservatives…

Are tetanus shots being used to sterilize people? No, that's not true: Such claims are "completely illogical and contrary to fact," a molecular biologist told Lead Stories. There is no substantive evidence that tetanus vaccines available as of June 2023 contain a hormone that would "attack" a pregnancy and cause a miscarriage. Numerous studies indicate that tetanus vaccines are safe…

Did the Italian government announce "Family Pride Month" to celebrate heterosexual "mothers and fathers" instead of the LGBTQ+ community? No, that's not true: While Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been criticized domestically and internationally for her government's policies on LGBT+ issues, the country did not officially replace Pride Month with the celebration of heterosexual families. The claim appeared in…

Did Pattie Mallette, who became pregnant with Justin Bieber at 17, say it was a result of rape? No, that's not true: While being a survivor of sexual abuse, she does not categorize the moment she conceived her son as rape in her memoir. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook on April 11, 2023. It said: She was…

Are menstrual cycles not natural and are they caused because the body is removing toxins? No, that's not true: "It is completely natural and it is essential," a physician and scientist told Lead Stories about the menstrual cycle. The claim that the menstrual cycle is due to the body removing toxins is not scientifically true, the expert said. The claim…

Can women get pregnant by sunlight as a result of the process called parthenogenesis? No, that's not true: Mammals, including humans, do not reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Facebook on March 13, 2023. The male host said: Women can do that. They can get pregnant by sunlight. It's called parthenogenesis. The description…

Was a 19-year-old girl in Texas sentenced to "96 years in prison" after traveling across state lines to gain access to an abortion procedure? No, that's not true: The social media account that shared this post is a satirical one. Furthermore, Texas law enforcement officials did not publicly announce such an arrest and conviction, and no reputable media outlet covered…