Did 108 FIFA-registered players and coaches die in six months of 2021, as stated in a viral tweet? No, this claim is unsubstantiated. The number cited in the post, 108, seems to have originated from a source making a different claim that was not specific to FIFA, nor even the sport of soccer, nor a six month time frame. A…

Is humanity being held hostage by a new world order pushing COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: The video in this Facebook post recycles previously debunked claims about COVID and plays into the rhetoric of an elaborate QAnon story of a cabal of blood-drinking elites working for global dominion. The claims appear in a post (archived here) on November 16,…

Did California ban travel to Florida? No, that's not entirely true: While California did ban state-sponsored travel to Florida due to the latter state's policies against LGBTQ individuals, that ban does not extend to private travel. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on August 3, 2021. It featured a graphic that read: California bans travel to…

Was German former Formula One race car driver Michael Schumacher in a coma for six years after a skiing accident? And did his wife Corinna go into bankruptcy to fund her husband's medical treatment? No, that's not true: Michael Schumacher suffered traumatic brain injury when he fell and hit his head on a rock while skiing in Meribel in the…

Will a Mormon athlete named Rebecca Washington replace U.S. runner Sha'Carri Richardson on the U.S. Olympic team? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a post made by a parody Twitter account; the runner replacing Richardson is not named Rebecca Washington. The claim appeared in the screenshot of a tweet on an Instagram post (archived here) on July 5,…

Did Shelby Houlihan, an American runner poised to run in the Tokyo Olympics, receive a less harsh punishment than Sha'Carri Richardson, another potential American Olympic runner, when Olympic officials found out they both had banned substances in their bodies? No, that's not true: Houlihan got suspended for four years, while Richardson's suspension is for a month. The claim appeared in…

Did U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps get a lighter penalty than U.S. runner Sha'Carri Richardson for smoking marijuana? No, that's not true: Phelps was suspended from competition for three months, while Richardson was suspended for one month. The timing of the suspensions, however, made the impact of the suspensions seem harsher for Richardson. Phelps' suspension came six months after he…

Are 'giant' sculptures going to be built in 21 states in 2021? No, that's not true: The company creating them plans to use the structures to showcase quasi-animated images of heroes, athletes and celebrities once they have found investors in 21 cities that would want one. The claim originated in an Instagram post (archived here) on June 14, 2021, by…

Did a doctor prove that transgender girls have no performance advantage over cisgender girls in athletics? No, that's not true: Contrary to the claim in a British website's headline, medical researchers have documented trans women's performance advantage over cisgender women, although the advantage starts to shrink once trans women start taking hormones. There is no peer-reviewed study cited to support…

Did Foot Locker donate "200 million dollars to BLM"? No, there is no evidence the company made a donation to Black Lives Matter. The athletic gear company made an announcement in 2020 that it was "committing $200 million over the next five years towards enhancing the lives of our team members and our customers in the Black Community through Economic…