Autism

Were 570 children taken from their parents and placed into foster care in Los Angeles murdered in 2013? No, that's not true: The child protection advocate who is quoted in several articles citing the number told Lead Stories her source was a document published by the Los Angeles Times, but our review of the document found 570 was the total…

Was global warming data faked by the U.S. government to fit climate change fictions? No, that's not true: When scientists with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) modernized the way daily temperatures recorded in every nook and cranny of the United States were charted, it triggered cries of fraud and conspiracy by those who argue global warming is a hoax.…

Do flu vaccines contain 25,000 times more mercury than is legally allowed in drinking water? No, that's not true: Some flu vaccines do contain a trace amount of the organic compound Thimerosal, whch is 50-percent mercury. Thimerosal, used as a preservative only in multi-dose vials, breaks down in the body as ethyl mercury, which is removed from the body and…

Did a scientific study conclude that vitamin D supplements are more effective than flu vaccines in preventing influenza? No, that's not true: Stories making the claim cite reviews and studies that concluded there are significant benefits from maintaining a good level of Vitamin D in your system for the prevention of upper respiratory tract infections (such as colds), but only…

Is ADHD is a fake disease invented by Big Pharma to drug children for profit? No, that's not true: While there may be examples of misdiagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, scientific evidence shows it is real and that many patients can be helped with drug therapies. An article makes the bizarre claim that hunting and fishing statistics in Arkansas…

Did pyschologists in a Harvard study warn parents not to let children watch Peppa Pig because it causes autism? No, that's not true: It is a hoax first published in 2015 and that cites a scientific study that does not exist to scare parents into thinking that their young children could be harmed by the popular cartoon. One version of…

Did courts "quietly confirm" that the MMR vaccine, which protects children against measles, mumps, and rubella, causes autism? No, that's not true: Court cases cited in articles falsely making the claim concluded with damage awards for encephalitis blamed on vaccinations, and not for autism. These misleading reports also cite research from Andrew Wakefield, a doctor who lost his medical license…

Was the flu vaccine recalled because the government tracking microchips in it were defective? No, that's not true: the story was launched by a satire website that aimed to make fun of the various unproven conspiracy theories surrounding vaccination, for example that they contain government tracking chips or you get autism from them. Unfortunately running such a fake satirical headline…

An old hoax about holistic doctors being murdered suddenly went viral again for no apparent reason. The story claims they were all murdered because they discovered some enzyme in vaccines was compromising people's immune system so it couldn't fight cancer anymore. The version of the story that suddenly went viral again in 2018 was originally published on November 7, 2016…

Notorious fake news website Houston Leader published a hoax article titled: "Trump Signs Executive Order Issuing 90-Day Ban On Childhood Vaccinations". It opens like this: Late Monday afternoon President Trump announced what may be one of his most controversial decisions to date when he signed an executive order placing a temporary 90-day ban on all childhood MMR (measles/mumps/rubella) vaccinations. The…