Bill Gates

Did the World Economic Forum introduce a "mark of the beast" CBDC microchip to "end gun ownership" in the United States? No, that's not true: The United States hasn't announced the implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as of this writing, and the hypothetical abolishment of the Second Amendment that allows gun ownership would involve a different process…

Did the Financial Times report that a man was "arrested after he spent 17 years traveling the country with a hacked debit card that gave him the exact amount of money needed for any purchase"? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the Financial Times confirmed to Lead Stories that the outlet did not publish this story, and a search…

Did The Washington Post report that Bill Gates was "being held under armed watch at Guantanamo Bay" after having been "charged with war crimes against humanity"? No, that's not true: A search through the newspaper's digital database returned no such results, and no credible news publication or official government statement describing such an event was publicly available as of July…

Did a helicopter release a swarm of deadly mosquitoes over the crowd at Baltimore's African American Festival (AFRAM) on June 18, 2023? No, that's not true: An urban entomologist told Lead Stories that day-active mosquitoes in that region do not swarm the way videos showed. The Baltimore Health Department has not had any reports of mosquito-borne illness from the festival.…

Did Bill Gates hatch a convoluted plan to create a demand for anti-malaria drugs he funded by also funding malaria-fighting programs while developing a means to introduce malaria to the United States through genetically modified mosquitoes? No, that's not true: Genetically modified male mosquitoes being tested in the U.S. - the type that don't spread malaria and also don't bite…

Does the use of chlorine in swimming pools calcify the pineal gland or contribute to calcification? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no credible peer-reviewed studies supporting the claim, and a doctor specializing in neurology confirmed to Lead Stories that such causation is not known to the medical community. The story appeared in a post on Instagram on May…

Did Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates suggest that "3 billion people need to die"? No, that's not true: The claim on social media recycles unsupported speculations from 2019 based on a distorted quote taken out of context. The story reappeared in a post on Instagram on June 9, 2023. The caption said: Does Bill Gates really want to eliminate…

Is Apeel, a company that makes an edible coating for fruits and vegetables, injecting "shots," or vaccines, into produce because Bill Gates owns the company? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Apeel has anything to do with vaccines. Gates gave Apeel grants in 2012 and 2015, but did not found and does not own Apeel. Yahki, the…

Was adrenochrome stored in barrels from Dutch beer maker Heineken and then transported globally by Dutch oil company Shell? No, that's not true: The image circulating on social media, which shows a beer keg with the word "adrenochrome" stamped on the side, is actually part of an art display from 2018. The project appears to be a satirization of a…

Does the Chelsea Clinton-endorsed vaccine program "The Big Catch-up" require U.S. children to receive a COVID-19 mRNA immunization? No, that's not true: The program is a global effort to "catch up" on giving recommended childhood vaccines, which declined globally during the 2020 pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) told Lead Stories that there are no mandated vaccinations required under this…