Bio Labs

Does footage on social media show Palestinians celebrating at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem after they heard news of Iran's mid-April 2024 aerial attack on Israel? No, that's not true: The video was shot days before Iran launched drones and missiles against Israel. The video was recorded during the last Friday of Ramadan, according to a BBC reporter. Lead Stories…

Should everyone routinely take dewormer medication, as a post on X suggested? No, that's not true: In certain parts of the world, the World Health Organization recommends periodically giving deworming medication to preschoolers, school-age children, women of reproductive age and those working in high-risk professions. These recommendations are specific to certain regions, primarily sub-Saharan Africa, China, South America and Asia.…

Did Russia bomb "a cloning lab" in Ukraine's Donetsk, occupied by Russia in November 2023? No, that's not true: The website that published the claim relied on a fictitious single source, and that site carries a disclaimer saying it publishes "humor, parody and satire." No credible media organization reported the purported "news." The claim originated in a article (archived here)…

Did the U.S. government approve the sale of "lab-grown" meat "without any labeling"? No, that's not true: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on June 14, 2023, that it gave label approval to GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods; companies that produce chicken in a laboratory "grown directly from real animal cells." Their labels will say "cell-cultivated chicken." The claim…

Do castor oil compresses applied to the abdomen "heal" the colon to treat for diarrhea and constipation? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence that suggests castor oil has therapeutic benefits beyond its approved laxative properties when taken orally. Claims that castor oil compresses can heal diarrhea and constipation were made by a former naturopathic practitioner barred from…

Are aborted fetal cells added to artificial flavors in food products? No, that's not true: The false claim mis-states the use of HEK 293 cells in taste research by the Senomyx company, which was purchased by Firmenich, a Swiss flavor and fragrance company, in 2018. "Neither Firmenich products nor Senomyx products have ever contained any human cell or material," Firmenich…

Did a medical expert named Dr. Derek Knauss (or Knaus) prove that 1,500 COVID-19 diagnostic tests did not actually contain traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but did test positive for influenza A and B? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that any such research has taken place or been published in a reputable scientific journal. Extensive searches…

Are COVID-19 PCR tests "linked to human cloning"? No, that's not true. There is no evidence confirming that human cloning ever occurred. A study cited in a video making the claim never discussed PCR tests used during the pandemic because the study was published years before the world learned about COVID-19. The story originated from an episode of the Stew…

Does a Boston University (BU) study of a COVID-19 strain with an "80% lethality" have implications for humans? No, that's not true: The kill rate refers to mice used in the lab tests, and BU's manipulated virus was less lethal than existing wild viruses, which showed a kill rate of 100 percent. The experiment conducted at BU manipulated the SARS-CoV-2…

Are COVID vaccines linked to a 25 percent increase in cardiac arrest for both males and females in Israel? No, there's no evidence to support that. While data show an increase in calls to emergency medical services (EMS) for these types of events, it's unclear whether the final diagnoses of these cases represent "cardiac arrest and/or acute coronary syndromes at…