Canada

Did Canada recently change its passport policy to prohibit people from listing Palestine as their country of birth on their passports? No, that's not true: Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller responded to the claim on X. Miller said there have been no recent changes to the nations listed in Canada's passport application form for country of…

Did Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say that Russia must win this war? Yes: Trudeau did misspeak at the end of a news conference in Poland. While speaking of how aid and military equipment would be supplied to Ukraine, he accidentally said "Russia must win this war." He immediately corrected himself and said, "Ukraine must win this war against Russia."…

Does mercury generate "free energy" as a post on Instagram claimed? No, that's not true: Mercury is a metal that can "conduct electricity in ways similar to copper," an industrial chemist told Lead Stories and the clips shown in the video on Instagram are "all demonstrations of electromagnetism," not energy production. Furthermore, an inorganic chemist told Lead Stories that mercury…

Does a video on social media show immigrants in Canada "forced" to live near busy train tracks in Toronto? No, that's not true: This video was shot in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, and gained traction online during February 2024. A Nigerian government official responded to this video, which showed traders selling goods alongside a track as a train rushes…

Did comedian Ellen DeGeneres and actor Tom Hanks pledge to move abroad if Donald Trump is elected president in 2024? No, that's not true: No credible news outlets have reported that. The claim was promoted, among others, by an online store selling T-shirts, a meme website and a parody account -- not by the official websites or social media accounts…

Did the "zombie deer virus," officially known as chronic wasting disease, spread after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's foundation vaccinated deer across the country? No, that's not true: The foundation, better known as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, told Lead Stories it doesn't "fund such a program." Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture clarified that its only "semi-widespread vaccination program" involving wildlife…

Did American physician and author Dr. Steven Gundry discover three "completely natural ingredients, and as a result, blood pressure disappeared forever"? No, that's not true: Gundry's publicist said that this post is a "total scam" and was not produced by his team. At the time of writing people who clicked the post's "Learn More" tab were taken to a page…

Was "44-year-old Sahil Omar" confirmed as a suspect in the explosion at the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Downtown Hotel in Texas? No, that's not true: The Fort Worth police department had not named any suspects at the time of writing. "Sahil Omar" has been labeled a suspect in multiple tragedies in states far from one another on the social media…

Did COVID-19 vaccines kill 17 million people around the world during the pandemic? No, that's not true: Infectious disease experts told Lead Stories that the surge in deaths correlates with surges in coronavirus infections, not vaccination campaigns. The overwhelming majority of adverse events reported after vaccination are mild and temporary, and the benefits of vaccination in preventing severe illness and…

Does a viral video show proof that the U.S. national debt was paid off in 2017? No, that's not true: The U.S. Treasury website shows the current U.S. national debt, which is about $33.7 trillion, a number accepted by U.S. financial markets, independent economists and the Federal Reserve Bank. The video relies on paperwork that has nothing to do with…