Canada

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…

Did a "Prague newspaper" publish an article referring to Canada as a "confederacy of fools" and describing its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, as "the prince of fools" in 2023? No, that's not true: The purported quote is a years-old repurposed fragment of text whose authorship has never been verified. In the past, the same quote was used to criticize other…

Did Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spend over a million dollars on Cartier jewelry in New York City while accompanying her husband on his recent official trip to the United States? No, that's not true: Zelenska was in Canada on the day of the purported shopping spree. Media provided extensive coverage of the…

Did Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre endorse a "QuantumAI" platform? No, that's not true: The video showing Poilievre speaking has been doctored to make it appear he is extolling the virtues of a money-making program that shares the name Quantum AI, a cryptocurrency-trading platform. The original footage of Poilievre dates from a March 2023 interview he gave to…

Does Canadian government data show that people double-vaccinated for COVID-19 have lost 74% of their "immune system capability," and that those who are triple-vaccinated have lost 73%? No, that's not true: The Public Health Agency of Canada told Lead Stories, "These claims are false." Additionally, there is no publicly available credible Canadian government data or scientific evidence to support such…

Did the Canadian government "admit" that 74 percent of people who are triple-vaccinated for COVID-19 now have "vaccine acquired immune deficiency syndrome"? No, that's not true: The Public Health Agency of Canada told Lead Stories an article making that claim is "false." Also, there is no credible information or reports suggesting that those who have been vaccinated for COVID-19 three…

Did Ukraine issue a stamp with an "image of the Nazi" who was "given a standing ovation in the Canadian Parliament" to recognize Yaroslav Hunka as Ukraine's national hero? No, that's not true: The website of the Ukrainian national postal service does not contain any mentions of the supposed stamp. Furthermore, the image shared on social media contained a barcode…

Does a video on TikTok capture the moment of the F-35B crash in South Carolina on September 17, 2023? No, that's not true: the clip does not accurately portray the location. It was originally published by an account specializing in sharing "realistic" fragments from flight simulator video games. Its author confirmed to Lead Stories that the video was artificially generated.…

Does this video show a real asteroid crashing into the moon, prompting an explosion following the collision? No, that's not true: Lead Stories determined through a reverse image search that the footage in question was first posted by a YouTube creator in February 2023 and was later shared by an account on Instagram that confirmed the clip was created using…