Cancer

Did oil tycoon and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller act as a driving force behind arrests of those who supported alternative medicine? No, that's not true: Although Rockefeller's foundation financially backed medical education changes in the U.S., there is no evidence that Rockefeller's contributions led to the arrest of those who encouraged alternative medicine. The claim appeared in a post (archived…

Are COVID-19 vaccine-related "turbo cancers" real? Are they also "contagious" and "behaving like a bioweapon"? No, that's not true: There is no serious evidence for the claim that COVID vaccines cause "turbo cancers." Cancer is complex and has many causes. Additionally, the thought that cancers could be contagious or act like bioweapons lacks support from credible science. Vaccines help the…

Is cayenne pepper "the most powerful blood thinner"? No, that's not true: A cardiologist told Lead Stories it's not the most powerful blood thinner and there is no evidence cayenne pepper is more effective than the drugs scientists have tested and have proven work on large groups of people. The claim appeared with a video on Facebook (archived here) on…

Do babies not need the hepatitis B vaccine because it was only created for "hookers & drug users" and are babies being used by the pharmaceutical companies to mitigate losses? No, that's not true: There are legitimate reasons for babies to be vaccinated against hepatitis B, including serious long-term health risks, even if their parents do not engage in risky…

Are sunglasses "bad for your eyes" because they trick the brain into believing the sun isn't that hot, thus leading to more severe sunburn? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to substantiate this claim. Lead Stories spoke to the American Academy of Ophthalmology and two board-certified dermatologists who all told us this claim was false and that individuals…

Does data collected from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) prove that COVID-19 vaccines are "killing an estimated 1 person per 1,000 doses," resulting in "676,000 dead Americans"? No, that's not true: The claim originated in a blog post by a known COVID misinformation spreader who used VAERS data in ways that medical experts have explicitly advised against. As…

Does eating cayenne pepper kill cancer cells and regenerate damaged DNA? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that eating cayenne pepper will repair DNA or kill cancer cells in humans, according to a dietitian at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. A clinical director at the National Human Genome Research Institute told Lead Stories that if a…

Does a video on social media prove that the death of former FBI agent Ted Gunderson was connected to his public speeches and did not result from natural causes? No, that's not true: The video, shared under different captions on social media that implied such a scenario, contradicted the initial announcement about Gunderson's death made by his son, who told…

Does a photo of Angelina Jolie in a wheelchair with an amputated leg confirm "very sad news" about the actress? No, that's not true: The photo appears to be a doctored image of Jolie's head on the body of a woman in Scotland whose leg was amputated in January 2023. News outlets published photos of Jolie in public as recently…

Does a social media post listing "1,884 Athlete Cardiac Arrests" and 1,310 deaths between January 2021 and July 2023 prove a connection between these mishaps and the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: While the ultimate source of the information cited in the post lists hundreds of "athletes" who have died or collapsed for various reasons (some of them clearly…