Climate

Was Greta Thunberg's detainment by police in Germany staged? No, that's not true: The spokesperson of the Aachen police department told Lead Stories that Thunberg's interactions with the police at the scene were real, but no arrests were made -- police escorted activists from the protest to collect their personal information. The claim was in a video on Instagram on…

Did President Joe Biden just form a "union" with Mexico and Canada that ended U.S. sovereignty? No, that's not true: The claim misconstrues the Declaration of North America, a trilateral partnership aimed at addressing major regional issues like security, sustainability and inclusiveness. The declaration says nothing about sovereignty and does not "give away American interests." The claim appeared in a…

Does the 1958 Encyclopedia Americana prove the Earth is flat? No, that's not true: A "dome" referenced in a 1958 encyclopedia entry describes a naturally occurring ice dome and not the firmament -- a supposed planet-encompassing dome conspiracy theorists believe supports the flat Earth claim. A mapping expert confirmed to Lead Stories that a well-documented ice dome is located at…

Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) issue an order directing the public to bathe once weekly or less as part of an effort to combat climate change and save the planet? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that WEF has issued such an order, nor does it have the authority to do so. The site that the…

Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) tweet that "Christmas must be abolished" to fight climate change? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this is a real tweet and it does not appear on the official WEF Twitter account. The claim appeared in an article published by News Punch on December 24, 2022, titled "WEF Wants To Cancel…

Did the appearance of a name and number on pizza boxes delivered to former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate in a video he posted lead to his arrest by Romanian authorities on December 29, 2022? No, that's not true: Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for the country's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), said in a phone interview with Lead…

Does a video of satellite imagery showing what a post describes as a "massive underwater wall" stretching from "pole to pole" prove that the Earth is flat? No, that's not true: A video of Google Earth seafloor mapping data depicted in the post shows what's known to mapping analysts as a "digital seam," or a location of the ocean floor…

Is "The Human Meat Project" an organization that harvests food from donated human bodies "to solve overpopulation" and the problem of climate change? No, that's not true: The unnamed creators of the Human Meat Project website clarify in the site's "Terms and Condition of Use Agreement Policy that "This is purely a conceptual art project and will not be acted…

Is the World Economic Forum (WEF) calling for a new initiative to "slaughter" millions of cats and dogs in order to decrease the effects of climate change? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this is a real WEF initiative. NewsPunch, where the claim originated, fabricated the claim using some material from a CNN article that does not…

Did U.S. Special Forces arrest World Economic Forum (WEF) Chairman Klaus Schwab because he ordered the genocide of 90 percent of the world's population by forcing them to get vaccinated against COVID-19? No, that's not true: A WEF spokesman denied the claim, which appears to have originated on a self-described conspiracy website. The claim appeared on Instagram on December 8,…