Climate

Did the Maldives announce its bankruptcy at the International Monetary Fund as of February 18, 2024? No, that's not true: A publicly available report issued by the International Monetary Fund on February 6, 2024, said the South Asian country was at a high risk of "debt distress," but never said it was bankrupt or had announced bankruptcy. As of February…

Does a video circulating on social media show a CNN report with President Joe Biden speaking about oil smuggling in Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela? No, that's not true: The video clip is not authentic. This exact clip is available from a celebrity voice-generating app. This clip featuring the likeness of Joe Biden has an AI-generated voice delivering a customizable…

Did Assistant to the Secretary of Defense John Kirby say that the "true number of civilians deaths in Gaza is zero"? No, that's not true: That is a misquote that drastically changes the meaning of what Kirby said. No such quote is found in the transcript of the briefing shown in the Tweet that makes the claim. What Kirby did…

Are there secret, hidden pyramids in Bosnia that are older and taller than the Egyptian pyramids? No, that's not true: An archaeologist who is an expert on the Balkans told Lead Stories that the claims have been circulating for nearly 20 years and are not true. The massive hills near Visoko in Bosnia are not secret pyramids; they are natural…

Did the World Economic Forum declare that coffee drinkers will have to limit themselves to two or three cups of coffee per year in the future? No, that's not true: No recommendation to limit coffee consumption was made at the Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. At a session titled "Putting a Price On Nature," guest panelist Hubert Keller mentioned…

Does a recording of Amazon's virtual assistant reciting a conspiratorial answer to "Alexa, What are they spraying in our skies?" prove the "chemtrails" theory of a global conspiracy to depopulate the planet with chemicals sprayed from above? No, that's not true: While Amazon confirmed on January 18, 2024 that the recording of Alexa was authentic, a spokesperson said Alexa has…

Can "unnatural chemtrails" be differentiated from an airplane's "normal condensation trails" because "contrails never last more than a minute" as asserted by a former pilot in a video? No, that's not true: The amount of time a plane's contrail is visible is dependent on the atmospheric conditions present where the plane is flying, the temperature and the humidity at that…

Did journalists Peter Doocy or John Berman report that 100 earthquakes "just hit" Yellowstone National Park and that such earthquakes may lead to an "eruption"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that either journalist reported such news. Additionally, a video mentioning such a report does not show any clips of either journalist saying that. The video also mixes…

Did Greta Thunberg wear a Hamas headband and hold an Islamic State flag in an image that appeared on social media? No, that's not true: The picture showing the Swedish climate activist has been changed from the original using photo editing. While Thunberg does support a ceasefire in Gaza and "Justice for Palestine," based on posts on her social media…

Did California approve Bill Gates' plan to make residents drink their own feces? No, that's not true: A headline by The People's Voice grossly misrepresents the regulations that were approved by California's State Water Board on December 19, 2023. The recycled wastewater would meet or exceed current drinking water standards, and the regulations have nothing to do with billionaire Gates.…