Conspiracy And Children

On November 10, 2021, Lead Stories published a fact check about an article published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on November 2, 2021. In response, the BMJ published an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg on December 17, 2021, calling our fact check "inaccurate, incompetent and irresponsible." We addressed their concerns in a December 18, 2021, article, going over their…

Did researchers discover "various foreign objects" -- like worms hatching from eggs -- in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: None of the listed ingredients in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine are intentionally harmful. The claim, which originated in this article published January 8, 2022, by the RAIR Foundation, reappeared in an article (archived here) published by Liberty Planet…

Do gematria codes used by conspiracy theories always result in matches? Yes, that's true: Gematria is a form of numerology in which the letters of the alphabet are substituted with corresponding numbers. A single word or phrase can yield several values depending on which alphanumerical cipher is used. Gematria is popular with conspiracy theorists, looking to find hidden connections or…

Is the Aboriginal population in Australia's Northern Territory being forcibly vaccinated against COVID-19? No, that's not true: Experts told Lead Stories that COVID-19 vaccination in Aboriginal populations is not compulsory. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted to Rumble on November 24, 2021. The video is a segment from The Stew Peters Show that featured a clip of…

Is humanity being held hostage by a new world order pushing COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: The video in this Facebook post recycles previously debunked claims about COVID and plays into the rhetoric of an elaborate QAnon story of a cabal of blood-drinking elites working for global dominion. The claims appear in a post (archived here) on November 16,…

Does a Mayo Clinic-trained pathologist explain how COVID-19 vaccine "spike proteins" are "killing you"? No, that's not true: mRNA COVID vaccines teach the body to make the distinctive spike proteins, which the immune system quickly identifies, attacks and destroys because it recognizes them as not part of the human body, thus preparing itself to ward off COVID if the patient…

Does a 54-minute video interview featuring elaborate conspiracy theories show we are living through a global bioweapons attack? No, that's not true: The video includes a lengthy list of claims and charges that have already been debunked. No evidence is provided to support the notion of a worldwide bioweapons attack by a cabal bent on global dominion. The interview was…

Does a 2017 Oklahoma state law pave the way for vaccination mandates and are there plans to sort people at roadblocks, fit them with tracking chip bracelets and send the unvaccinated to FEMA camps? No, that's not true: This video is made of three different elements: text captioning that does not accurately represent the Oklahoma legislation, a 2009 video of…

Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and many others make confessions in military tribunals? No, that's not true: A video does not show a military tribunal with Pelosi and Schumer on trial. Instead, it's a photograph of Pelosi and Schumer at the U.S. Capitol in 2020 overlaid with audio of people talking about conspiracy theories regarding…

Are Walmart locations actually military bases that are interconnected by underground tunnels? No, that's not true: It's implausible that thousands of miles of tunnels could be excavated, made military-ready and maintained, all without detection, since the tunnels would disrupt electrical, sewer and water lines and would cross thousands of private properties. The video "proof" offered amounts to a series of…