False Promotion

Did Elon Musk offer to pay 100 homeowners to test the "newest technology of solar panels"? No, that's not true: This offer that's too good to be true is a ruse to collect personal information and is not associated with Musk or Tesla in any way. Schemes such as this, involving false solar panel installation promotions in order to generate…

Did a YouTube video reveal that Elon Musk bought the search engine giant Google? No, that's not true: The video has a clickbait title, offers no details of a sale and appeared on a YouTube channel that admits its videos are fictional and have no connection to Musk. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has no record that Google, a…

This article lays out the evidence Alan Gray (CEO of alternative news site NewsBlaze) is quite likely the key person behind the anonymously published website named Real Science hosted on the domain name goodsciencing.com. It was recently in the news because it was the source for some spectacular (but wrong) statistics about athletes suffering cardiac arrests (here's our fact…

Did a young engineer named Christian discover a way to make cars more fuel efficient, but get fired from his job after telling his managers? Did he then develop a chip that will calibrate a car's fuel usage? No, that's not true: Much of this video footage was lifted from a YouTube video promoting the University of Huddersfield. The young…

Did Tesla launch a new cryptocurrency that will rapidly turn a £200 ($240) investment into thousands in just days? No, that's not true: This deceptive ad is not associated with Tesla. Although Tesla has invested in cryptocurrency, and Dogecoin can be used to buy some Tesla products, the automotive-energy company owned by Twitter CEO Elon Musk has not created a…

Did a tourist in Northern Ireland record a giant's "door" opening in the mountainside at Giant's Causeway? No, that's not true: This was part of a promotional video made by An Taisce - The National Trust for Ireland, a nongovernmental charity that works to conserve Ireland's national environment and maintain Irish landmarks. An Taisce, translated from Irish (Gaeilge) to English…

Did the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pass "new laws and regulations" to ban sea moss in November 2022? No, that's not true: The FDA does not have the legal authority to either propose or approve legislation, including bans. As a regulatory authority, its role is to enforce laws enacted by Congress. An FDA spokesperson told Lead Stories that the…

Will answering three questions for Walmart earn consumers a $500 shopping credit to spend on groceries? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the big box retailer has such a program. The claim appeared in a September 30, 2022 post on Shopping Daily's Facebook page. It opened: Walmart directors insists to help by spreading -- $500 shop credit…

Is there still a mystery surrounding the bright red glow under the clouds seen by a pilot flying over the north Pacific Ocean? No, that's not true: Pilot Dustin Maggard spotted the red glow on July 16, 2022. Although there was initially some question about what caused the glow, experts verified that there were commercial fishing boats in the area…

Do COVID-19 vaccines create "engineered biostructures" inside human arteries? No, that's not true: There's no evidence that happens. In an email to Lead Stories, Dr. John R. Su with the Immunization Safety Office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, the "CDC is unaware of any evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause the human body to create 'engineered…