Health And Disease

Do vaccinations cause liver flukes in the human stomach? No, that's not true: Vaccine experts contacted by Lead Stories called the notion "science fiction" and "nonsense." Liver flukes are parasites you can get from eating contaminated food like raw fish or certain plants. Vaccines are safe, tested treatments that protect you from diseases and have nothing to do with parasites.…

Did the Cleveland Clinic say widespread use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will cause a wave of "mass deaths" within the next five years? No, that's not true: The medical center issued no such warning. A spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic told Lead Stories there is no scientific basis for the claim that the COVID-19 vaccine will lead to myocarditis and…

Were over 2,000 suicides officially reported in the U.S. the day after the 2024 U.S. presidential election? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no reports confirming that number. The figure widely shared online is more consistent with average global statistics over the years and is roughly 15 times higher than historic numbers for the U.S. -- but as of…

Is ivermectin a more effective cancer treatment than chemotherapy? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration says ivermectin is approved to treat parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions like rosacea, but does not list it as a treatment for cancer. The National Cancer Institute told Lead Stories that it has no information "supporting the claim" about ivermectin…

Does a video on social media show a woman named Alexis Lorenze suffering a typical reaction to DTaP, meningitis and pneumonia vaccines? No, that's not true: An expert contacted by Lead Stories said he has "seen this many times" in patients diagnosed with the same rare blood disorder Lorenze claims to have. Another expert stated that Lorenze's physical response to…

Was a 2024 recall of instant ramen noodles linked to deaths of five children in the U.S., as a post on TikTok suggested? No, that's not true: At the time of this publication, one voluntary recall was listed on the Food and Drug Administration website for Sun Noodles products because they may contain undeclared egg white powder. Sun Noodles confirmed…

Is a 2024 article on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines by Dr. Young Mi Lee, an obstetrician and gynecologist in South Korea, and Daniel Broudy, an applied linguistics professor at Okinawa Christian University in Japan a valid, well-done scientific study? No, that's not true: The article -- titled "Real-Time Self-Assembly of Stereomicroscopically Visible Artificial Constructions in Incubated Specimens of mRNA Products Mainly…

Is the mpox vaccine loaded with HIV, as a video shared by The People's Voice claims? No, that's not true: The People's Voice is a website with a long history of publishing made-up news, and it provided no sources -- aside from a supposed whistleblower -- to back up the claims made in the video. The ingredient list and package…

Is the monkeypox virus known to spread through airborne transmission, as suggested by a post on Instagram Threads? No, that's not true: Global health agencies agree that the primary way the virus is spread is through close or direct contact between an uninfected and infected person's body fluids, lesions or saliva, plus contaminated clothing or bedding. The U.S. Department of…

Does a 2017 paper on resveratrol suggest it could be used to stop or treat monkeypox as part of the public health emergency declared in August 2024? No, that's not true: An author of the paper told Lead Stories that resveratrol was never tested on humans or animals in their research, and it's "unclear if it suppresses poxvirus replication." An…