Isolated

Did a medical expert named Dr. Derek Knauss (or Knaus) prove that 1,500 COVID-19 diagnostic tests did not actually contain traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but did test positive for influenza A and B? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence that any such research has taken place or been published in a reputable scientific journal. Extensive searches…

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…

Was the statement that HIV causes AIDS "made Up"? No, that's not true: It's an established fact, proven by numerous scientific studies. However, posts on social media continue to claim otherwise. A recent example appeared on Facebook on December 15, 2022, under the text line: SHARE THE SHIT OUT OF THIS!!!! A video opened with a narrator saying: Under the…

Did the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) admit in a series of email exchanges that COVID-19 is man-made and that COVID vaccines were created with computer-generated DNA? No, that's not true: The MHRA told Lead Stories that the correspondence cited in a claim did take place, but the assertions made from those emails aren't correct. The claim…

Has the call-and-response game "Marco, Polo" proven to be a tactic to initiate sex trafficking in stores? No, that's not true: Spokespeople from human trafficking advocacy and awareness organizations told us that there are no confirmed reports of such a scheme being used for human trafficking. The claim, which may have stemmed from a viral TikTok video published on August…

Does liquid chlorophyll heal acne on the skin? No, that's not true: The director of clinical trials for the dermatology department of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center told Lead Stories that no data from clinical trials support drinking chlorophyll. An Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson said drinking chlorophyll can have adverse effects. The claim appeared in a Facebook…

Is it true that chemotherapy and radiation "actually causes cancer"? No, that's not true: Both treatments are rigorously studied, evidence-based effective therapies against this disease: They cure cancer, not cause it. Some people do develop another cancer after the initial diagnosis, about 16 percent. But an oncologist interviewed by Lead Stories says that less than 1 percent of those second…

Is it fact that viruses have never been isolated and there is no measles virus? No, that's not true: Scientists first isolated a virus in the 1890s. And a Persian doctor published written accounts about measles disease in the late 800s. In 1912, measles became a "nationally notifiable disease" in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control…

Does this clip show election fraud happening on live television? No, that's not true: Edison Research, the sole provider of Election Day data to the National Election Pool, which provides numbers to news organizations, told Lead Stories the vote change cited in the post was due to a typo in Henderson County, Kentucky. The error was caught and corrected within…

Did Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas claim "aborted fetus cells" are in COVID vaccines in writing a decision by the Court to not take up a legal challenge by New York health care workers who opposed the state's vaccine mandate on religious grounds? No, that's not true: Thomas was quoting the petitioners' argument in the case. COVID vaccines are developed…