Masks

Does the cover of the October 2023 issue of the German satirical magazine Titanic feature a cartoon of people wearing masks depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with a title that translates to "This time there won't be enough sweets for everyone"? No, that's not true: Titanic's webmaster confirmed to Lead Stories that this supposed cover is fabricated. The official cover…

Does a photo of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman -- the 2023 Nobel Prize laureates in physiology -- that shows them wearing face masks demonstrate that they do not trust "their own 'innovation'" in the field of mRNA vaccine development? No, that's not true: An image shared on social media was taken more than a year prior to the announcement…

Did Eglin Air Force Base make masks, COVID-19 testing, and booster shots mandatory after Labor Day 2023? No, that's not true: In a brief statement, the deputy chief of media operations with the Department of the Air Force at the Pentagon denied the rumor. He informed Lead Stories, "There are no COVID guidelines or mandates being implemented at Eglin Air…

Did a July 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conclude that children are being harmed by masks, resulting in a 17 percent rise in developmental disabilities in children 3-17? No, that's not true: A misleading headline on a paywalled Substack blog post mentions a "New CDC Report" as if it offers evidence supporting the claim that…

Did an unnamed source with the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) disclose to Real Raw News that there are about 19,000 sealed indictments held on U.S. physicians and medical staff for criminally coercing patients to get the COVID-19 vaccine in an unlawful and unethical partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of…

Is a story about a restaurant banning these pictured veterans to establish a "safe space" authentic? No, that's not true: The article uses completely fabricated details and is illustrated with an assortment of photographs taken from various real stories that are not related to the claims in the article. The claim appeared as an article (archived here) where it was…

Does a study reveal that disposable face masks are the cause of the high levels of microplastics found in human lungs? No, that's not true: Contrary to a headline about the study, the study never mentions disposable masks as a cause of the microplastics detected in human lung samples. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram on…

Did a study prove that wearing face masks raises the risk of stillbirths, testicular dysfunction and cognitive decline "due to build-up of carbon dioxide" (CO2)? No, that's not true: A "study" shared widely to social media was actually a review article of existing scientific studies -- not directly related to mask-wearing -- that a medical expert told Lead Stories was…

Does a draft of a World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic treaty supplant U.S. sovereignty, giving the international organization the authority to dictate American policies? No, that's not true: Nothing in the draft states the U.S. will lose its sovereignty. In fact, the draft says the opposite by "[r]eaffirming the principle of sovereignty of States Parties in addressing public health matters,…

Does a "gold standard" scientific trial prove that N95 respirators and surgical masks are ineffective at preventing the spread of COVID-19? No, that's not true: This claim misrepresents the intent and findings of the trial, the study author told Lead Stories. Canadian researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to determine "if medical masks offer similar protection against COVID-19 compared…