Did air traffic controllers at the Jacksonville International Airport stage a walkout Friday, October 8, to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates, resulting in all flights in and out of Florida being cancelled? No, that's not true: The National Air Traffic Controllers Association told Lead Stories that "there was weather that affected operations" and it was "a common occurrence." The Federal Aviation…

Is there an "epidemic of plane crashes linked to [the] COVID-19 jab"? No, that's not true: There's no documentation to back up the statement that there is an "epidemic" of crashes, much less one crash caused by COVID-19 vaccines. A video making the claim relies on a recent California crash, the cause of which has not yet been determined. A…

Did a Delta pilot, who had recently received the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, die suddenly during a flight? Did this cause the plane to make an emergency landing at another unspecified airport sometime in the first 10 days of October 2021? No, that's not true -- a Delta Air Lines spokesperson says the claim is false, and the…

Did President Joe Biden order dishonorable discharge for 46% of U.S. service members who refused COVID-19 vaccination? No, that's not true: Although the Biden administration opposed sections of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) designed by the 117th Congress related to service members and the military COVID vaccine mandate, the administration did not order service members who oppose COVID vaccination…

Do the COVID-19 vaccines contain "sharp metal pieces" or some kind of "metal structure"? No, that's not true. A video claims doctors and scientists have performed a new experiment where they looked at vials of "pure vaccine" for multiple COVID-19 vaccines under a microscope and observed metal and metallic pieces in the liquid. Documents posted by the Food & Drug…

Did the Secretary of Defense send a text to all active military personnel telling them to get the COVID-19 vaccine by 10 a.m. or they would be court-martialed, and did 12 F-22 pilots walk off the job because of the text? No, that's not true: "The Secretary of Defense has never sent any kind of force-wide text message about anything,…

Did 27 U.S. Air Force pilots resign their commissions after the announcement of the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all U.S. active duty and National Guard service members? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence the claim was valid; and Real Raw News, the site where the claim was originally published, is known for parody and…

Is the FDA approval of the COVID-19 vaccine illegal, and does a "doctor" prove the Pfizer informational insert with its vaccine shows criminal regulation violations? No, that's not true: The claims made on the Stew Peters show by a guest without a medical degree are recycled conspiracy theories and false claims about the COVID-19 vaccine that Lead Stories has previously…

Did Allied bomber pilots drop wooden bombs on German decoy airfields made from wood to let them know they saw through the ruse? While no historical sources can confirm this story beyond a doubt, researchers have compiled eyewitness accounts and other evidence that indicate that this is more than an urban legend. Versions of this story emerged as early as…

Does a video implying that five JetBlue pilots died after getting the COVID-19 vaccine show evidence to back that up? No, it does not. Of the five people named in the video, one was not a pilot, but an inflight crew member for JetBlue. One of the five died from cancer and another one passed away after an off-road vehicle…