Does a video depict South African firefighters dancing at a Canadian airport on their way to help battle the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires? No, that's not true: A video showing 200 South African firefighters singing and clapping together was actually recorded in 2023 as they arrived at the Edmonton International Airport to help fight Canadian wildfires. A South African news…
Did President-elect Donald Trump call Elon Musk a "two bit car salesman" in a post shared on Truth Social? No, that's not true: Lead Stories searched Trump's Truth Social account and found that he did not share such a post as of this publication. No information about this supposed post has been reported on the website of any news outlets…
Did South African trauma surgeon Dr. Vicky Jennings die after "suffering a sudden heart attack" related to COVID-19 vaccination, as implied by social media posts? No, that's not true: Jennings' colleague and head of department told Lead Stories that he can "unequivocally confirm that her death was in no way related to vaccination." A medico-legal autopsy required by law in…
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 Elon Musk post on X that the U.S. overstepped its bounds "by helping to end apartheid" in his "home country," South Africa? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no record of Musk sharing this statement on his verified X profile as of November 5, 2024. The news media have not reported the supposed statement even though it "showed"…
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…
Does a video on social media show former President Barack Obama in a GITMO jail cell after being arrested in 2019? No, that's not true: It's authentic video, but it was taken in 2013 when Obama visited the jail cell where former South African president and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years. There is no evidence that…
Did Bill Gates introduce a so-called "maggot milk" product called EntoMilk? No, that's not true: Although EntoMilk, made from insects, was an actual product that existed in South Africa in 2019, Gates was not a part of its release. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation told Lead Stories that the claim he was involved is false. The website of the…
Does a photo show a picnic at a Black Detroit church visited by Trump in June 2024? No, that's not true: The photo was taken in 2023 at a fly-fishing lodge in Idaho. It pictured a gathering of TV and movie celebrities that happened over 1,600 miles from the 180 Church in Detroit, and the photo was posted originally on…
Does a 50-second video show authentic remarks by U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller discussing "military targets" in the Russian city of Belgorod, with "virtually no civilians left" in that city? No, that's not true: The video mixes video of different briefings, during which Miller made no such remarks. The words falsely attributed to him in the video were AI-generated.…
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