Sweden

Does Fireball whiskey contain antifreeze or propylene glycol? No, that's not true: It contains neither, according to the company, which states on its website: "All versions of Fireball, both in the U.S. and the rest of the world, are 100% PG (propylene glycol) free." The claim appeared in a Facebook post on July 24, 2022. Alongside a caption that reads:…

Do COVID-19 vaccines suppress the human immune system? No, that's not true: There is nothing to suggest that COVID shots have that sort of impact on the body's defenses. "There is no clinical or epidemiological evidence that COVID vaccines generally suppress or weaken the immune system," Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at…

Did a U.S. military transport helicopter carry a silver disc-shaped UFO to Area 51? No, that's not true: This photo has been edited. A Swedish helicopter was carrying a European Space Program shuttle prototype of a "reusable launch vehicle" (RLV) named Phoenix. This test took place on May 8, 2004, at the North European Aerospace Test Range in Sweden. The…

Was the rapper Drake arrested by the Swedish police in a nightclub in July of 2022? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support the claim and both Drake's team and Swedish police have reportedly denied the rumor. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on July 14, 2022. It featured a graphic of Drake with text that…

Will the World Economic Forum (WEF) "freeze" the "bank accounts of "meat eaters to 'educate them,'" and does the Doconomy credit card refuse to let a consumer buy items when they are "deemed to be a net polluter"? No, neither are true: The CEO of Doconomy told Lead Stories that this claim is "clearly a lie," as the carbon emissions…

By Uliana Malashenko Is it true that Finland transferred tanks to the Russian border at the beginning of May 2022? No, it's not true: A video showing trains carrying military equipment captured the Finnish army heading to a scheduled military exercise in the opposite direction. One of the first English-language posts claiming that the Finnish army moved dangerously close to…

Did Finland vote to join NATO? No, that's not true: The Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C., told Lead Stories that such a decision has not been made yet. Finland and Sweden plan to submit their NATO applications in May 2022, according to The Guardian, but Finnish parliamentary groups had not officially voted on this issue at the time of writing.…

Did Nigeria send over 5,000 "military forces to Ukraine"? No, that's nothing to substatiate such a claim: The Nigerian federal government has discouraged Nigerian citizens from joining Ukrainian military forces, as of March 7, 2022. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria reports that some citizens have volunteered to join Ukrainian troops but doesn't say how many. Also, the Armed…

Do these photos show fanciful outfits elderly people came up with after being given access to a forest and told to dress up using the available raw materials? No, that's not true: These photos are the result of a collaborative art project between Norwegian photographer Karoline Hjorth, Finnish artist Riitta Ikonen and the individuals featured in the works. Each person…