World Health Organization

Did a public high school in Georgia implement a "business model" assignment in which students had to devise ways of "raising and eating human babies to solve the world hunger problem?" No, that's not true: At two points in a video interview shared to social media, it was stated that the supposed business model was meant as a high school…

Does this photo show the aftermath of a bio lab intentionally attacked in Sudan? No, that's not true: The photograph is a screengrab from a video taken by a global news agency on April 20, 2023 days after internal conflict in Sudan's capital began. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed to Lead Stories that the National Public Health Laboratory in…

Is a root-canal-treated tooth the No. 1 cause of a heart attack? No, that's not true: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), coronary artery disease is the main cause of heart attacks. The three key risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and smoking. The claim about root canals appeared in…

Does a viral video portray Americans trying to escape real zombies? No, that's not true: There is no such thing as a zombie, outside fiction and cinema. The clip was recorded in Paris, France. The video captured a mass panic of shoppers following a loud noise caused by a suicide in a shopping center. The claim appeared in a video…

Did the world suddenly stop having new COVID-19 variants after Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), retired at the end of 2022? No, that's not true: More than a year before his retirement, the most recent variant of COVID, Omicron, was identified in Botswana and South Africa. Many Omicron subvariants have…

Will rubbing your hands and fingers together every morning cause you to lose weight? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such a practice will contribute to weight loss. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted to TikTok on July 27, 2022, by the user @medical_acupuncture, who is professionally known as Hiroko Shimoda. In the video,…

Does ankle massage relieve migraines and headaches "instantly"? No, that's not true: It is not a widely accepted scientific consensus. While there is some research suggesting that massage may be beneficial to alleviate the impact of stress, one of the migraine's major triggers, the National Institute of Integrative and Complementary Health explains that existing studies show inconclusive results. More importantly,…

Have copper bracelets made by "CopperHeal" been shown to "significantly reduce" blood sugar and treat diabetes? No, that's not true: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed to Lead Stories in an email that the agency had not approved such a product for these uses as of this publication. While there is preliminary evidence that copper ions may play…

Are humans never supposed to get sick and does the power of the human mind heal all sickness? No, that's not true: Medical experts have identified several causes of diseases other than human thoughts that affect the human body. The claim appeared in a reel published on Facebook on February 8, 2023. It featured a clip from an interview with…

Does Children's Hospital of Philadelphia offer "gender-affirming" support, including surgical or hormonal procedures, directly to children as young as 3 years old? No, that's not true: The hospital's Gender and Sexuality Development Program offers "psychosocial and medical support for gender nonconforming, gender expansive and transgender children and youth up to age 21 and their families." However, in pre-pubescent children below…