World Health Organization

Does a video on social media provide evidence that Hamas has been staging civilian casualties in Gaza by filming rubber dolls that look like real babies? No, that's not true: The video reused on social media was first posted months before the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict. Neither the footage nor the pre-war post said anything about Gaza. The claim appeared in…

Did Iceland ban COVID-19 vaccinations? No, that's not true: The Nordic nation has not banned COVID vaccines as of this publication and was actually encouraging at-risk populations to maintain a recommended vaccine schedule. Social media users and publications that pushed the false information regarding a ban did not provide verifiable evidence to support or corroborate the claim. Lead Stories determined…

Does the listing of "Pneumonia mycoplasma" in Pfizer's guidance on adverse event reports associated with its COVID-19 vaccine prove that the shot caused a respiratory outbreak in China? No, that's not true: It's a fundamental misreading of standard vaccine documents, which direct doctors to rapidly report any problems from a long list as a precaution. The Centers for Disease Control…

Does a video on Instagram show a Doctors Without Borders medic scooping up a rifle from a fallen gunman and running it up the street to another gunman who is still shooting? No, that's not true: The uniform worn by the person in the video carries the logo of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, a different organization. Higher-resolution video filmed…

Does a video show Israeli soldiers placing their national flag atop the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza? No, that's not true: Al Shifa buildings seen in other photos didn't appear to have any UN markings on the rooftops, while the building in versions of the flag-raising scene did have clear UN markings on its roof. A representative for the United…

Is the Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine "contaminated" with a type of DNA that causes permanent genetic changes in vaccinated people or leads to death due to cardiac arrest? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told Lead Stories that residual DNA found in Pfizer's COVID shot has produced "no safety concerns." Additionally, an infectious disease expert said…

Did a video on social media capture "the lead advisor to the World Economic Forum" advocating for making "useless people" addicted to drugs and video games? No, that's not true: The recording showed a pre-pandemic discussion about the societal dangers stemming from rapid technological development and growing health care inequalities. One of the two participants, Yuval Harari, is not "the…

Did a "survey" find that COVID-19 vaccines "killed 3.5X more Americans than COVID virus"? No, that's not true: A medical professional who treats patients of long COVID told Lead Stories that the so-called survey "lacked scientific rigor" and could not be extrapolated to the broader public -- it was not scientifically sound and included methodological flaws. The claim originated in…

Did U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry say, "We must sacrifice billions of humans to save planet Earth"? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Lead Stories that this claim is false. The article making this claim has twisted quotes by Kerry to fit its narrative. And while this quote is in the article's headline,…

Did London Mayor Sadiq Khan impose restrictions on meat consumption on all city residents as of October 20, 2023? No, that's not true: While the mayor publicly promotes increased vegetable consumption, he neither introduced rationing of meat nor enacted a total ban on this category of food. Posts on social media mislead about his policies. In addition, Khan first announced…