Coronavirus

Does video of a syringe with a retracting needle prove that "the elites" faked receiving vaccinations? No, that's not true: It is generic footage demonstrating the use of a prop syringe for use on stage or during filming. It did not document any high-profile individual using the dummy syringe to avoid vaccination. Entries on social media sharing the video in…

Did the U.S. State Department deny Dr. Anthony Fauci's passport renewal application in March 2025? No, that's not true: The original source of that claim about the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was an article on a website that describes its own content as "fiction" and "satire." The article attributed quotations to two fictional…

Did South Korea issue a warning about mRNA vaccines, saying "6 billion people now have VAIDS" as a viral article claimed? No, that's not true: VAIDS is not a real condition and the story making originated on a notoriously unreliable website that did not cite any source to back up the claim in the headline. The only study cited in…

Did actress Michelle Trachtenberg "Die Suddenly" at the age of 39 because of the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: Social media posts spreading the speculation offered no supporting evidence. As of February 26, 2025, no investigating officers or credible media organization reported any connection between vaccination and Trachtenberg's death. "Died Suddenly," the name on an X account posting the…

Is there an authentic article with a headline that reads, "They knew: why didn't the unvaccinated do more to warn us?" No, that's not true: There is no evidence that an article with this headline was ever actually published on a website. Lead Stories could not find any instance of the headline appearing beyond a supposed screenshot. The purported headline…

Do social media posts share the real side effects of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine as of January 2025? No, that's not true: The post lists 'adverse events of special interest' that researchers are required to report if they happen during drug trials, it is not a list of things that actually were observed. The most common side effects are feeling tired,…

Did a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study find that children who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are more likely to get infected than those who are unvaccinated? No, that's not true: The study of children aged six months to four years found there was not a big difference in infection rates, especially for those who hadn't had COVID…

Does a video on Threads show drones over the United States in 2024? No, that's not true: The video predates the 2024 wave of drone sighting reports. The clip has been online since at least 2022 and was described as showing drones spraying disinfectant in China at the time. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads on…

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…

Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s only stated position on vaccines that they should be studied "like any other pharmaceutical product" as a social media post claims? No, that's not true: In 2023, Kennedy said, "There's no vaccine that is ... safe and effective," and he has a long history of questioning vaccine safety and suggesting links between vaccines, autism and…

Was Fox News contributor Dr. Kelly Powers' death from cancer due to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: An article calling her "fully vaccinated" implies that she passed away from the COVID vaccine. Powers was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in July 2020, according to an obituary; the COVID vaccine was not available until 2021. The article…

Were COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by military contractors rather than by Pfizer and Moderna? No, that's not true: FDA inspection records show the vaccines were made in drug industry labs. Pfizer pointed Lead Stories to publicly available documents about its facilities in Belgium, Germany and at least two locations in the U.S., including Kalamazoo, Michigan. Under Operation Warp Speed, the government…

Did the Cleveland Clinic say widespread use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will cause a wave of "mass deaths" within the next five years? No, that's not true: The medical center issued no such warning. A spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic told Lead Stories there is no scientific basis for the claim that the COVID-19 vaccine will lead to myocarditis and…

Was Bill Gates criminally indicted in the Netherlands in October 2024 for his role in the COVID-19 pandemic? No, that's not true: A Dutch judge only ruled that the case can be heard in the Netherlands because one plaintiff lives in the region covered by the court. This is a civil lawsuit, as court records show, and, therefore, it doesn't…

Is retail chain Costco refusing to accept returns on toilet paper, paper towels, sanitizing wipes and other items amid the "chaos" caused by Hurricane Milton? No, that's not true: A sign stating that Costco will not give customers a refund on these items already appeared in social media posts in 2020, when people were hoarding supplies at the outset of…

Was voter turnout above 100 percent in 2020 in some precincts of Henrico County, Virginia? No, that's not true: Data in a social media post inaccurately added county-level absentee ballots to precinct counts using a mathematical estimate. The county director of elections told Lead Stories that the assertion about impossible turnouts is "incorrect." Counties are not concealing precinct data by…

Is a 2024 article on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines by Dr. Young Mi Lee, an obstetrician and gynecologist in South Korea, and Daniel Broudy, an applied linguistics professor at Okinawa Christian University in Japan a valid, well-done scientific study? No, that's not true: The article -- titled "Real-Time Self-Assembly of Stereomicroscopically Visible Artificial Constructions in Incubated Specimens of mRNA Products Mainly…

Does a video posted on X authentically show New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unable to open her left eye? No, that's not true: Lead Stories traced the clip back to its original version on YouTube, which showed Hochul with both eyes open and blinking normally while recording a public service announcement for the COVID-19 vaccine. The video was digitally altered.…

Did Melania Trump officially e-file for divorce from Donald Trump over Labor Day weekend 2024? No, that's not true: This story originated with a faked screenshot that looked like Newsweek reporting. The image resembling a Newsweek tweet was posted to several social media platforms by data scientist and whistleblower Rebekah Jones, who later claimed this was a test. After the…

Has Vice President Kamala Harris announced a widespread COVID-19 vaccination policy? No, that's not true: Her campaign website shows that she requires employees of her 2024 presidential campaign to be vaccinated. There is no evidence that Harris has released a plan to require COVID vaccination for all Americans. The claim was implied in a post (archived here) on Instagram on…