Was a green screen used to produce one of the more memorable images of rioters inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021 -- with actors posing in another location and superimposed onto still and video images of the riot? No, that's not true: An image circulating online is a photoshopped prank composed of two different images after-the-fact. The…

Did Kyle Rittenhouse file a $400 million lawsuit against CNN? No, that's not true: The article containing that claim was posted on a satirical website, with several indications that it was a fictitious story. The claim originated in a November 26, 2021 article (archived here) published on the satirical site Daily World Update titled "Rittenhouse files $400 Million suit against…

Is Bill Gates charged with murder in India's High Court for an alleged COVID-19-vaccine-caused death? No, that's not true: A $134 million lawsuit has been filed against Gates and others in India but it was done so by a private citizen who claims her son died after adverse effects from a COVID-19 vaccine. This is not a case filed by…

Did the head of a German hospital who killed himself release a video before his death, calling COVID vaccines a genocide and saying he could no longer live with the lies? No, that's not true. Instead of showing Dr. Thomas Jendges, the now-deceased managing director of Chemnitz Clinic, the video shows a German gynecologist named Guido Hofmann, who is active…

Was a German video blogger and chemist murdered for exposing the truth about graphene oxide in vaccines? There is little information available on Dr. Andreas Noack's death other than two videos his life partner posted to Telegram. Statements made in these videos do, however, dispel rumors that Noack was killed by police. Noack's partner posted a video to a Telegram…

Does this video unmask new-in-November-2021 evidence that Dr. Anthony Fauci helped mastermind the COVID-19 pandemic to bring humankind under government control? No, that's not true: The October, 2019 C-SPAN video has been the subject of conspiracy theories since October, 2021. In this version of the conspiracy theory, a One America News (OAN) news reader puts words in the mouths of…

Is Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, undergoing a lockdown during the 2021 holiday season despite having a 100% COVID-19 vaccination rate? Not exactly: Although Gibraltar -- which has vaccinated most of its adult population and the workers who commute there -- has experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases since October 2021, the territory is only canceling its large, government-sponsored holiday…

Do energy drinks cause kidney stones? No, that's not true: Dr. Moro Salifu, a medical doctor who specializes in kidney function, told Lead Stories that energy drinks do not cause kidney stones. A photo posted with the claim purports to show kidney stones, implying a link between that condition and the consumption of energy drinks. Salifu said kidney stones such…

Do people "die for a second" when they sneeze? No, that's not true: The Library of Congress answered that question, saying that the myth may have originated from the pressure change people feel in their chest after sneezing. There may be a more forceful heartbeat after a sneeze, but the Winchester Hospital in Massachusetts' medical experts say the electrical activity…

Was Klaus Schwab arrested at his home in Switzerland? No, that's not true: The founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), was not arrested at home in Switzerland both the Swiss Federal Police and the police in Geneva, Switzerland said, calling the claim "fake news." The claim was originally posted on Conservative Beaver, a website that has since been disabled.…

Did 108 FIFA-registered players and coaches die in six months of 2021, as stated in a viral tweet? No, this claim is unsubstantiated. The number cited in the post, 108, seems to have originated from a source making a different claim that was not specific to FIFA, nor even the sport of soccer, nor a six month time frame. A…

Did Nancy Pelosi buy a $25,000,000 mansion in Florida? No, that's not true: "This is completely false," the Speaker of the House's deputy chief of staff told Lead Stories. The real estate broker who listed the house told Lead Stories that neither Pelosi nor anyone related to her purchased the home. The claim appeared as a post (archived here) where…

Did one of the world's leading medical journals declare that stigmatizing the unvaccinated is "unjustified" and that government public health officials are bullying by "suggesting that people who have been vaccinated are not relevant in the epidemiology of COVID-19"? No, that's not true: Those are opinions of one reader of The Lancet, shared in a letter to the "Correspondence" section…

Do fully vaccinated people account for four in every five recent COVID-19 deaths in the UK? Yes, that's true: But simple ratio analysis based on that statistic doesn't tell the story fully. The figures are found in the COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report - Week 47 by the UK Health Security Agency published on November 25, 2021. That report warns users…

Does a viral photo featuring a large mass of people gathered in a city square show an anti-COVID-19 vaccination protest in Austria? No, that's not true: The image, taken in 1991, actually shows Russians gathered to protest the leadership of the country at the time. The claim was suggested in a Facebook post (archived here) published on November 23, 2021.…

Is the Aboriginal population in Australia's Northern Territory being forcibly vaccinated against COVID-19? No, that's not true: Experts told Lead Stories that COVID-19 vaccination in Aboriginal populations is not compulsory. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted to Rumble on November 24, 2021. The video is a segment from The Stew Peters Show that featured a clip of…

Is there an audio feed that can be accessed via telephone for Ghislaine Maxwell's trial since the trial will not be televised? No, that's not true: "No, no dial-in for the trial," the public information officer for the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York told Lead Stories. The number and access code in the post was…

Did Kyle Rittenhouse file a $60 million defamation lawsuit against Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg? No, that's not true: It is a satirical claim published by a network of websites that trolls conservatives with false articles. There is no such court filing by Rittenhouse, who was recently found not guilty of murder in Kenosha, Wisconsin, against the two TV talk…

Is it true that vaccine ingredients are kept from doctors, while chefs must know cupcake contents in order to protect diners from allergic reactions? No, that's not true: Doctors, pharmacists and anyone with access to the internet can look up all ingredients of legal vaccines, which are also included in the packages in which vaccine vials are shipped and stored,…

Was Anita Dunn, former senior advisor to President Joe Biden, arrested on November 20, 2021, by the U.S. Marine Corps? No, that's not true: officials told Lead Stories the political strategist was not apprehended. Plus, the website where the claim was published is infamous for promoting fake stories. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) posted online on November…