Did a red banner resembling a Soviet flag fly in Berlin over the Reichstag building, the seat of the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, on May 8, 2023 to commemorate the 1945 liberation of Europe from Nazi control? No, that's not t
Publication: Fact Check
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Jada Pinkett Smith Said ‘White Supremacy Responsible for Cleopatra’s Terrible Audience Score’
Did renowned actress and film producer Jada Pinkett Smith say that "she blames 'white supremacists' for the flop of her new Netflix docudrama series, Queen Cleopatra"? No, that's not true: No credible evidence exists that Pinkett Smith ha
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pfizer Document Does NOT Show COVID-19 Vaccine Causes ‘Devastating Harm To The Musculoskeletal System’
Does a Pfizer document show that the pharmaceutical company's COVID-19 vaccine causes "devastating harm to the musculoskeletal system"? No, that's not true: The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective in p
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ventilators Did NOT Kill ‘Nearly All COVID Patients’ — Study’s Conclusion Was Misrepresented
Did mechanical ventilators kill "nearly all COVID patients" during the early stages of the pandemic? No, that's not true: The headline making the claim misrepresented the results of a study that reached a different conclusion: that second
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Tim Allen Did NOT Commit To Film Seven Episodes With Roseanne Barr
Did actor Tim Allen agree to film new episodes of Roseanne Barr's new show? No, that's not true: This claim was published on a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conservatives. Lead Stories could find no credible news repo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Anthony Fauci Is NOT Son Of Mother Teresa
Is Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the son of Mother Teresa, Catholic nun and Nobel Peace Prize winner? No, that's not true: Fauci was born to Italian-American paren
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Did Volodymyr Zelensky Wear a Symbol of a Far-Right Nationalist Group?
A Ukrainian flag is seen in a jacket of a woman waiting to see Volodymyr Zelensky speak at the Roya Castle in Warsaw, Poland, on 5 April, 2023. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto/Getty Images) Claims are circulating online that the Ukrainian coat of arms
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Watch The Water 2’ Does NOT Prove COVID-19 MRNA Vaccines Come From Snake Venom, Do NOT Cause Humans To Produce Venom In Bodies
Do COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and treatments for the virus come from snake venom and do the vaccines then cause humans to produce venom in their bodies? In addition, is nicotine the "perfect antidote" for COVID, making the vaccines unnecessar
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Raw Vegan Diet Or ‘Detox’ Does NOT Change Eye Color
Do the blue eyes of babies turn brown because of carbon -- and can adult eye color tinted by heavy metals, toxins and diseases be changed by "detoxing" -- by adopting a raw fruit-based vegan diet or using herbs such as contribo? No, that'
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Nike Was ‘Forced To Pay $1000 To Every Customer’
Was Nike "forced to pay $1000 to every customer" via gift cards? No, that's not true: As of May 18, 2023, there is no indication that courts or authorities made the company do so. The claim originated from a post published on Facebook on
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: U.S. ‘Special Forces’ Did NOT Raid ‘Regime Warehouse Filled With Drug Shortage Meds Headed To Ukraine’
Did "United States Special Forces" raid a "regime warehouse filled with drug shortage" medicine headed to Ukraine? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories this article "is false." The article is also located on a we
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Study Does NOT Reveal Most People’s Lungs Now ‘Riddled With Microplastics’ From Disposable Masks
Does a study reveal that disposable face masks are the cause of the high levels of microplastics found in human lungs? No, that's not true: Contrary to a headline about the study, the study never mentions disposable masks as a cause of th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Of Baby With Fish Tail Is NOT Real — It’s Manipulated Version Of A Real Image
Is an image showing a baby whose lower body resembles that of a fish legitimate? No, that's not true: The original image actually shows a baby girl born with a rare condition that fused her legs together. However, her legs did not look li
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NATO Did NOT Sign Agreement Not To Expand Eastwards After Soviet Union’s Fall
Did NATO sign a written agreement not to expand eastwards after the fall of the Soviet Union? No, that's not true: On its website, NATO refutes the claim, and even Russia -- which historically argued that it was offered verbal guarantees
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Healthy Liver Does NOT Prevent ‘The Spread Of Any Cancer’
Does solely maintaining a healthy liver prevent the spread of any cancer in the human body? No, that's not true: A Harvard Cancer Center professor of medical oncology told Lead Stories that this claim is "entirely false." Also, the woman
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Typical Tesla Supercharger Station Line — Queue Reportedly Happened Over Thanksgiving 2019
Does a video that shows a long queue for charging Tesla vehicles indicate some sort of government failure? No, that's misleading: The earliest version of this video was reportedly shot over Thanksgiving in 2019. Charging station locations
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image of White Woman With ‘Tail’ Is NOT Proof for Theory
Is a photograph of what appears to be a woman with a tail an authentic record of a real appendage, providing support for claims about the origins of white people? No, that's not true: The image was digitally edited and is a work of art. I
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Gospel Singer Shirley Caesar Had NOT Died As Of May 9, 2023
Was Shirley Caesar, a Grammy award-winning gospel singer and celebrated pastor, deceased as of May 9, 2023? No, that's not true: Caesar made at least one public appearance after May 9, 2023. There is also no indication that her health was
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Anheuser-Busch Did NOT Blame Elon Musk For ‘Declining Sales’ — It’s Satire
Did Anheuser-Busch blame Elon Musk for a decline in sales in April and May 2023? No, that's not true: The article attached to this post was originally published on a website that says its satirical articles are "not meant to be taken seri
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Supreme Court Did NOT Overturn 2020 General Election, Donald Trump NOT ‘Awarded The Presidency Of The United States’
Did the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the 2020 general election and award the presidency to Donald Trump? No, that's not true: The Supreme Court does not have the authority to overturn a general election or unilaterally award the presidency
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Kathy Hochul Cannot Appoint Someone to Replace George Santos in Congress
New York Rep.-Elect George Santos speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Annual Leadership Meeting in November 2022. (Photo by David Becker/ Washington Post/Getty Images) Social media users are claiming that if Republican Rep. George Santo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Are NO ‘New Benefits’ For Seniors From Walmart Offering $2,888 In Food Assistance
Can adults in the U.S. who are 55 and older receive close to $3,000 for groceries and other items because of "new benefits"? No, that's not true: There are no benefits that will allow older adults to get such an allowance at the time of w
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Michelle Obama Is Not Running For President
Michelle Obama speaks May 3, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Joy Malone/Getty Images) Posts are circulating online claiming that former first lady Michelle Obama is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2024. These claims are f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Post Does NOT Show Martha Stewart Promoting A Line Of ‘C0PD Gummies’
Does American television personality Martha Stewart advertise "C0PD Gummies" sold under her name? No, that's not true: Her website does not contain any information about such a product. The video does not sync with the audio, suggesting s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A ‘Kick In The Nut’ Is NOT Equal To ‘9000 Del Of Pain’ — There Is No Pain Measurement Called A ‘Del’
Is a kick in the testicles equal to "9000 del of pain" which is equivalent to giving birth to 160 kids or 3,200 bones getting crushed at the same time? No, that's not true: There is no such unit of measurement as a "del." A unit with a si
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Adrenochrome NOT Stored In Heineken Barrels, Transported By Shell Oil Company
Was adrenochrome stored in barrels from Dutch beer maker Heineken and then transported globally by Dutch oil company Shell? No, that's not true: The image circulating on social media, which shows a beer keg with the word "adrenochrome" st
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Free Tickets Promotion On Facebook Is NOT Sponsored By Six Flags
Is Six Flags amusement park corporation sponsoring a promotion on Facebook that offers up to eight complimentary Six Flags tickets? No, that's not true: In 2016 Six Flags posted a "Fraud Alert" on its website warning of social media posts
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Russian Attack On Ukraine’s Ternopil on May 13, 2023
Does a viral video show a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Ternopil during the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest? No, that's not true: The same footage first appeared online four months before, where it was used by Russian state-control
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Putin Did NOT ‘Reveal’ That ‘Jesus Was Black’
Did Russian President Vladimir Putin display a religious icon that featured a dark-complexioned man's face to show that "Jesus was black"? No, that's not true: The video in this post shows Putin displaying a copy of a Russian Orthodox Chu
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: North Carolina University Hospitals Are NOT Starting Gender Transitions On Toddlers
Do three North Carolina hospitals offer gender transitions to children as young as 2, 3 and 4 years old? No, that's not true: Social media posts have misrepresented what treatments are available to patients of various ages, insinuating th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Proof Pneumococcal Vaccine Causes Autism In Children
Does the pneumococcal vaccine cause autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence to support the assertion that the pneumococcal vaccine or any other vaccine causes autism. The shots are
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Kevin Costner Is NOT Suing ‘The View’ For Hate Speech
Did actor Kevin Costner file a lawsuit against the American Broadcasting Company's television talk show "The View" for hate speech? No, that's not true: This claim originated from a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conse
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Denzel Washington Did NOT Refuse To Work For Disney’s ‘Woke Cinematic Universe’
Did actor Denzel Washington refuse to play the role of a "secretly gay" character in a Disney superhero movie? No, that's not true: A satirical website originally published the article that makes this claim. The story (archived here) was
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Of Old ‘Tartarian Empire’ Or Of ‘Mud Flood’ Resetting Society
Did a once powerful and technologically advanced "Tartarian Empire" exist before being washed away or buried in a great "mud flood" that reset society? No, that's not true: There is no proof to support this claim. While the assertion has
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Democratic Party Did NOT Confirm Michelle Obama Will Be 2024 Nominee
Did the Democratic Party confirm that Michelle Obama will be its presidential nominee in 2024? No, that's not true: There are no news reports about the purported event, and, as of this writing, the former first lady is not an officially r
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Otto Warburg Did NOT Invent ‘Oxygen Therapy’ — EWOT NOT Proven To Cure ‘Top 200 Diseases In The World’
Can exercise with oxygen therapy (EWOT) "cure the top 200 diseases in the world ... by using oxygen and raising people's heart rates," as was discovered by chemist Otto Warburg? No, none of that is true: Warburg was a German scientist who
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Sperm Is NOT Proven To Have Beneficial Effects When Used For Skin Care
Should sperm be used to reduce wrinkles, moisturize the face and prevent acne? No, that's not true: There is no medical evidence that sperm (or ejaculate containing sperm, called semen), when applied to the face, will have the purported b
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Decline $120 Million Bud Light Twitter Marketing Campaign
Did Twitter CEO Elon Musk decline a $120 million Bud Light Twitter marketing campaign, saying "my principles come first"? No, that's not true: This story originated from a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conservatives.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Brag About Firing ‘Crybaby Liberals’ — It’s AI Video
Did Elon Musk brag about firing "crybaby liberals"? No, that's not true: This video was made using AI, or artificial intelligence. The Instagram post where this claim originated seems to be an ad for an app that uses AI to make public fig
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hillary Clinton Did NOT Say She Sacrificed Chickens To Moloch
Did Hillary Clinton say she sacrificed chickens to Moloch in a 2009 email? No, that's not true: The line in question was not written by her. The content of the exchange shows that the phrase was used as a figurative expression of cautious