Did the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban COVID-19 vaccines in April 2023? No, that's not true: On April 18, 2023, the agency amended its previous emergency use authorizations (EUAs) to remove authorization for monovalent vaccin
Publication: Fact Check
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Robot Did NOT Commit Suicide — It Fell During Trade Show Demo
Did a robot that experienced "wage slavery" for 15 minutes commit suicide after determining that was the logical choice rather than to continue working? No, that's not true: The video was posted by Agility Robotics, celebrating the 99-per
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: New York City Is NOT ‘Trying To Ban Meat’
Is New York City, one of the world's culinary capitals, "trying to ban meat"? No, that's not true: The rumor followed a Mayor's Office announcement about the reduction of food-related carbon emissions, not a complete prohibition of meat.
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Tucker Carlson Cites False Ukrainian Casualty Numbers
Tucker Carlson. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.) During an April 13 broadcast, Fox News host Tucker Carlson cited a tranche of recently leaked U.S. intelligence documents as evidence that “Ukraine is in fact losing the war” against Russia.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Images Of Jeffrey Epstein With Children On Beach Are NOT Real Photos — AI Generated
Did a photo recently surface that shows Jeffrey Epstein posing with four children on a tropical beach? No, that's not true: This is not a real photo but an image created with the AI program Midjourney. This image, and another in the same
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Map Does NOT Show Where 3-Year-Old Children Can Get ‘Sex Change Surgery’
Does a map circulating on social media prove 3-year-old children can get a gender-affirming surgery in the United States? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such surgeries have ever been performed on patients of this age, and
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Tampons Do NOT Pull ‘Moisture Out Of The Vagina’ To Cause Tumors, Ovarian Cysts Or Fibroids
Do tampons pull "moisture out of the vagina" to cause reproductive disorders such as tumors, ovarian cysts and fibroids? No, that's not true: Medical experts told Lead Stories there is no evidence that pulling "moisture out of the vagina"
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Did NOT Snub UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak When He Arrived In Belfast On April 11, 2023
Did President Joe Biden "push away" or snub U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when Biden arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April 11, 2023? No, that's not true: The video in this post has been digitally edited. It was shortened to see
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Is NO ‘Dimensional Gateway’ In Antarctica — These Photos Were Edited
Did scientists find a "dimensional gateway" in Antarctica? No, that's not true: The evidence of the portals are computer-generated imagery, or CGI. Multiple photos used as background for these "dimensional gateway" photos are from stock i
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: HIV Is NOT Cured With Papaya Leaf And Black Seed Tea
Can HIV be permanently cured by ingesting papaya leaf and black seed tea? No, that's not true: At the time of writing, no cure for HIV has been discovered by medical professionals. Although several false claims of a cure have been made si
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Dog Dewormer Fenbendazole Is Not Proven To Cure Lung, Brain And Liver Cancer In Humans
Does fenbendazole cure cancer? No, that's not true: While there have been some experimental studies, it has not been approved as a cancer treatment in the United States. The claim appeared in a post republished from TikTok to Facebook on
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ohio Is NOT Introducing A New Decapitation Death Penalty Procedure — Satire From The Onion
Did the state of Ohio introduce a new death penalty procedure that "quickly and humanely rips off the heads of death row inmates using powerful robotic arms"? No, that's not true: This spoof news video is from ONN, the Onion News Network
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Joe Biden Did Not Ignore British Prime Minister Upon Arrival In Belfast
President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House Friday. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) A condensed video clip is circulating online of President Joe Biden appearing to ignore or to fail to recognize British Prime Mi
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Troops In Hazmat Suits Did NOT Land In Helicopters, Arrest 5 People On Utah State Campus For Manufacturing Ricin In April 2023
Did U.S. Army helicopters carrying troops in hazmat suits land on the campus of Utah State University and arrest five people for manufacturing ricin in April 2023? No, that's not true: The helicopters that landed on the campus on April 11
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Videos Do NOT Show Medicine Capsules Contain Nails — Internet Scare Hoax
Did several videos in countries around the world accurately show that tiny sharp nails or pins were in medicine capsules sealed in tamper-evident blister packs? No, that's not true: In February 2021 several videos circulated on the intern
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Washington State Bill Does NOT Allow ‘Government To Take Minor Children Away From Parents If They Refuse To Agree To Gender Transition Surgery’
Does a bill passed by the Washington State Legislature allow the "government to take minor children away" from their parents if "they refuse to agree to gender transition surgery"? No, that's not true: The legislation has no provision for
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video’s Audio Does NOT Have Fallon Fox Speaking In Authentic Voice
Does a video circulating on social media show mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox speaking in a "male" voice? No, that's not true: The clip appears to have been digitally altered to make it sound lower. Fox, who is an openly transgender
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Michael Jordan Did NOT Turn Down $120M Disney Deal On April 3, 2023 — It’s Fictional Story
Did Michael Jordan turn down a $120 million deal with Disney on April 3, 2023? No, that's not true: This story originated from the website The Dunning-Kruger Times, which has a disclaimer stating, "Everything on this website is fictional.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Usnea Lichen Is NOT Proven To Be More Effective Antibiotic Than Doxycycline and Penicillin
Is usnea lichen "scientifically proven" to be stronger than the antibiotics doxycycline and penicillin? No, that's not true: Though research suggests that usnea -- a lichen that grows on trees -- contains antimicrobial properties, these s
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Radio Wave, Mobile Phone Technology Do NOT Cause Influenza, COVID Outbreaks
Does a social media video prove that the advent of radio wave and mobile phone technology ushered in flu, COVID and other viral outbreaks from the 1900s on? No, that's not true: The emergence of these viruses is a natural process and not
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Biden Did NOT Claim Biggest Problem During Revolutionary War Was Lack Of Airports — He Was Referencing Trump
Did then-presidential candidate Joe Biden claim that the biggest problem during the Revolutionary War was the fact that they did not have airports? No, that's not true: Biden was referring to something then-President Donald Trump had said
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Putin Did NOT Address American People In English About Their Democracy — It’s AI
Is there a video clip of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking in English to Americans and saying that they are interfering with their own democracy? No, that's not true: The clip is a "deepfake," a form of artificial intelligence use
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show A ‘Recently Unveiled’ Oxford Statue — It Has Been In The Hague Since 2017
Does a photo show a sculpture named "Woman of our times" in Oxford, UK? No, that's not true: The artwork, which has a different name, has been displayed on streets of The Hague, Netherlands, since 2017. There is no evidence that it was re
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Of Crowd Running From Gunfire Was NOT In Dadeville, Alabama, But New Year’s Eve In Mobile
Does this video show a crowd running from gunfire in Dadeville, Alabama, after a shooting at a birthday party on April 15, 2023? No, that's not true: This video footage of a large crowd running was filmed in Mobile, Alabama, on New Year's
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Did Fox News Cover a New Chicken Sandwich Instead of the Louisville Shooting?
Fox News headquarters in New York. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket/Getty Images) A digitally altered screenshot of a Fox News report has been taken by social media users to suggest that the network aired coverage of a new chicken sandwich released
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: JFK Jr. Did NOT Write A Letter To Donald Trump After His Death In 1999
Did John F. Kennedy Jr. write a letter to Donald Trump following the 38-year-old magazine publisher's death on July 16, 1999? No, that's not true: former President Trump wrote in his book "The America We Deserve," published in 2000, that
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Root Canal-Treated Tooth’ NOT No. 1 Cause Of Heart Attack
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 factor
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence That Wrist Rubs Help Alleviate Sore Throat Symptoms
Does pressure application on a particular point in the wrist area help relieve a sore throat? No, that's not true: No credible sources suggest there is any connection between this type of self-massage and expedited recovery from a sore th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Images Of ‘Mysterious Animals’ Are NOT From Reign Of Thai King Rama V — They Are AI-Generated
Do photos shared on Facebook show giant, fantastical creatures that nobles hunted in the forests of Thailand over a century ago, during the reign of King Rama V? No, that's not true: These images are not real photos. They were generated b
The Dispatch→ Fact Check: Does a Passport Indicate Barack Obama Was Born in Kenya?
Former President Barack Obama. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images) Social media users are circulating Images of a British colonial passport belonging to a “Barack Hussein Obama” and naming Nairobi, Kenya, as the bearer’s birthplace to suggest tha
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photos Of Passport Do NOT Prove President Barack Obama Was Born In Kenya — It was His Father’s Passport
Do photos of British Passport #84764 issued in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 29, 1959 to Mr. Barack Hussein Obama prove that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and "was thus a FAKE and ILLEGITIMATE President"? No, that's not true: A fath
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Military Enforcement Of No-Fly Zone Over Antarctica
Does this video show the military enforcement of a no-fly zone over Antarctica? No, that's not true: This video shows a demonstration of the U.S. military intervening when a plane violates presidential airspace. Filmed by the "Today" show
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: PCR Tests Do NOT Contain ‘Magnetic Beacons’ Used For Tagging, Patenting Humans
Do PCR tests contain magnetic beacons that can be used for tagging, tracking or patenting humans? No, that's not true: No known magnetic substances, including beacons, are used in PCR tests or the swabs used to collect the samples. The te
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Soursop, Beans, Tomatoes, Onions Will NOT Cure Cancer
Is eating soursop, beans, tomatoes and onions a cure for cancer? No, that's not true: An oncologist and a dietitian told Lead Stories this combination of foods is no cure. Instead, the two experts advocated for a healthy, balanced diet to
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show People Running From Real Zombies In US
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 f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show ‘GWEN’ Tower That Downloads Brainwaves
Does a homemade video on social media show a "GWEN" tower that is designed to download brainwaves? No, that's not true: The Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) system was discontinued in 1994 and it was not designed to or capable of down
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video By Bitcoin Mining Company Riot Platforms Does NOT Prove Zero Carbon Emissions
Does a video put out by a Bitcoin mining company prove that their operation produces zero carbon emissions? No, that's not true: The video only demonstrates that a facility filled with computers doesn't produce smog like a factory might.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Joke Video Of ‘Cloud Factory’ At Chicago Ingredion Plant NOT Real
Does a video shared to social media in April 2023 authentically show a "cloud factory" in Chicago that makes rain to "control the climate"? No, that's not true: The video was posted to TikTok on April 1, 2023 -- April Fools' Day -- and fe
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Man’s Search For Birth Mom NOT Real — It’s Ruse To Get Shares, Harvest Personal Information
Does a man born in a specific town need help spreading a post about his search to find his birth mother who played the organ at a Nazarene church? No, that's not true: This false narrative is yet another instance of a spammer's ruse to tr
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Justin Bieber’s Mother Did NOT Say Her Son Was Conceived As Result Of Rape In Her Autobiography
Did Pattie Mallette, who became pregnant with Justin Bieber at 17, say it was a result of rape? No, that's not true: While being a survivor of sexual abuse, she does not categorize the moment she conceived her son as rape in her memoir. T