Did the BBC post a graph that showed a dramatic increase in the "Fortunes of Ukrainian politicians" between February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and December 2022, after the receipt of billions of dollar
Publication: international
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Buy Google
Did a YouTube video reveal that Elon Musk bought the search engine giant Google? No, that's not true: The video has a clickbait title, offers no details of a sale and appeared on a YouTube channel that admits its videos are fictional and
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence COVID Vaccine Caused Canadian Reporter To Stumble On Air
Did the COVID-19 vaccine cause Canadian reporter Jessica Robb to stumble on air? No, there's no evidence that's true: Robb, a CTV News journalist who appeared to suffer a medical emergency while reporting live on air, has said that what h
Truth or Fiction?→ Brazil Insurrection Had Familiar Faces, Themes
A January 8 2023 attempted right-wing coup in Brazil’s capital Brasília followed the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (popularly known as “Lula”) over right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the South American nation’s pres
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Activist Liam Coward Died As Result Of COVID Vaccine
Did activist Liam Coward die as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine? No, there's no evidence that's true: Although the exact cause of Coward's sudden passing is not known, there is nothing to indicate it had anything to do with the vaccine.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Myocarditis, Pericarditis Did NOT Increase Nearly Eightfold In Swindon, England, After COVID Shots Began
Did the incidence of the heart conditions myocarditis and pericarditis increase nearly eightfold in the English town of Swindon after the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: The numbers, which were released through
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: There Are NOT ‘Massive Structures’ Or ‘Lost City’ Located Below Antarctica
Are there massive hidden structures located below Antarctica, hiding a "lost city unlike any other"? No, that's not true: There is no written record, geological or archeological evidence to prove that there are hidden structures or a lost
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Coronavirus Does NOT Mean ‘Heart Attack Virus’ In Latin
Does the word "coronavirus" mean "heart attack virus" in Latin? No, that's not true: A translation shown in a video circulating on social media relied on the intentional misspelling of the word, which triggered Google Translate glitches.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Images Do NOT Prove Existence Of ‘Covert Military Base’ On Mars
Does a set of online images prove that there is a "covert military base" on the planet Mars? No, that's not true: There have been no documented human missions to Mars, whether for military or other purposes, as of the date of this fact ch
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab Did NOT Tweet, Say ‘Jesus Is the Original Fake News’ — It’s A Fake News Story
Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) or its founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab, tweet or say that "Jesus is the original fake news"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that the statement is from Schwab or the WEF. The claim
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Pope Benedict Did NOT Ask Biden Not To Attend His Funeral — Ex-Pontiff Wanted Simple Ceremony
Did Pope Benedict ask President Joe Biden not to attend his funeral? No, that's not true: According to a Vatican spokesperson, the wish of the retired head of the Catholic Church was to have a simple ceremony, and there is no evidence tha
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: World Economic Forum Did NOT Declare That Pedophiles ‘Will Save Humanity’
Did the World Economic Forum declare, as part of a purported campaign to promote public acceptance of pedophilia, that "pedophiles will save humanity"? No, that's not true: No credible evidence exists that the WEF has made any such statem
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FIFA Will NOT Keep Pele’s Feet In Its Museum
Will FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football Association) keep Pele's feet in its museum? No, that's not true: A FIFA spokesperson who replied to a Lead Stories query by email on January 5, 2023, said, "We completely refute this c
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Obama Is NOT Hitler’s Grandson
Is former U.S. President Barack Obama the grandson of Nazi-era Germany's leader Adolf Hitler? No, that's not true: U.S. census data and Obama's birth certificate show that his mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Kansas in 1942 to American par
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: GoodSciencing.com List Contains Obvious Non-Cardiac, Non-Vaccine Related Cases of Dead Or Collapsed Athletes
Does an article listing 1,616 "athlete collapses and deaths" between January 2021 and December 2022 prove a connection between these mishaps and the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: While the article documents scores of "athletes" w
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence ‘White Hats Disable Amphibious Cruiser That Attacked GITMO’
Did "white hats" in the U.S. military "disable an amphibious cruiser that attacked GITMO" as of January 4, 2023? No, that's not true: The aircraft carrier identified with a photo as the "aggressor" was never put into service and was sold
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Evidence Croton Plant Helps Kidney Disease
Is there evidence that the croton plant "helps" kidney disease? No, that's not true: An expert told Lead Stories that there is no such proof. There are no medical or scientific studies that show the croton plant can help kidney disease. I
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Japan Is NOT Investigating ‘Millions Of COVID Vaccine Deaths’ — No Such Death Tolls Reported, No Investigation Launched
Did Japan launch an official investigation into "millions of COVID vaccine deaths" in December 2022 or early January 2023? No, that's not true: As of January 4, 2023, there is no available evidence to suggest that "millions" of people in
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bill Gates Did NOT Announce Date, Location Of Next Pandemic
Did Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and philanthropist, "announce" when and where the next pandemic will take place? No, that's not true: A video circulating on social media reused audiovisual material labeled as fictitious. The clip
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Cry After Clashing With Sen. Chuck Grassley
Did former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi cry after Iowa's Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley presented information about business ties between Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, and the Chinese government? No, that
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID Vaccine Data Do NOT Show Increased Risk Of Serious Adverse Events Of Special Interest In Randomized Trials
Does a reanalysis of Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine data show an increased risk of serious adverse events of special interest? No, that's not true: The authors of this study created their own subset of serious adverse events of
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Deep State’ Conspiracy NOT Behind Arrest of Ex-Kickboxing Champ Andrew Tate — Satirical Site Made The Claim
Did a "deep state" conspiracy lead to Romania's arrest of former kickboxing champion and online celebrity Andrew Tate on December 29, 2022? No, that's not true: Romanian authorities have told Lead Stories that Tate was arrested following
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Andrew Tate Was NOT Freed From A Romanian Jail As Of January 3, 2023, After Detention In Human-Trafficking Probe
Did Romanian authorities free social-media influencer Andrew Tate from jail two days after arresting him in connection with human-trafficking charges? No, that's not true: A spokeswoman for Romanian law enforcement told Lead Stories that,
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show Pope Benedict XVI Doing The Nazi Salute
Does a photograph on social media show a young Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, doing the Nazi salute? No, that's not true: The photo is cropped. The original photograph shows Ratzinger with both arms raised; not j
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: America Was NOT Named After Morocco
Was America named after Morocco? No, that's not true: Neither the governments of Morocco nor of the United States of America recognize this North African country as America's namesake. There is no evidence from an authoritative source to
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: World Economic Forum Did NOT Issue Weekly Bathing Order As Response to Climate Change
Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) issue an order directing the public to bathe once weekly or less as part of an effort to combat climate change and save the planet? No, that's not true: There is no credible evidence that WEF has issued
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Experts In Study Do NOT Claim Artificial Sweeteners Behind Spike In ‘Sudden Deaths, Heart Attacks’
Does a new study claim that artificial sweeteners are to blame for "soaring rates of heart attacks and sudden deaths the past two years"? No, that's not true: The study does not suggest any such link but instead says "The findings ... sug
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Vaccines Do NOT Contain ‘HIV Protein’ Causing ‘Vaccine AIDS’
Do COVID-19 vaccines contain an "HIV protein" that is causing "vaccine AIDS," resulting in an increase in people "showing up HIV-positive"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to suggest COVID mRNA vaccines currently available in th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Hoxsey Method Is NOT Cure For Cancer — It’s Folk Remedy
Did Harry Hoxsey, an ex-convict who had no medical licensing, create an effective method for curing cancer using a family concoction made up of herbs plus diet? No, that's not true: This old claim has been debunked as ineffective and dang
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Is NOT A Quote From Jacques Attali’s 1981 Book ‘Verbatim’
Does Jacques Attali's book "Verbatim," published in 1981, contain a prediction of a man-made pandemic that would eliminate the elderly and other vulnerable parts of the population? No, that's not true: There is no such quote in his book.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ronaldo Did NOT Donate His Golden Shoes ‘To The Children Of Palestine’ In 2011
Did Cristiano Ronaldo, an award-winning soccer player and the captain of the Portugal national team, sell some of his trophies -- European Golden Shoes -- and donate the money "to the children of Palestine" in 2011? No, that's not true: S
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: World Economic Forum Did NOT Tweet That ‘Christmas Must Be Abolished’
Did the World Economic Forum (WEF) tweet that "Christmas must be abolished" to fight climate change? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that this is a real tweet and it does not appear on the official WEF Twitter account. The claim
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Andrew Tate’s Arrest NOT Because Of Pizza Boxes In Video With Name, Phone Number — It Followed Long Probe
Did the appearance of a name and number on pizza boxes delivered to former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate in a video he posted lead to his arrest by Romanian authorities on December 29, 2022? No, that's not true: Ramona Bolla, a spoke
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NASA ‘Photograph’ Does NOT Show Pyramid On Mars — It’s Doctored Image With Egyptian Pyramid Added
Does a NASA photograph show a "perfectly built" pyramid located on the surface of Mars? No, that's not true: A photo shared on Facebook in December 2022 said to show a pyramid on Mars is a digitally altered image using actual NASA photos,
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: This Video Does NOT Show ‘Russia’s Most Advanced Nuclear Submarine’ Spotted In Hawaii On December 26, 2022
Was "Russia's most advanced nuclear submarine' seen floating in Hawaii on December 26, 2022? No, that's not true: A social media post making the claim uses footage from a fictional TV show. The story appeared in a post published on Facebo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Ukrainian Flag Delivered To Washington By Zelenskyy Did NOT Have The ‘Nazi SS’ Symbol
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bring a national flag with the "Nazi SS" symbol to Washington, D.C.? No, that's not true: The image circulating on social media was flipped to distort the original inscription. The claim appeare
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show Olena Zelenska After ‘Shopping Trip In Paris’ — Image Is Photoshopped
Does the image in this tweet document Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska on what appears to be a private jet after she spent "€40000 on a shopping trip in Paris"? No, that's not true: The image is a digital manipulation that puts her f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: The Orange Dot On iPhone Does NOT Mean Someone Is Listening To You
Does the orange dot on the iPhone mean someone is listening to you or spying on you? No, that's missing context: A cyber security expert told Lead Stories the orange circle is a warning from Apple that the microphone is being used by an a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Merkel Does NOT Say In Interview That U.S., NATO Planned War In Ukraine Against Russia
Did former German Chancellor Angela Merkel reveal in an interview plans by the United States and NATO for war in Ukraine with Russia? No, that's not true: Nowhere in her interview with the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, which wa
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Lionel Messi’s Face Will NOT Be Featured On Argentine Banknote After World Cup Victory
Will the likeness of Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina's national soccer team, be featured on an Argentine 1,000 pesos banknote after the team's win at the 2022 World Cup? No, that's not true: There is no evidence at the time of this wri