Photograph purportedly shows a medical patient who received a severe penile burn from urinating on an electric fence.
Publication: medical
Snopes→ Will Burning Bay Leaves Reduce Anxiety?
A chemical compound found in the leaves of the bay laurel may affect mood, but the results are inconclusive and not necessarily relevant to bay leaf smoke.
Snopes→ Does a Walt Disney World Attraction Help People Pass Kidney Stones?
A Dr. David Wartinger of Michigan State University published a medical study suggesting that a ride on Disney World's Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster can be beneficial.
Snopes→ Is Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana On The Rise?
Nearly all reports of fentanyl-laced marijuana are based on faulty reporting, and no evidence suggests that its occurrence is in any way rooted in reality.
Snopes→ New Research Finally Solves the ‘Fibromyalgia Mystery’?
The research is real, but it is neither new nor did it substantively affect the debate about the disease’s cause.
Snopes→ Does a Viral Video of Mercury and Aluminum Mixing Suggest That Vaccines Are Unsafe?
A science experiment on YouTube was co-opted by anti-vaccine activists to make scientifically illiterate innuendoes about vaccine safety.
Snopes→ Did People Put Sunscreen on Their Eyes During the Solar Eclipse?
A story that spread throughout the world is based on a single person's unverified claim.
Snopes→ Are ‘Illegal Immigrants’ To Blame For a Hepatitis A Outbreak in San Diego?
Right-wing web sites tried to link a local health emergency to undocumented immigrants, but without supporting evidence.
Snopes→ Johns Hopkins Scientist Exposes Flu Vaccine Danger?
An anthropologist (not a doctor) penned a non-peer reviewed piece arguing that flu vaccination benefits are overestimated and that the risks have not been sufficiently highlighted.
Truth or Fiction?→ 14 Year Old Boy Shot By Stepfather, Needs Money for Surgery-Fiction!
14 Year Old Boy Shot By Stepfather, Needs Money for Surgery-Scam! Summary of eRumor: A 14-year-old boy was shot six times by his stepfather after the boy stopped an assault on his little sister, and Messenger will donate 45 cents to help cover the boy&
Snopes→ Has Iceland Eliminated Down Syndrome Through Abortion?
A report by CBS News highlights a nearly 100 percent termination rate in the pregnancies of Icelandic women whose fetuses test positive for Down syndrome in genetic screenings, but some have mischaracterized this report.
Snopes→ Did an Australian Teen Get Attacked by Flesh-Eating Sea Bugs?
The 16-year-old was likely bitten by an unusually large number of sea fleas -- not sea lice, as was originally reported.
Snopes→ Did a Man in Sweden Die From Penis Enhancement Surgery?
News articles accurately recount a real case published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
Snopes→ Does Pepto-Bismol Contain Xylitol, Which is Harmful to Dogs?
Xylitol, a sugar substitute, is harmful to dogs, but Pepto-Bismol does not contain it.
Snopes→ Are People in Brooklyn Refusing to Vaccinate Their Pets Over Autism Fears?
This viral story has its origins in a neighborhood paper, but it is based entirely on the vague comments of two veterinarians and the musings of seemingly random people on the street.
Truth or Fiction?→ Solar Eclipse August 2017: Solar Eclipse Glasses-Scam!
Solar Eclipse August 2017: Solar Eclipse Glasses-Scam! Summary of eRumor: As Americans prepared for a full solar eclipse on August 21, 2017, online retailers began pushing solar eclipse glasses as a must-have safety device for viewing the solar ecli
Snopes→ 31-Year-Old British Woman Died of “Cannabis Poisoning”?
Although this claim is based on official testimony from a pathologist during an inquiry into a mysterious death, scientific evidence makes such an explanation problematic, if not completely untenable.
Truth or Fiction?→ Kirk Cameron Diagnosed with Rare Form of Leprosy-Fiction!
Kirk Cameron Diagnosed with Rare Form of Leprosy-Fiction! Summary of eRumor: Actor, musician and outspoken Christian Kirk Cameron has a rare form of leprosy that turns people into walking piles of rotting flesh. The Truth: False reports that Kirk Ca
Snopes→ Does Cuba Have A Cancer Vaccine That Has Already Cured Thousands?
While a treatment for lung cancer developed in Cuba has entered clinical trials in the United States, it is not a preventative tool, nor has it “cured” thousands of people — at least yet.
Snopes→ Finnish Researchers Set to Start Type 1 Diabetes Vaccine Trials?
Scientists at Finnish universities are targeting a strand of viruses linked to Type 1 diabetes, and human trials for a vaccine will begin in 2018.
Snopes→ Woman Confuses Spray Foam Insulation for Mousse?
A photograph supposedly shows a woman who mistakenly used expanding foam insulation on her hair instead of hair mousse.
Snopes→ Did the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Announce a Ban on a Colgate Total Toothpaste Ingredient?
A widely-shared article gets some crucial facts wrong about a September 2016 FDA ruling on the use of triclosan.
Snopes→ Home Pregnancy Tests Detect Testicular Cancer?
A home pregnancy kit can detect testicular cancer in some circumstances, but it's not a reliable diagnostic test.
Snopes→ Do You Know the Danger of Turning on the A/C After Starting the Engine?
Contrary to online scarelore, automobile components do not emit dangerous levels of cancer-causing benzene fumes.
Snopes→ Is Hobby Lobby Closing All Their Stores?
The recirculation of a several-year-old, misleadingly headlined news story has spread the mistaken belief that the Hobby Lobby chain is closing.
Truth or Fiction?→ CLA Safflower Oil Leads to Weight Loss, Less Belly Fat-Unproven!
Safflower Oil Supplement Leads to Weight Loss, Less Belly Fat-Unproven! Summary of eRumor: Claims that safflower oil and/or conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) supplements can help you lose weight, particularly in the belly area, have been circulating
Snopes→ Scientists Discover a Drug That Regenerates Teeth?
Research using a chemical that stimulates stem cells in degraded teeth has been tested in mice with promising results, but the research is in its infancy.
Snopes→ Investigation Proves Starbucks Beverages Contain Feces?
An imprecise test that appeared to show Starbucks drinks were contaminated prompted internet hysteria and widespread baseless claims.
Snopes→ Coconut Oil As a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease?
There are plausible mechanisms behind the notion that coconut oil could help with Alzheimer's, but the research is in its infancy.
Snopes→ Do Women Retain DNA From Every Man They Have Ever Slept With?
This claim, like the microchimerism the viral article responsible for it purports to describe, is an incongruous mixture of information whose ultimate purpose remains unclear.
Snopes→ Can the Bite of a ‘Reverse Zombie’ Tick Make You Allergic to Red Meat?
More commonly known as the lone star tick, this unnerving arachnid can transmit an illness with symptoms similar to Lyme disease, as well as a substance that can cause an allergy to red meat.
Snopes→ Cancer Is Caused by a Deficiency of ‘Vitamin B17’?
The fact that there is no such thing as vitamin B17 is among the least problematic elements of the myth that it can help remedy cancer.
Snopes→ Do ‘Breatharians’ Survive Without Food or Water?
Claims about "breatharians" resurfaced in June 2017, but once again people purportedly living on light alone did not offer proof that they survive this way.
Snopes→ Is the Common Household Plant ‘Dieffenbachia’ Deadly?
Viral web sites massively exaggerate the risk posed by these plants, even if that risk is rooted in a modicum of reality.
Truth or Fiction?→ Big Tobacco Must Pay: Get $2,300 in Tax-Free Payments Per Month-
Big Tobacco Must Pay: Get $2,300 in Tax-Free Payments Per Month-Fiction! Summary of eRumor: A rumor that big tobacco must pay $206 billion in a Master Settlement Agreement linked to a lawsuit from 1998 claims that individuals, even non-smokers, could b
Truth or Fiction?→ Kids Are Catching Staph Infections from Bounce Houses-
Kids Are Catching Staph Infections from Bounce Houses-Mostly Truth! Summary of eRumor: As in past summers, warnings that kids are catching staph infections from bounce houses at the beginning of the summer of 2017. The Truth: There have been a hand
Snopes→ Dry Drowning
An account of a 10-year-old boy's death explains dry drowning and its symptoms.
Snopes→ ‘Fidget Spinners’ Can Kill Your Child?
A single small independent study stating that unusual amounts of lead were found in a few fidget spinners has been twisted into a fear-mongering report.
Snopes→ Was a Singaporean Woman Injured While Photocopying Her Breasts?
A dubious new web site published a fabricated story that lacked proper sourcing.
Truth or Fiction?→ Warnings About Tick-Transmitted Powassan Virus-Truth!
Warnings About Tick-Transmitted Powassan Virus-Truth! Summary of eRumor: Warnings about Powassan Virus, a virus transmitted by ticks that can be deadly or cause permanent neurological symptoms, circulated as summer of 2017 began. The Truth: Powassa