Did Bill Gates really suggest eliminating about 10 to 15 percent of the global human population using vaccines during a TED talk in 2010? No, that's not true: Gates' remark was about possible strategies to slow down population growth in order
Search Results (1168) for: kids
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Map Does NOT Show Current Number of Missing Children By County in Ohio
Does a map show the number of missing children by county in Ohio and is it the "human trafficking capital of the entire USA"? No, that's not true: the map shows the number of reports about missing children in 2018 but omits the fact that over
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Brad Pitt Did NOT Reveal Elite Hollywood Pedophiles Control America
Did Brad Pitt reveal "Elite Hollywood Pedophiles Control America?" No, that's not true. The big screen's hunkiest leading man did not drop the bombshell news that he believes Hollywood's elites are pedophiles that control America. The outrageo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Baby Kyle’ Did NOT Recently Have Heart Surgery And Does NOT Have COVID-19
Did a baby named Kyle survive heart surgery only to now suffer from COVID-19, as depicted in a social media post? No, that's not true: A photo purportedly showing the newborn was published in 2014, long before the novel coronavirus pandemic, a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Dad, How Do I?’ YouTube Channel Goes Massively Viral During COVID-19 Lockdown
On May 19 2020, a Facebook user shared the following text, alongside a screenshot of a YouTube channel called “Dad, How Do I?” (with an edit included after the post began rapidly spreading): This YouTuber’s dad walked out on his family w
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bill Gates Did NOT Say On CNBC TV He Will Make $200 Billion On Vaccinations
Did Bill Gates tell a CNBC interviewer that he's made or will make $200 billion from the $10 billion his charitable foundation invested in vaccines? No, that's not true: in an interview Gates estimated that the economic benefits to the world f
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: ‘Thousands Upon Thousands’ Of Children Purportedly Kidnapped By A Satanic Pedophile Ring Have NOT Been ‘Pulled From Underground Bunkers’
Have thousands of children been pulled from secret pedophile bunkers and underground cities in a massive rescue operation led by President Trump and Russian President Putin? No, that's not true: It is a false conspiracy theory unsupported by r
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘Striking’ Photograph of Children Playing in ‘Chalk Squares’ During Coronavirus Pandemic
On May 12 2020, the following image of small children separated by “chalk squares” on a playground during the COVID-19 pandemic began circulating: In a caption on the above iteration, the user wrote “Their reality …,” bu
Truth or Fiction?→ AskReddit ‘People Who Are 40+ and Happy’ Advice Thread Comment Becomes Viral Facebook Post
On May 11 2020, Facebook user Brandon Green shared a screenshot of a comment on an AskReddit thread titled “People who are 40+ and happy with their life, what is your advice to people in their 20s?” Green’s post included only a scree
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Woodstock Occur ‘in the Middle of a Pandemic’?
On May 1 2020, the American Institute for Economic Research reported that Woodstock was held during a pandemic — information which, in a vacuum, could pass for a charming piece of late 1960s nostalgia. But this information does not exist in a
Truth or Fiction?→ Does House Bill 6666 (the TRACE Act) Allow the Government to Enter Your Home, Test for COVID-19, and Take Your Children or Parents?
In early May 2020, a number of panicked posts about proposed legislation (H.R. 6666, also called the Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone, or TRACE Act) began spreading on social media, including a May 8 2020 video with a massive 2.5 million vie
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Reveal That Coronavirus Vaccine Was Patented By Bill Gates In 2006
Does a viral video reveal there is a coronavirus vaccine patent owned by Bill Gates? No, that is not true: A video by Dr. Rashid Buttar claims there is a coronavirus patent owned by a pharmaceutical company that is owned by Bill Gates. There a
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Michelle Obama Did NOT Slam Country Music, Did NOT Say It’s ‘Music for Morons’
Did former First Lady Michelle Obama really slam the country music industry, saying the the the genre was "for morons?" No, this is not true. She never made such a statement, and the story was published by a liberal satire website that tries t
FactCheck.org→ Q&A on COVID-19 Antibody Tests
Much of the focus on COVID-19 testing thus far into the pandemic has been on tests that can determine whether someone is actively infected with the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2. But, in his drive to “open up America again,” President Donald Tru
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NOT All Elective Or Non-Emergency Surgeries Banned In The US; Exceptions For Medical Reasons Allowed In Most States
Is it true that all non-emergency or so-called elective surgeries are banned due to the lockdowns put in place to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus? No, that's a massive misreading of executive orders to step up priority patient
Snopes→ National Spelling Bee Canceled for First Time Since 1945
Scripps will not change eligibility requirements for next year's bee, which means kids who are in eighth grade will miss their final opportunity to compete.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: U.S. NOT ‘Sneakily’ Using Coronavirus As Cover to Pass Bill; Uncertain If It ‘Will Stop End-To-End Encryption, Allow Officials To See All Private Messages, Listen To All Calls’
Is the U.S. government using the cover of the coronavirus pandemic to remove end-to-end encryption so officials would be able to listen to everyone's calls and see everyone's private messages? No, that does not appear to be the case: A controv
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Donald Trump Criticize ‘Obama’s Handling of This Pandemic’ in November 2009?
In mid-April 2020, screenshots of a tweet attributed to United States President Donald Trump on November 23 2009 began circulating, in which he purportedly criticized then-President Barack Obama’s handling of the H1N1 (also called swine flu) pan
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Los Angeles and NYC Announce ‘No More Concerts In 2020’?
A newly-created Twitter account’s unsubstantiated claim was still shared widely on the platform by readers perhaps dreading the long-term ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on Los Angeles and New York City. Touting it as “BREAKING NEWS
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: 5G Is NOT Linked To Death Of Birds Or Government Cover-Up
Is 5G a governmental cover-up linked to the death of birds as well as public health? No, that's not true: Lead Stories has debunked many of these claims before. There is no evidence to suggest the fifth-generation cellular network is dangerous
FactCheck.org→ False Claim of Deadly Coronavirus Vaccine Trial in Africa
Quick Take Posts across social media are falsely claiming that a vaccine trial for the novel coronavirus in Senegal resulted in the death of seven children. The video behind those claims does not show that. And there is no clinical trial for a potentia
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Coronavirus Will NOT Simply Be ‘Exterminated’ If Lockdowns Are Lifted
Would allowing everyone, except the most vulnerable, to go on with their lives and forget about the lockdown put an end to the COVID-19 outbreak? No, that's not a safe assumption: The notion of "herd immunity," the idea that letting large numb
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: COVID-19 Is NOT A Fabrication Or A Scapegoat For Economic Disaster
Is there evidence that COVID-19 is (a) not real and (b) simply a scapegoat to deflect blame for an economic disaster? No, that's not true: The global pandemic that's infected about 1 million people that we know of and killed more than 51,000 a
FactCheck.org→ April Fool’s Posts Falsely Claim Students Must Repeat the School Year
Quick Take April Fool’s Day brought a spate of false posts claiming students will have to repeat the school year. While many schools across the U.S. closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, there’s no indication they’ll call for repeat
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Students Do NOT Have To Repeat Their Current Grades Due To Coronavirus
Do students in multiple states have to repeat their current grade next year because of the delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic? No, these are social media "pranks" put out by a website devoted to spreading "practical jokes" on the internet. Th
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Coronavirus ‘Patient Zero’ Is NOT A Man Who Had Sex With A Bat
Did the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, begin in China when a man had sex with a bat? No, that's not true: a fake-news, satirical website put out the hoax. The claim originated in an article (archived here) where it was published by World News
Truth or Fiction?→ Is a ‘Coronavirus Challenge’ on Social Media Prompting Teens to Infect Themselves With COVID-19?
Amid wall-to-wall reporting on a novel coronavirus and COVID-19 in late March 2020, articles breathlessly claimed that a “coronavirus challenge” or “COVID-19 challenge” was spreading on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, inciti
Truth or Fiction?→ The ‘Fundamental Problem’ of the ‘2.5% of the Population Which is Generally Expensive to Maintain and Not Productive’ Tweet Controversy
Viral comments and debates in mid-March 2020 included direct arguments in favor of leveraging COVID-19 deaths as an economic bulwark, often punctuated by screenshots of a purported tweet by San Diego, California lawyer Scott McMillan in which he propo
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Belgium Did NOT Ban Certain Sex Activities Of Three Or More In Indoor Areas To Beat COVID-19
Did Belgium Health Minister Maggie De Block put a ban on sexual activity between three or more people to arrest the growth of COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: Belgium has lost 88 people to the virus as of March 23, 2020
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: NO Plan By Bill Gates And The Vatican To Depopulate World With Coronavirus Vaccine; Video Misinterprets Gates’ Speech
Is Microsoft founder Bill Gates conspiring with the Vatican to try to depopulate the world with a new vaccine for the novel coronavirus? No, that's not true: The video misinterprets a soundbite from Gates' TED Talk to try to make a point about
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘100 Million Masks’ — Are Homemade Masks Sufficient for COVID-19 First Responders?
On March 20 2020, KOMO anchor Mary Nam shared a photograph of a person wearing a surgical mask (a form of personal protective equipment, or PPE, known to be in short supply due the coronavirus pandemic), and put out a call for anyone who knows how to
Truth or Fiction?→ Does Coronavirus Put Dogs at Risk Because Hand Sanitizer Has the Same Ingredients as Antifreeze?
On March 14 2020, a Facebook status update (archived here) claiming that pet owners should be aware that hand sanitizer “has the same ingredients as antifreeze” went viral after an uptick in hand sanitizer use due to an ongoing COVID-19 o
Truth or Fiction?→ WIC-Approved Items and Coronavirus #SocialDistancing
On March 16 2020, the Facebook page “Vote Common Good” shared a screenshot of a tweet about social distancing, WIC-approved items, and conscientious coronavirus stock-up shopping: Labeled “a practical way to show kindness,”
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Bernie Sanders Does NOT Own A Lavish 15-Acre Estate In Stowe
Does Bernie Sanders count among his homes a palatial Green Mountain estate on 15 acres in Stowe, Vermont? No, that's not true: This is a story that was put out on social media and publicly shared by a woman who admitted it was "satirical," sai
Truth or Fiction?→ If Your Child is an Authorized User on Your Credit Card, Do They Automatically Start Out with an 800 Credit Score?
On February 18 2020, the Facebook page “Real Badass Moms” shared a screenshot of the following tweet, which advised people “with a credit card and a kid” to add their child as an authorized user on that card — an act that
Truth or Fiction?→ Did an MSNBC Commentator Say that Recent College Graduates Make ‘$75,000 a Year’?
On February 25 2020, a purported comment from MSNBC commentator Mike Barnicle on talk show Morning Joe netted him accusations of being out of touch with many Americans. Barnicle was not named in the tweet that prompted the accusation, which has been
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Mike Bloomberg Say Bernie Sanders Would Have Beaten Trump in 2016?
After the February 26 2020 Democratic debate, memes and Twitter screenshots circulated on Facebook which suggested that presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said that Bernie Sanders — also running for president — would have beaten Unit
FactCheck.org→ FactChecking the South Carolina Debate
Summary In the last Democratic debate before Super Tuesday, the candidates often talked over and past one another. We sort out some of the misinformation. In criticizing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ sympathetic remarks about authoritarian regimes, former Vi
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘The One Video Bernie Sanders Doesn’t Want You to See’
On February 24 2020, the Facebook page “The Hodgetwins” shared the following video purportedly showing presidential candidate Bernie Sanders praising breadlines, framed with text about it being “the one video that Bernie Sanders doe
FactCheck.org→ Family Separation Spin in Nevada
A misleading Spanish-language TV ad from a group backing President Donald Trump claims that then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden “separated families and put children in cages” while it shows images of minors who wer