Is it true that Pfizer's vaccine candidate to battle COVID-19 is made and stored in such a way that scores of people could be severely sickened or even killed by its use? No, that is a conspiracy theory not supported by scientific studies. According to vaccine experts and literature, the use of PEG -- polyethylene glycol --- in Pfizer's potential…

Did an Arizona television station report Joe Biden's lead shrank after thousands of votes were found to be fraudulent and that non-citizens were voting? No, that's not true: ABC15 repeated a data error from one county, posted by the Arizona secretary of state's office, which showed Biden's lead dropping by approximately 6,000 votes. A local reporter tweeted out the "unofficial…

Do many studies find that cloth masks don't stop viruses like COVID? No, that's not true: An article making that claim does not cite any recent or specific studies showing masks don't work. To the contrary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites several studies as the basis for recommending the "community use of masks, specifically non-valved multi-layer cloth…

Were 35,000 votes added to every Democratic candidate in Arizona? No, that's not true: There's no evidence to support that statement. In some legislative races, Democratic candidates received fewer than 35,000 votes total, which makes the claim illogical as well as impossible. A spokeswoman for the Arizona secretary of state said the accusation was "absolutely false." The claim surfaced during…

Is video recorded of all ballot drop-off locations in Georgia, and is the video available to the public upon request? Yes, that's true: Continuous or motion-sensor footage is recorded of all ballot drop-off locations in Georgia. Any member of the public can request the surveillance footage, according to Georgia's secretary of state's office. The claim appeared in a tweet (archived…

Did Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf finalize and issue on October 27, 2020, a list of 13 rules for Thanksgiving household visits? No, that's not true: The document offered in support of the claim is not an official state document. It is designed to resemble the format of PDF files that could be downloaded from an official state website, but no…

Was the Parler social network hacked? No, there is no evidence for that. The original news came from a now deleted tweet by a conceptual artist known for high-tech art projects. A configuration file that was supposedly part of the hack has been online for several months. No hacked data has appeared online so far and the CEO of Parler…

Was Dominion Voting Systems "caught red handed stealing votes on live TV"? No, that's not true: A video claiming to show an unexplained vote change taking votes away from Donald Trump and giving the exact same number to Joe Biden on election night is false for two reasons. The numbers were "transposed in the data field that went to CNN…

Is there any question about how a figure of a modern astronaut came to be included in the intricate decorative carvings on a Spanish cathedral built in the 1600s? No, it's well documented in the recent past: The astronaut was added to the cathedral in 1992 when some restorations were made. The figure of the astronaut was chosen to represent…

Does California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, own a stake in Dominion Voting Systems, and is that part of the reason she is relinquishing the top Democrat spot on the Senate Judiciary Committee? No, that's not true: A Dominion spokesperson told Lead Stories that Blum does not have an ownership stake in the company. Feinstein cited other reasons for…

Did a former CIA agent confess on his deathbed that he infected reggae legend Bob Marley with cancer? No, that's not true: There is no record of a now-deceased CIA agent named Bill Oxley, beyond a story published in 2017 and later deleted by the publisher, who explained to Lead Stories it was unpublished in a purge of unreliable conspiracy…

Has Pennsylvania banned alcohol? No, that's not true, with one specific and limited exception: State officials banned the sales of alcohol for on-site consumption in bars and restaurants from 5 p.m. Thanksgiving-eve to Thanksgiving morning at 8 a.m. to discourage large crowds during a rise in COVID-19 cases. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) where it was…

Did Facebook remove the title "President Elect" from the @joebiden Facebook page, and then only identify President-elect Joe Biden as a politician? No, that's not true: a database of screenshots of the @joebiden Facebook page, for more than two week, shows that the page never contained the title "president elect" in its name. Additionally, a Facebook spokesman confirmed to Lead…

Did an Antifa leader in the 'Pittsburg area' tweet a warning to President Trump that armed Antifa members would block roads in conservative areas unless he conceded to Joe Biden? No, that's not true: A prankster, infamous for trolling the far right on social media, posted the tweet. Adam Rahuba is not an Antifa leader. He has admitted to past…

Did Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, reveal that "the West is controlled by Satanic pedophiles"? No, that's not true: Putin never made this statement nor did he use the phrase "Satanic pedophiles." The claim appeared in an article (archived here) where it was published by "www.social-consciousness.com" on July 18, 2017, under the title "Vladimir Putin Reveals: The West Is…

Did the governor and secretary of state in Georgia take money from China to steal the election from Donald Trump? No, there's zero proof that's true. Lead Stories reached out to the person making the accusation, radio host Hal Turner, to ask for evidence. He did not respond. Turner, a convicted felon, has a history of making false and unsubstantiated…

Are vaccines definitively linked to autism? No, that's not true: While some people believe this to be the case -- and are spreading their belief online in advance of release of vaccines to battle COVID-19 -- it remains just that, belief. Peer-reviewed and replicated medical research shows no causation between vaccines and autism. There is also no evidence that a…

Did WikiLeaks dump documents November 17, 2020 revealing a CIA base in Frankfurt, Germany, was used to hack U.S. elections? No, that's not true: Wikileaks released documents back in 2017 purporting to show how the CIA hacked electronic equipment. The alleged CIA documents said nothing of hacking U.S. elections. The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by The…

Is it true ages and pre-existing medical conditions for U.S. residents who died from COVID-19 are not available? No, that's not true: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website shows ages, additional medical conditions and other data for people who have died from COVID-19. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook on November…

Is Canadian pathologist Dr. Roger Hodkinson correct when he asserts that COVID-19 is "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting public" and "just another bad flu"? No, neither of those claims is true: Data from the CDC show that COVID-19 deaths so far in the United States are four times greater than the highest level of deaths reported each…