Did a director of China's largest baby formula company, Feihe, reveal information about the COVID-19 vaccine and pregnancy, saying many women cannot bear children within six months of receiving a coronavirus vaccination and that he expected a steep drop in powdered milk sales in the next year or two because of this? While it is true that the Feihe director,…

Is an image that depicts a highway with some 20 lanes in each direction a photo of the Katy Freeway in Texas? No, that's not true: Although Lead Stories could not locate the origin of the image, it is not the Katy Freeway, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) confirmed. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on…

Does a post that claims the World Health Organization now recommends against COVID-19 vaccination of children tell the whole story about the agency's recommendation? No, that's not true: WHO's June 3, 2021 guidance says more evidence is needed to make general recommendations. The public health agency's webpage on vaccination goes on to explain that children -- who tend to get…

Would electric cars caught in a three-hour traffic jam drain their batteries? Will electric car drivers suffer with "virtually no heating" if stuck overnight on a cold road? Will the GPS, radio and heating drain the battery? No, none of that is true: A senior engineer and part of the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, took…

Were COVID-19 vaccine "candidates" transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) in December 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak? No, that's not true: The vaccine materials transferred were for MERS-CoV, the virus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, not for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a spokesperson at the National Institute of Allergy and…

Did Instagram remove the double-tap-to-like feature? No, that's not true: Facebook, which owns Instagram, confirmed that the feature is still intact. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) published on June 20, 2021. The text in the post's image read: SAD NEWS Instagram removed the feature of double-tap to like. Now only a few devices have it working…

Is Bill Clinton facing a military tribunal for crimes of "murder, sex crimes against minors, treason, theft of government property"? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer confirmed to Lead Stories that this claim was "Not true." The originator of the claim has a disclaimer on their website to tell readers they are not a legitimate news source. The…

Does a video show a "sleeve," or human body used for cloning? No, that's not true. The video was copied from promotion for the Netflix show Altered Carbon. This was a presentation the streaming service used to garner attention for the show in 2018 and is not photo documentation of Hollywood elites secretly cloning people, a variation on the QAnon…

Did Hawaii issue an announcement saying that it will not recognize out-of-state driver's licenses as of 2023? No, that's not true: This is a satirical piece from an entertainment website. Also, existing Hawaii law directly negates this claim. The meme appeared in a Facebook post (archived here), where it was published by the unofficial site The State of Hawaii on…

Does this video show that NASA published a war document on its website in 2001 titled, "The Future is Now," which details a global plan to attack, take over the world, and phase out human beings by 2025? No, that's not true: This is a short clip of a longer video interview with Deborah Tavares filmed in 2013 at Conspiracy…

Did Vice President Kamala Harris host a private dinner at her residence that excluded Black leaders without explanation? No, that's not true: although the dinner that Harris hosted on June 15, 2021 was attended almost exclusively by non-Black and white women, that is because the invitees of the dinner were current women U.S. Senators -- none of whom are Black.…

Does this colorful graphic chart, with a footnote that the data was sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fairly represent the impact of vaccines on vaccine-preventable diseases? No, that's not true: By carving off the prevaccine years, the chart de-emphasizes the sharp reduction in death by infectious diseases. And by calculating the mortality as a portion of…

Were Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls created as symbols to represent children who died from vaccinations? No, that's not true: Although Johnny Gruelle, an illustrator and the creator of the dolls, had a daughter who died after getting a smallpox vaccination at her school, the patent for Raggedy Ann dolls was granted several months before her death. Some evidence suggests…

Does a viral Facebook video provide any information about the crimes alleged in its headline? No, that's not true: The video is a newscast from cable channel One America News Network that does not mention any of the charges against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden that are the subject of its headline. The claim appeared in the…

Is DeAnna Lorraine currently running against Nancy Pelosi in California? No, that's not true: Despite claims in a meme posted in April 2020 that went viral again in June 2021, Lorraine is not currently running in any type of election against Nancy Pelosi. Lorraine did attempt a primary challenge against Pelosi in March 2020 but ended up in fifth place…

Does this video prove there is no COVID-19 pandemic and that public health measures and vaccination campaigns are all part of a well-planned conspiracy that "globalists" planned 10 years ago to seize power and profit? No, that's not true: These recycled conspiracy theories are offered without citing specific peer-reviewed research by scientists with relevant expertise and/or clinical experience treating COVID.…

Do Disney World character performers who die while in costume remain in costume until the park closes? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that such a policy exists, according to historians of The Walt Disney Company. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on June 15, 2021 that features a vintage picture of a man and…

Did PETA call for the immediate censorship of the Instagram page @Ruthless.Nature? No, that's not true: This is a fake tweet created to promote an Instagram page's social media account about graphic themes regarding animals attacking one another. PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, only publicizes images of animals suffering at the hands of human beings, and…

Were major federal buildings in Washington, D.C. -- including the Federal Bureau of Investigation's headquarters -- shut down on June 14, 2021? No, that's not true: The FBI confirmed that its headquarters have been open. Other buildings such as the White House and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) headquarters were not abandoned at the time either. The…

Did the first case of postmortem study of a patient vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 find viral RNA in every organ of the body? No, that's not true: Researchers found viral RNA in seven of the nine organs they analyzed. "This is not even the majority of all human organs," the study's authors wrote to Lead Stories. The claim was one of…