Lenz has verified thousands of claims across science, politics, health, tech, and more. These are the topics people are checking most.
1977 published verifications avg. score 5.3/10 857 rated true or mostly true 1120 rated false or misleading
“The timing of sexual intercourse relative to ovulation can influence the probability that a couple conceives a male (boy) versus female (girl) baby.”
Better evidence does not show that having sex at particular times around ovulation changes whether a baby will be male or female. Large prospective studies and mainstream medical guidance have found no consistent, statistically significant effect, and popular timing methods such as Shettles are not scientifically supported. Older studies suggesting an association have not held up against stronger research.
“Human biological immortality is possible within the laws of physics and biology because telomerase can stop telomere shortening.”
The evidence does not support the claim that telomerase makes human biological immortality possible. Telomerase can prevent telomere shortening in some cells and can extend cellular lifespan, but aging in humans is caused by many processes beyond telomeres. Systemic telomerase activation also carries major cancer risk, so the cited biology does not establish safe or feasible human immortality within current scientific understanding.
“Leon Festinger's 1957 cognitive dissonance theory predicts that when a person's behavior conflicts with their attitudes, the person often changes their attitudes to reduce psychological discomfort.”
The claim accurately states a central prediction of Festinger’s 1957 cognitive dissonance theory. When behavior and attitudes conflict, the resulting discomfort can lead people to adjust their attitudes to restore consistency. Although attitude change is not the only possible response, describing it as something people often do is well supported.
“The United States inflation rate is higher now than it was in June 2022.”
Official BLS data do not support this claim. U.S. CPI inflation was 9.1% in June 2022, while the latest available national CPI-U reading is 4.2% for May 2026. Even the alternative 8.3% figure cited from a secondary table is still above 4.2%, so the claim reverses the basic comparison.
“In 1973, the American Association on Mental Retardation changed the IQ cutoff for mental retardation from below 85 to below 70 because more than half of African Americans scored below 85.”
The historical record does not support this explanation for the 1973 change. Authoritative sources say the IQ criterion was revised to a roughly two-standard-deviation cutoff and paired with adaptive-behavior requirements; they do not say the change was made because more than half of African Americans scored below 85. Broader concerns about minority overidentification existed, but the claim turns that context into an unsupported specific motive.
“Donald Trump is currently pursuing, or directing others to pursue, a U.S. deportation proceeding against Elon Musk.”
The evidence supports only a public remark that Musk’s deportation would be “looked at,” not that Trump is currently pursuing or directing an actual U.S. deportation proceeding. Major news outlets describe the statement as a response to a question, and no public court or immigration record shows a case has been initiated. The claim turns rhetoric into a present legal action without evidence.
“In Honoré de Balzac’s novel "Lost Illusions," Balzac argues that costume is important for people who want to appear to possess what they lack because appearing to have it can be a first step toward obtaining it.”
The claim accurately paraphrases a passage in Lost Illusions. In the novel, Balzac’s narrator explicitly says clothes are crucial for those trying to advance and that the appearance of possession can be the quickest route to actual possession. That framing matches both the wording and the theme of social performance in the book.
“Twisted moss occurs in slightly more alkaline water conditions than American white water lily because the two plants are adapted to different pH levels.”
The evidence does not support the claim that twisted moss occurs in slightly more alkaline water than American white water lily. Reliable sources show white water lily grows across a broad pH range that includes alkaline conditions, and the moss evidence mainly concerns calcareous rock or substrate, not a directly comparable water-pH range. The statement also treats “twisted moss” as a single clearly defined species when the term is ambiguous.
“A temple in Titlagarh, Balangir district, Odisha, India has an interior area where the temperature remains near or below 0°C (32°F) even when the outside temperature is higher.”
The evidence does not support a near-freezing or sub-zero temperature inside the temple. Credible descriptions consistently portray it as strikingly cool relative to the outside heat, typically around 10–20°C or below 10°C, while the 0°C or -5°C version comes from unverified social-video content. The real phenomenon appears to be strong passive cooling, not freezing conditions.
“Normal whole-gut transit time in humans is 24 to 72 hours.”
The quoted range is a simplified rule of thumb, not a reliable universal normal range. Stronger clinical sources show normal whole-gut transit can be faster than 24 hours—often about 10–14 hours—and the upper end varies by testing method, with some protocols allowing longer than 72 hours. The 72-hour upper bound is broadly defensible, but the 24-hour lower bound is not.
“Association football (soccer) is the most popular sport in the world.”
Available evidence strongly supports the statement. Independent sources consistently place association football first worldwide by fan base, audience reach, and geographic spread. “Most popular” can be measured in different ways, but those methodological differences do not change the overall conclusion that soccer leads globally.
“Donald Trump claimed that there was progress toward nuclear talks with Iran.”
Multiple independent reports directly quote Trump describing Iran nuclear diplomacy as making “good progress” or “going well.” That supports the claim that he said progress was being made. The larger negotiations remained unstable and unresolved, but that does not change the fact that he publicly characterized them as advancing.
“Political ties between Turkey and Venezuela strengthened after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro supported Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the July 2016 attempted coup in Turkey, and Turkey–Venezuela trade turnover reached nearly US$1 billion by 2023.”
The claim gets the diplomatic story broadly right but overstates the 2023 trade number. Maduro did support Erdoğan during the 2016 coup attempt, and ties between Turkey and Venezuela did strengthen afterward. But the best 2023 trade data place bilateral turnover around $663–700 million, not “nearly $1 billion”; that level fits earlier peak years better than 2023.
“Scientists at the University of Alaska discovered that drinking three cups of coffee per day allows humans to communicate telepathically with penguins.”
No evidence supports this alleged University of Alaska discovery. Official university sources, PubMed, Nature, Science, and other credible records show no study finding that three cups of coffee enable telepathic communication with penguins. The claim combines ordinary caffeine research with a paranormal assertion that has no accepted scientific basis.
“When stopping a distillation, if the delivery tube is immersed in the distillate, the cooled liquid can be sucked back into the hot distillation flask, and the sudden temperature change can cause the glass to crack.”
The described hazard is well established in laboratory distillation guidance. A submerged delivery tube can allow distillate to be drawn back into a hot flask as the apparatus cools, and that cold-liquid contact can thermally shock the glass and crack it. Breakage is not inevitable, but the risk and mechanism are real and widely documented.
“The first Summer Olympic Games held after World War II took place in the 1940s.”
Authoritative historical records show that the first Summer Olympics after World War II were the London Games in 1948. Because 1948 falls within the 1940s, the claim is fully supported. The cancelled 1940 and 1944 Games are the key context explaining why 1948 was the first postwar Summer Olympics.
“Georgi Kandev left his post as acting Secretary General of Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior due to political pressure.”
The evidence strongly indicates that political pressure was the main reason Kandev left, even though it was not officially stated that way. Kandev publicly described pressure, silence, and a choice between office and principles, and those remarks fit his earlier allegations of an orchestrated political attack. Still, the formal explanation reported to the minister was only "personal motives."
“Gladys Knight is dead.”
The claim is not supported by the evidence. Recent, credible sources indicate Gladys Knight is alive, including a Reuters fact-check rejecting death rumors and current 2026 tour and entertainment listings. The main items used to suggest otherwise are either obituaries for different people with the same name or low-credibility rumor content.
“Coffee consumption stunts human growth (reduces height growth).”
Available evidence does not support the idea that drinking coffee reduces human height growth. Clinical guidance from major pediatric and medical sources treats this as a debunked myth, and studies in adolescents have not shown lower height growth from caffeine intake. Caffeine can still be a problem for children and teens because it can disrupt sleep and cause other health effects, but that is different from stunting height.
“Pharmaceutical companies have promoted the overprescription of opioid painkillers in order to increase their profits.”
Extensive evidence shows several opioid manufacturers promoted higher prescribing to increase sales and profits. That evidence includes Purdue Pharma’s federal guilty plea, congressional investigations, and peer-reviewed studies linking industry marketing and physician payments to increased opioid prescribing and overdose harm. The wording is broad, but the central claim is well supported.