495 claim verifications avg. score 4.3/10 139 rated true or mostly true 355 rated false or misleading
“Wikipedia is more accurate than Encyclopaedia Britannica.”
The claim is not supported by the evidence. The most rigorous direct comparison — the 2005 Nature study — found Wikipedia had more total errors and a higher per-article error rate than Britannica (162 vs. 123 total; 4 vs. 3 per article), though serious errors were tied. At best, the study showed rough parity, not Wikipedia superiority. No subsequent head-to-head accuracy study has been cited to update this finding. Wikipedia's growth in size does not equate to greater accuracy.
“China has developed a functional artificial womb capable of supporting human reproduction.”
This claim is false. The viral "pregnancy robot" story originated from Kaiwa Technology, whose founder later retracted the claims, clarifying the company only manufactured a humanoid shell — not an artificial womb. Fact-checkers and scientific experts confirm that full-term human ectogenesis remains far beyond current capabilities. No peer-reviewed evidence supports the existence of a functional artificial womb for human reproduction. Existing technologies like embryo-monitoring incubators and "mini-womb on a chip" platforms are categorically different from a system capable of gestating a human baby to term.
“Tennis balls can cause significant dental wear in dogs, a condition sometimes referred to as 'tennis ball mouth'.”
The claim is largely accurate. Multiple veterinary and canine dental sources confirm that the abrasive felt on tennis balls — especially when contaminated with sand or grit — can wear down enamel and dentin in dogs, producing flattened crowns and clinically meaningful dental damage. The term "tennis ball mouth" is used informally to describe this condition, though it is not a standardized veterinary diagnosis. The main caveat: significant wear typically occurs in dogs that chew obsessively or for prolonged periods, not from occasional fetch play.
“The contraceptive pill has been officially classified as a top-tier carcinogen.”
The claim contains a kernel of truth: IARC classified combined oral contraceptives as Group 1 ("carcinogenic to humans") — its highest evidence category — back in 2005. However, "top-tier carcinogen" misleadingly implies extreme danger. Group 1 ranks the strength of scientific evidence, not the level of risk. The pill sits alongside processed meat in Group 1, not because they pose equal danger, but because evidence of some carcinogenic effect is strong. The claim also omits that the pill reduces the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers and that absolute risk increases are small.
“The Earth will experience a loss of gravity for seven seconds during the solar eclipse in August 2026.”
This claim is false. NASA has explicitly stated that a solar eclipse has "no unusual impact on Earth's gravity" and that Earth cannot "lose gravity" without losing mass. The claim originated from a viral social media conspiracy post. While eclipses produce tiny, ordinary tidal variations in local gravity (on the order of 0.0000178%), this is not a "loss of gravity" — and certainly not a seven-second global shutdown. No credible scientific evidence supports this claim.
“The federal minimum wage in the United States has not kept pace with productivity growth since its inception.”
The claim conflates wage adequacy with productivity growth. Sources show the minimum wage has declined relative to median wages and lost inflation-adjusted value, but neither directly compares minimum wage growth to actual productivity growth rates. The proponent's assumption that median wages track productivity is unsupported by the evidence provided.
“Coffee is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world.”
The claim is mostly true but slightly imprecise. Peer-reviewed research consistently identifies caffeine — not coffee specifically — as the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance. Coffee is caffeine's dominant delivery vehicle (~69% of global intake), but caffeine is also consumed through tea, energy drinks, and soft drinks. In regions like Asia and the UK, tea is the primary caffeine source. No study directly counts unique global coffee drinkers to compare against alcohol (2.4 billion users) or tobacco (1.14 billion). The claim is well-supported in spirit but oversimplifies the picture.
“Sleeping extra hours on weekends can fully compensate for sleep deprivation accumulated during the week.”
This claim is false. Multiple peer-reviewed studies consistently show that weekend catch-up sleep does not fully compensate for weekday sleep deprivation. While extra weekend sleep may partially improve some markers — such as sleepiness and certain cardiovascular risk associations — it fails to reverse key deficits in cognitive performance, vigilance, and metabolism. Chronic sleep restriction compounds the problem further. The word "fully" makes this claim unsupportable by current scientific evidence.
“The volume or mass of steel produced globally in one hour exceeds the total amount of gold mined throughout all of human history.”
The claim is misleading. Global steel production in 2025 averaged roughly 211,000 tonnes per hour, while estimates of all gold ever mined range from ~187,000 to ~220,000 tonnes depending on the source. The World Gold Council's directly applicable estimate (~219,890 tonnes mined throughout history) actually exceeds the hourly steel figure. The claim is only true if you cherry-pick the lowest gold estimate and the highest steel rate. The comparison is far closer than the claim implies, and the outcome reverses depending on which authoritative source is used.
“Creativity is an innate trait that individuals are born with or without.”
The claim that creativity is something people are simply "born with or without" is false. Peer-reviewed research consistently shows creativity is only partially heritable, polygenic (involving many genes with tiny effects), and significantly shaped by environmental factors. Multiple studies demonstrate creativity can be trained and developed. The scientific consensus treats creativity as a complex interplay of genetic predispositions and environmental influences — not a fixed, binary trait present or absent at birth.
“Abstract art requires no artistic skill to create.”
This claim is false. While abstract art is accessible to beginners and doesn't require traditional representational skills like anatomical drawing, it still demands genuine artistic skills — including understanding of color relationships, composition, and intentional mark-making. Multiple authoritative art sources confirm that creating effective abstract art involves real expertise. The claim confuses "easy to start" with "requires no skill," which are very different things. Even sources cited in support only show low barriers to entry, not the absence of any skill requirement.
“Bitcoin is expected to surpass the US dollar as the world's primary reserve currency.”
This claim is false. The US dollar holds roughly 58% of global foreign exchange reserves, while no central bank currently holds Bitcoin as reserves. No credible, independent expert consensus supports the expectation that Bitcoin will surpass the dollar as the world's primary reserve currency. The most optimistic pro-Bitcoin analysis (from a crypto exchange) only suggests a conditional "earliest plausible window" of 2046 — contingent on multiple unmet conditions — which is a speculative scenario, not a mainstream expectation.
“Buy Now, Pay Later services do not affect a consumer's credit score.”
This claim is false. While many BNPL providers historically did not report to credit bureaus, the landscape has changed significantly. As of 2025, major providers like Affirm report all transactions to Experian, FICO has announced plans to incorporate BNPL data into credit scores, and New York State now requires BNPL lenders to disclose whether they report to bureaus. Missed BNPL payments can also reach credit reports through collections. The absolute statement that BNPL "does not affect" credit scores is not supported by current evidence.
“Wearing a mask for long periods lowers oxygen levels in the wearer.”
This claim is not supported by the weight of evidence. Multiple controlled studies and major medical organizations — including the AAAAI, American Lung Association, and WHO-aligned guidance — consistently find that wearing masks, even for extended periods, does not cause clinically meaningful drops in blood oxygen levels. A few studies detected tiny, statistically significant SpO2 changes in narrow occupational settings, but these remained within normal physiological ranges and do not constitute harmful oxygen reduction for typical wearers.
“The COVID-19 virus was engineered in a laboratory.”
The claim that COVID-19 was "engineered" in a laboratory is not supported by the available evidence. While some U.S. intelligence agencies and political bodies have entertained a "lab leak" or "research-related incident" as plausible, this is a fundamentally different claim from deliberate genetic engineering. The WHO, peer-reviewed genomic analyses, and scientific meta-analyses consistently find no credible evidence of engineering, and most intelligence assessments explicitly state the virus was probably not genetically engineered.
“5G towers emit radiation that causes cancer in humans.”
This claim is false. The overwhelming scientific consensus — from the WHO, National Cancer Institute, Health Canada, American Cancer Society, Cancer Research UK, and multiple peer-reviewed reviews — is that no causal link exists between 5G tower radiation and cancer. 5G frequencies are non-ionizing and physically too weak to damage DNA. The most recent large-scale study (February 2026) also found no link. While some research gaps remain, no credible evidence supports the definitive causal claim that 5G towers cause cancer in humans.
“Adjusting foot placement significantly changes muscle recruitment in exercises such as squats, leg presses, and hip thrusts despite biomechanical similarity.”
Foot-position changes can alter muscle activation in squats and leg press, especially when they meaningfully change joint angles (e.g., heel elevation or high/low platform placement). But the claim is misleading because it implies broad, significant effects “despite biomechanical similarity,” when the strongest effects occur due to biomechanical changes and some adjustments (e.g., toe angle) often show little difference.
“Professional wrestling matches are scripted and predetermined rather than genuine athletic competitions.”
The core of this claim is accurate: professional wrestling match outcomes are predetermined by bookers and creative teams, a fact confirmed by multiple credible sources and WWE's own public admissions dating back to 1989. However, the phrase "rather than genuine athletic competitions" is misleading. Sources consistently affirm that the physical demands, athleticism, injury risks, and in-ring improvisation are entirely real. Scripted outcomes and genuine athleticism coexist — they are not mutually exclusive.
“Braking is a more effective method than weaving (swerving side to side) for warming up motorcycle tires during street riding.”
The claim is largely accurate. Multiple credible sources—including Cycle World, Bennetts Insurance, and motorcycle coaching experts—confirm that braking and acceleration generate significantly more tire heat than weaving, because longitudinal forces cause greater carcass flex. Even sources skeptical of the claim concede braking is superior. However, the claim oversimplifies: effective street warm-up requires progressive braking (not hard stops on cold tires), weaving does produce some heat, and aggressive inputs on cold tires can actually reduce grip.
“Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are paid by foreign countries.”
This claim is false. Tariffs are legally paid by U.S. importers, not foreign governments. Multiple independent economic studies — from the Kiel Institute, University of Chicago, Harvard, CFR, Tax Foundation, and Goldman Sachs — consistently find that American businesses and consumers bear the vast majority (75–96%) of tariff costs through higher prices. Foreign exporters may absorb a small minority share through price concessions, but this does not support the claim that foreign countries "pay" the tariffs.