710 claim verifications avg. score 4.6/10 234 rated true or mostly true 476 rated false or misleading
“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.
“The MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine causes autism in children.”
This claim is false. The sole study linking MMR to autism (Wakefield, 1998) was retracted by The Lancet for deliberate fraud. Since then, overwhelming scientific evidence — including WHO's 2025 review of 31 studies, a Cochrane review of 23 million children, and a meta-analysis of 1.25 million children — consistently finds no causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Every major health authority (WHO, AAP, National Academies) confirms vaccines do not cause autism.
“Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) significantly increases cancer risk in all women.”
This claim is false. HRT does not significantly increase cancer risk in all women. The evidence shows risk varies greatly by HRT type, duration, age, and individual health history. Estrogen-only HRT does not increase breast cancer risk and may lower it in some groups. Combined HRT modestly increases breast cancer risk (~5 extra cases per 1,000 women). Ovarian cancer risk increases are small and diminishing. In February 2026, the FDA removed blanket breast cancer warnings from HRT labels, reflecting that risks are individualized, not universal.
“Cadbury is selling 'Eid Eggs' in UK supermarkets to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.”
Cadbury is not selling "Eid Eggs" in UK supermarkets. The viral image is fabricated misinformation. Multiple independent fact-checkers (Full Fact, Snopes, The Journal) confirmed in February 2026 that the product does not exist. Cadbury's parent company Mondelēz International explicitly denied it. The social media account that originated the claim included "Semper parodius" (mock Latin for "Always Parody") in its profile. Cadbury's actual 2026 seasonal lineup includes only Easter-themed products.
“In China, Buddhist monks are required to obtain government permission in order to reincarnate.”
There is a real Chinese law (2007 Order No. 5) requiring government approval for the recognition of reincarnated "Living Buddhas" (tulkus) in Tibetan Buddhism — but the claim overstates it in two important ways. First, it applies only to Tibetan Buddhist tulku lineages, not all Buddhist monks in China. Second, the law governs the official recognition and management of reincarnation successions, not literal permission for a person to be reborn. The underlying regulation is genuine and enforceable, but the claim's broad wording gives a materially misleading impression.
“Failure by police to read Miranda rights does not invalidate an arrest.”
This claim is accurate. Under U.S. law, Miranda warnings are required before custodial interrogation, not as a condition of a lawful arrest. If police fail to read Miranda rights, the arrest itself remains valid as long as it was supported by probable cause. The consequence of a Miranda violation is typically suppression of unwarned statements, not invalidation of the arrest. However, suppression of key evidence can sometimes weaken the prosecution's case and may indirectly lead to reduced charges or dismissal.