2,548 published verifications avg. score 5.6/10 1,246 rated true or mostly true 1,065 rated false or mostly false
“In 2009, the defunct Russian satellite Kosmos 2251 collided with the active U.S. satellite Iridium 33 at an altitude of about 790 km, generating about 2,000 debris fragments, many of which remain in orbit.”
The core facts are well supported by authoritative space-agency and peer-reviewed sources. Kosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 collided in 2009 at roughly the 780–800 km band, commonly reported near 789–790 km, and the event produced on the order of 2,000 trackable debris fragments. A substantial number remained in orbit for many years afterward.
“Adolf Hitler started World War II.”
The evidence strongly supports attributing the outbreak of World War II in Europe to Hitler. As leader of Nazi Germany, he ordered the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, which triggered the declarations of war that conventionally mark the war’s start. The main caveat is that this is historical shorthand for a broader, multi-causal conflict.
“Chinese workers building the Canadian Pacific Railway were paid about one dollar per day and were assigned dangerous work such as explosives and demolition.”
Historical evidence clearly supports the core claim. Chinese CPR workers were commonly paid about $1 a day in nominal wages, and many were assigned the most dangerous tasks, especially blasting and tunnelling with explosives. The main caveat is that actual take-home pay was often lower after deductions, and sources usually describe blasting rather than "demolition."
“Pacific green tree frogs produce mating calls to attract mates.”
The core biological claim is supported. Reliable studies and institutional references show that male Pacific treefrogs/Pacific chorus frogs produce advertisement calls during the breeding season that attract females. The caveat is that "Pacific green tree frog" is a nonstandard name in the evidence, and the calling behavior is specifically a male mating behavior.
“In 2025, more than £770 million in benefits was paid to claimants for conditions recorded as "unknown".”
The central figure is supported: official DWP data acknowledged by the department indicates that more than £770 million was paid in cases whose disabling condition was recorded as "unknown." The main caveat is timing and presentation, because the figure is not clearly shown in standard published statistical tables as a clean calendar-year 2025 total. Also, "unknown" refers to administrative coding, not claimants lacking a real medical condition.
“About 10,000 tonnes of products burned during the September 26, 2019 fire affecting the Lubrizol and Normandie Logistique sites in Rouen, France.”
The documented total was roughly 9,500 to 9,505 tonnes, so the claim slightly over-rounds the best technical figure but remains close enough to convey the correct scale. Multiple official sources support the underlying quantity, and some government communications described it as nearly 10,000 tonnes. The more precise figure is about 9,500 tonnes.
“Researchers have said that psilocybin has the potential to be used as an intervention for Alzheimer's disease.”
Researchers have indeed described psilocybin as a potential intervention related to Alzheimer’s disease. Multiple peer-reviewed papers and research institutions discuss it as a plausible therapeutic candidate, based mainly on mechanistic theory, preclinical findings, and early-stage human research. The statement is accurate because it reports researcher views about potential, not established clinical benefit.
“More than 150 kebab takeout shops in Great Britain have been granted UK Home Office sponsor licences allowing them to hire workers directly from overseas through a new UK visa program.”
The claim overstates what the evidence shows. Official sources confirm that UK sponsor licences exist for the Skilled Worker route and that food businesses can use them, but the supplied primary evidence does not directly substantiate the reported figure of more than 150 kebab takeout shops. The description of this as a new visa program is also inaccurate, because the route is an established scheme rather than a newly created one.
“Discrimination by nurses is a common problem reported by foreign-born and culturally diverse patients in Western hospitals.”
Substantial evidence shows that migrant, foreign-born, and culturally diverse patients in Western hospitals often report discriminatory experiences, and nurses are specifically named in several studies and reviews. The claim fits the literature’s overall pattern. However, some evidence combines nurses with healthcare staff more broadly, and “common” is usually based on repeated qualitative reporting rather than a nurse-specific prevalence rate.
“Cultural misunderstandings commonly contribute to foreign-born and culturally diverse patients feeling they are not treated equally and fairly in Western hospitals.”
Evidence from systematic reviews, hospital-based studies, and survey research shows that cultural misunderstandings and related communication gaps often shape foreign-born and culturally diverse patients’ perceptions of unfair or unequal treatment in Western healthcare settings. The claim is appropriately framed as a contributing factor, not the sole cause. Exact prevalence varies by country, setting, and patient group.
“Jean Piaget shifted psychology away from behaviorism and helped found modern cognitive developmental psychology.”
The core of the claim is well supported: Piaget was a foundational figure in modern cognitive developmental psychology. The weaker part is the assertion that he shifted psychology away from behaviorism; the evidence more clearly shows that his ideas became influential after behaviorism’s dominance faded, rather than that he alone drove that transition. The claim is substantially accurate but overstated at that point.
“Thousands of foreign students have disappeared from the United Kingdom while owing nearly £900 million in unpaid student loans.”
The core allegation is substantially supported: official figures indicate about 42,000 former EU student borrowers overseas could not be contacted, with roughly £893 million in outstanding loans. However, the wording is broader and more dramatic than the evidence. The data concerns former EU borrowers specifically, and “disappeared” really means untraceable or not being reached for repayment.
“The OECD lowered its 2026 real GDP growth forecast for Austria to 0.7%.”
OECD releases from 29 May 2026 forecast Austria’s 2026 real GDP growth at 0.7%. Earlier OECD outlook material had projected a higher 2026 rate, so calling this a downgrade is broadly accurate. The main caveat is that the claim does not identify the comparison baseline, and OECD forecasts for Austria were revised several times across different releases.
“People who play racket sports live longer than people who do not play racket sports.”
Large cohort studies and meta-analyses consistently find that people who play racket sports have lower mortality and often longer estimated life expectancy than non-players. However, the evidence is observational, not experimental, so it cannot prove that racket sports themselves are the reason. The statement is broadly accurate as an observed pattern, but it slightly overstates certainty if read as cause and effect.
“The Swarna Kupa (also spelled Suna Kua) well at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, India never runs dry.”
The claim is not supported by the available evidence. Descriptions of Swarna Kupa consistently say it remains dry for most or all of the year and fills only briefly once annually before the Snana Yatra ritual. That directly contradicts the absolute statement that it “never runs dry.”
“The United States, under the Trump administration, bombed the Palau-flagged oil tanker M/T Settebello while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
Available evidence supports that U.S. forces under the Trump administration struck the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello. But the reporting places the attack in the Gulf of Oman or near the Strait of Hormuz, not clearly inside the Strait while the tanker was transiting it. That added location detail is not supported by the best available sources.
“United States military forces sank an Indian-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and ignored the vessel's distress calls for help.”
The claim is not supported by the best available evidence. Official U.S. and Indian accounts identify the struck vessel as Palau-flagged, not Indian-flagged, and place the incident off Oman rather than in the Strait of Hormuz. They also indicate the U.S. coordinated rescue efforts with regional partners, so describing the distress calls as “ignored” overstates what the evidence shows.
“The parents of Karmalo Anthony withdrew money donated through a public donation campaign created for Karmalo Anthony and did not use the withdrawn funds for personal expenses.”
Available reporting indicates the family did withdraw campaign funds, but the claim fails because those funds were reportedly used for living costs, transportation, relocation, counseling, and security. Those are personal expenses in ordinary usage. Evidence may rebut the specific rumor that fundraiser money bought a house, but it does not support the broader statement that no withdrawn funds were used for personal expenses.
“Storm tide is defined as the sum of base sea level, astronomical tide, and storm surge.”
Authoritative definitions do not support the three-part formula given here. Storm tide is consistently defined as storm surge added to the astronomical tide; “base sea level” is generally a reference datum or baseline for measurement, not a separate definitional component. As written, the claim adds an unsupported extra term.
“Changes in wetness and dryness (moisture balance) equal precipitation minus evaporation.”
The claim overstates a simplified relationship. Precipitation minus evaporation or evapotranspiration is often used as a climatic wetness-dryness indicator, but general moisture or water balance is not just P minus E: it can also include runoff, streamflow, groundwater flows, and storage change. As written, the statement treats a context-specific approximation as a universal rule.