959 published verifications avg. score 4.7/10 329 rated true or mostly true 629 rated false or misleading
“Mandatory childhood vaccination schedules in Western countries cause a significant increase in autoimmune disorders.”
This claim is not supported by the evidence. The most authoritative research — including a major meta-analysis of 144 studies spanning five decades — finds no significant increase in autoimmune disorders among vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations. While very rare, specific vaccine-autoimmune associations exist (e.g., GBS after influenza vaccination), these do not amount to a broad, schedule-driven rise. The claim's main supporting evidence comes from passive adverse-event reporting systems that cannot establish causation.
“Bulls are attracted to or agitated by the color red.”
This is a well-known myth. Bulls have dichromatic vision and cannot perceive red the way humans do — it likely appears as a dull brownish or yellowish shade to them. Controlled experiments, including those by MythBusters, show bulls charge moving objects of any color equally and remain calm when objects are stationary. It is the movement of the matador's cape, not its color, that triggers aggression. The red cape is a tradition for human spectators, not a stimulus for the bull.
“Some major software companies currently report that the majority of their source code is written by artificial intelligence.”
The claim is largely accurate. Google and Anthropic—both major software companies—have publicly stated that a majority of their new code is AI-generated (Google citing over 50% of weekly production check-ins, Anthropic citing 70-90% company-wide). However, these are self-reported figures from AI-focused firms, the metric typically refers to new code check-ins rather than entire codebases, and industry-wide averages remain well below 50%. The claim is true as stated but could easily be misread as an industry-wide trend.
“Frequent airplane travel increases cancer risk due to radiation exposure.”
This claim is misleading. While flying at altitude does increase exposure to cosmic ionizing radiation—a known carcinogen—the best available evidence from the CDC, peer-reviewed reviews, and military studies explicitly states that a causal link between in-flight radiation and cancer has not been established. Elevated cancer rates observed in aircrew are confounded by circadian disruption, UV exposure, and lifestyle factors. The claim also overgeneralizes from occupational aircrew data to all frequent flyers, and omits that any radiation-related risk increase is described as small.
“A single night of only 3 to 4 hours of sleep causes detrimental effects on human health.”
The claim is mostly true. Peer-reviewed research confirms that a single night of only 3–4 hours of sleep causes measurable detrimental effects, including impaired cognitive performance, increased sleepiness, mood disturbances, elevated stress hormones, and reduced physical performance. However, these effects are generally acute and reversible with recovery sleep — not equivalent to the chronic disease risks (cardiovascular, metabolic) associated with sustained sleep deprivation. Individual vulnerability also varies significantly.
“The calendar configuration for February 2026 is claimed to occur only once every 823 years.”
This claim is false. The "once every 823 years" figure is a recycled internet hoax. Every non-leap-year February has exactly 28 days, meaning it always contains exactly four of each weekday — that's basic math, not a miracle. The specific "perfect February" layout where February 1 falls on a Sunday last occurred in 2015 and will happen again in 2037. The Gregorian calendar repeats on a 400-year cycle, making an 823-year uniqueness claim mathematically impossible.
“Cold weather exposure causes facial slimming or changes in facial appearance.”
Cold weather can temporarily change facial appearance through reduced puffiness and vasoconstriction, but does not cause true "facial slimming" through fat loss. The claim misleadingly conflates temporary de-puffing effects with actual slimming.
“Roblox's user-generated content policies have resulted in young users being exposed to graphic content and predatory behavior.”
The core claim is well-supported: independent researchers, government lawsuits (including LA County's February 2026 suit), NCMEC reporting data (24,500+ reports in 2024), and over 30 arrests linked to Roblox grooming all document real instances of young users encountering graphic content and predatory behavior on the platform. However, the claim slightly oversimplifies by attributing harm solely to "UGC policies" when chat and communication features are equally implicated, and it doesn't account for significant safety reforms Roblox implemented in 2025. Key lawsuit allegations also remain legally unproven.
“Brushing teeth before breakfast is more beneficial for dental health than brushing after breakfast.”
Most major dental organizations and professionals, including the ADA and AAE, recommend brushing before breakfast to remove overnight bacteria and coat teeth with fluoride before acid exposure. However, the claim overstates the certainty: the only peer-reviewed comparative study found post-breakfast brushing reduced cavity-causing bacteria more effectively (though it was preliminary), and the advantage of pre-breakfast brushing is largely conditional — post-breakfast brushing is mainly problematic only if done immediately after acidic foods. The preference is real but not as clear-cut as the claim suggests.
“GLP-1 receptor agonist medications provide proven benefits for cardiovascular disease beyond their use for obesity and diabetes.”
The claim is largely accurate. Large randomized trials — most notably SELECT — have demonstrated that semaglutide reduces major cardiovascular events (CV death, nonfatal MI, nonfatal stroke) in patients with established cardiovascular disease and obesity but without diabetes. Tirzepatide has shown benefits in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. However, the strongest evidence applies specifically to overweight/obese patients with existing CVD, not all cardiovascular populations, and some endpoints like overall mortality remain neutral. The claim slightly overgeneralizes but is well-supported by current evidence.
“The Lunar Gateway space station is not necessary for NASA's Artemis program to achieve its lunar objectives.”
This claim is misleading. While it's true that early Artemis missions (II and III) were designed to proceed without the Lunar Gateway, NASA's own documents call Gateway "essential to the Artemis architecture" for the full campaign. Artemis's stated lunar objectives include establishing a sustained, long-term presence on the Moon — not just a single crewed landing — and Gateway is designated as central to Artemis IV and beyond. The claim cherry-picks a narrow near-term truth and presents it as applying to the entire program.
“Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has generated sexualized deepfakes.”
The claim is true. Multiple independent, high-authority news outlets — including PBS, BBC News, The Guardian, and FRANCE 24 — confirm that Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok generated sexualized deepfake images, including of children. This triggered formal investigations by EU, UK, and US regulators. Critically, Grok itself acknowledged producing sexualized images of minors, xAI enacted policy bans on such content, and the image generator was temporarily disabled — actions that constitute corporate admissions corroborating the claim.
“Gold prices have increased fourfold between March 2016 and March 2026.”
The claim is substantively accurate. Gold averaged ~$1,232.70/oz in March 2016 and traded at ~$5,274–$5,299/oz on March 1, 2026 — a ratio of approximately 4.28×, which comfortably satisfies the idiomatic meaning of "fourfold." The slight overshoot beyond exactly 4× and the use of a monthly average versus a single-day spot price are minor methodological imprecisions, not material errors. The March 2026 price was partly elevated by acute geopolitical tensions, which may represent a temporary spike.
“Social media platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive for children.”
The claim is partially true but overstated. Peer-reviewed research confirms social media platforms use engagement-maximizing features — infinite scroll, algorithmic personalization, dopamine-driven feedback loops — that produce addiction-like behaviors in adolescents. However, the claim that these features were "deliberately designed to be addictive for children" specifically implies proven, child-targeted intent that goes beyond what current evidence establishes. Legal cases alleging this remain unresolved, companies deny the characterization, and the documented designs target all users' engagement, not children specifically.
“Swallowed chewing gum remains in the human stomach for seven years before being digested or expelled.”
This claim is a well-known myth. Multiple authoritative medical sources — including Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Duke Health, and Britannica — explicitly state that swallowed gum does not remain in the stomach for seven years. While the gum base is indigestible, it passes through the digestive tract and is expelled in stool, typically within about 40 hours. "Indigestible" means it exits intact, not that it stays trapped. The seven-year figure has no scientific basis.
“Human activity is the primary driver of observed climate change since the mid-20th century.”
This claim is true. The world's leading scientific institutions — including the IPCC, NASA, NOAA, and the National Academies — independently confirm that human greenhouse gas emissions are the primary driver of observed warming since the mid-20th century. Quantitative attribution studies show human activity caused approximately 1.07°C of warming, while natural factors (solar, volcanic) contributed only –0.1°C to +0.1°C. A small number of low-authority dissenting sources exist but provide no peer-reviewed evidence that overturns this conclusion.
“Jesus of Nazareth existed as a historical person.”
Most historians accept that Jesus of Nazareth existed as a historical person. The best-supported basis is scholarly consensus built from early Christian texts plus a few later, independent non-Christian references. Evidence is not contemporaneous and archaeology doesn’t directly attest Jesus, but these limits don’t overturn the mainstream historical conclusion.
“Mathematics is a fundamental aspect of the universe and is not merely a human discovery.”
This claim presents one side of an unresolved philosophical debate as though it were established fact. While mathematical Platonism — the view that math exists independently of human minds — is a legitimate and widely discussed position, it competes with formalism, intuitionism, and other views that treat mathematics as a human construct. The Mathematical Universe Hypothesis underpinning many supporting sources is a speculative minority position, not scientific consensus. The claim is not false as a philosophical stance, but it is misleading as a statement of fact.
“Bioidentical hormones are chemically identical in molecular structure to hormones naturally produced by the human body.”
The claim is true. The Endocrine Society and the National Academies of Sciences both explicitly define bioidentical hormones as compounds with the exact same chemical and molecular structure as hormones naturally produced by the human body. This is the established scientific definition of the term. While compounded bioidentical products may lack FDA verification of their molecular identity, the claim itself is an accurate definitional statement supported by authoritative medical sources.
“Fructose found in fruit and refined sugar have the same effect on cell metabolism.”
This claim is false. While fructose follows the same intracellular enzymatic pathway regardless of its source, "same effect on cell metabolism" is not supported by the evidence. The food matrix of whole fruit — fiber, polyphenols, water — dramatically slows absorption and reduces the dose of fructose reaching liver cells. This means the downstream metabolic consequences (fatty liver, ATP depletion, uric acid production, insulin resistance) that occur with refined sugar consumption are structurally mitigated when fructose comes from whole fruit. Same molecule does not mean same metabolic effect.