2113 published verifications avg. score 5.4/10 916 rated true or mostly true 1181 rated false or misleading
“The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved leucovorin as a broad treatment for autism.”
This claim is false. The FDA approved leucovorin in March 2026 only for cerebral folate deficiency (CFD), an ultra-rare genetic condition affecting roughly 1 in a million people — not for autism. Leucovorin remains investigational for autism, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend its routine use for autistic children, and a key study supporting leucovorin's autism benefits was retracted in January 2026 due to data irregularities. No FDA-approved broad treatment for autism spectrum disorder exists.
“A viral video claims to show Jeffrey Epstein alive under the alias "Palm Beach Pete," contradicting the official record of his death in August 2019.”
A viral video did circulate in March 2026 with social media users claiming it showed Jeffrey Epstein alive in Florida under the alias "Palm Beach Pete," and this does contradict the official record of his August 2019 death by suicide. However, the man in the video publicly came forward, identified himself as "Palm Beach Pete," and explicitly denied being Epstein. No credible evidence links him to Epstein. The claim accurately describes the viral narrative but omits the debunking.
“The United States was downgraded in a democracy index.”
The claim is accurate. The V-Dem Institute's 2026 Democracy Report documents a 24% one-year drop in the U.S. Liberal Democracy Index score and a rank fall from 20th to 51st place. The Century Foundation's Democracy Meter also recorded a significant decline. While other indices like Freedom House and International IDEA did not report a downgrade, the claim only states the U.S. was downgraded in "a" democracy index — which is clearly supported by multiple credible sources.
“Elon Musk's claim that fewer than 5% of Twitter/X's monetizable daily active users are bots is accurate.”
This claim is misleading on multiple levels. First, Elon Musk himself publicly disputed the "<5%" bot figure during the Twitter acquisition, claiming bots exceeded 20% — so attributing this figure to him as "accurate" is paradoxical. Second, the "<5%" estimate was never independently verified; the most direct supporting evidence comes from litigation testimony by Musk's own legal defense. Third, while many studies suggesting far higher bot rates measure different metrics than mDAU, the sheer scale of bot activity on X (800 million accounts suspended for spam in 2024 alone) raises serious doubts about the figure's practical accuracy.
“A photograph purportedly showing Benjamin Netanyahu ordering a strike on Iran was taken before February 28, 2026, which is claimed as evidence that the attack was pre-planned.”
The claim that the Netanyahu strike-order photo predates February 28, 2026 is not supported by credible evidence. Lead Stories traced the alleged early date to a known Google Images glitch and found no verified instances of the photo appearing before Feb. 28. The only sources asserting a pre-Feb-28 date are anonymous social media accounts offering unverified metadata claims. The photo was actually released by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office in mid-March 2026 amid rumors about Netanyahu's health.
“Donald Trump referred to Gavin Newsom as "president" during a public statement in March 2026.”
Trump did say "the president of the United States, Gavin Newscum" during a public news conference on March 16, 2026, as verified by Snopes' footage review and corroborated by TIME, ABC7, and other outlets. However, the remark occurred mid-sentence while Trump was arguing Newsom should not be president, making it a verbal slip or garbled phrasing rather than a deliberate designation. The claim is factually accurate but omits this important context.
“Donald Trump suggested that truckers switch from diesel to gasoline as a way to reduce fuel costs in March 2026.”
This claim is false. Snopes traced the "diesel to gasoline" suggestion to a satirical post on Fazzler.com, a known satire website. No credible news source — including Al Jazeera, Transport Topics, KIRO 7, and CBS Evening News, all of which covered Trump's actual fuel-cost responses in March 2026 — recorded him making this suggestion. While Trump did address rising fuel costs through measures like a Jones Act waiver, the specific claim about advising truckers to switch fuels is fictional satire, not a real statement.
“Joe Kent, head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, resigned in March 2026 over the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran.”
The claim is largely accurate. Joe Kent served as Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, and he resigned in mid-March 2026 citing opposition to the ongoing U.S.-Israel war on Iran. His authenticated resignation letter confirms this. Two caveats: the phrase "U.S. and Israel's war" slightly simplifies Kent's emphasis on U.S. involvement driven by Israeli pressure, and CBS News reports Kent was already under FBI investigation for alleged classified leaks before resigning — context the claim omits.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reversed his previous stance on glyphosate and Roundup, publicly stating to MAHA supporters that the herbicide is safe.”
RFK Jr. did back Trump's executive order boosting glyphosate production, representing a shift from his prior anti-pesticide activism. However, he never publicly stated that glyphosate is "safe." In the same social media post endorsing the order, he called pesticides "toxic by design." He later called glyphosate "poison" on Joe Rogan and told MAHA supporters he disagreed with Trump's decision. The claim's core assertion — that he told supporters the herbicide is safe — is directly contradicted by his own recorded statements.
“A technology executive used ChatGPT to help develop a personalized cancer vaccine for his dog, which had been diagnosed with cancer.”
The core claim is accurate: Sydney-based tech professional Paul Conyngham used ChatGPT — alongside other AI tools — to help plan and develop a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine for his dog Rosie after her cancer diagnosis. However, "technology executive" is a loose description (sources call him a tech entrepreneur, AI consultant, or data engineer), and ChatGPT's role was primarily as a research and planning assistant — human scientists at UNSW performed the actual genome sequencing, vaccine synthesis, and treatment.
“Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, previously worked for Jeffrey Epstein.”
This claim is not supported by any credible evidence. The DOJ Epstein Files — spanning over 3 million pages of investigative documents — contain no mention of Erika Kirk. No payroll records, sworn testimony, or credible reporting establishes any employment relationship between Kirk and Epstein. The allegation originates from social media speculation and a podcast host's self-described "hunch" about institutional proximity, which is not evidence of employment. Fact-checking coverage has rated the claim false.
“Kamala Harris stated that Iran is a country, but it is not the United States' country because Americans do not live there.”
Kamala Harris never made this statement. Two independent fact-checks (Snopes and MEAWW, March 2026) found no audio, video, transcript, or any verifiable source for this quote, identifying it as a fabricated meme designed to mock her speaking style. All documented Harris remarks on Iran involve substantive foreign-policy language. The quote is entirely made up.
“A widely circulated photo depicts Timothee Chalamet falling on the red carpet at the 2026 Oscars ceremony.”
The viral photo of Timothée Chalamet supposedly falling at the 2026 Oscars is fabricated. Multiple fact-checkers traced it to a misleading post on X by @DiscussingFish that falsely cited the Academy as its source. No credible outlet, live broadcast, or official account reported any fall. Authentic red carpet coverage from The Guardian, ELLE, Business Insider, and others consistently shows Chalamet arriving and posing normally in an all-white Givenchy suit with no incident.
“Jessie Buckley is the first British actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.”
This claim is false on two counts. Jessie Buckley is Irish, not British — she was born in Kerry, Ireland, and every major outlet covering her 2026 Best Actress win identifies her as Irish. Her victory is historic as the first Irish Best Actress Oscar. Additionally, numerous British actresses have already won this award, including Vivien Leigh (1939), Julie Andrews (1964), Glenda Jackson (1969, 1973), Kate Winslet (2008), and Olivia Colman (2019).
“Timothee Chalamet did not win the Best Actor Oscar at the 2026 Academy Awards, and his loss has been attributed by some sources to his controversial remarks about ballet and opera.”
Multiple credible post-ceremony sources confirm Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor at the 2026 Oscars, not Timothée Chalamet. Several outlets — including Forbes, Geo News, and Mashable — did frame Chalamet's loss in connection with his controversial ballet/opera remarks, satisfying the "attributed by some" language. However, the claim omits a critical detail: Oscar voting closed before the controversy went viral, meaning the attribution is widely regarded as post-hoc narrative rather than substantiated cause.
“Timothée Chalamet has publicly stated that ballet and opera are dying art forms that nobody cares about.”
Timothée Chalamet did publicly say at a 2026 CNN/Variety town hall that "no one cares about" ballet and opera anymore — this is confirmed by multiple major outlets. However, the specific phrase "dying art forms" does not appear in the widely quoted remarks from that event. That stronger characterization comes from media paraphrases and commentary, not Chalamet's own words. The claim is half-right but overstates what he actually said, making it misleading as written.
“China's GDP is projected to grow at more than 5% per year over the next 10 years (2026–2036).”
The claim that China's GDP will grow at more than 5% per year over 2026–2036 is not supported by any credible institution. The IMF projects 4.5% for 2026, declining to 4% by 2027. The World Bank forecasts 4.4% for 2026. Goldman Sachs projects 4.8%. China's own planning benchmark requires only 4.17% average annual growth through 2035. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimates potential growth dropping to 4.37% by 2031–2035. Every major forecaster projects sub-5% growth with structural deceleration ahead.
“Startups founded during economic downturns statistically outperform startups founded during economic boom periods.”
This claim is not supported by the evidence. Multiple peer-reviewed studies and high-authority institutional research — including from the American Economic Review, NBER, and Kellogg/Northwestern — consistently find that recession-born startups start smaller, grow more slowly, and remain smaller throughout their lifetimes compared to boom-era cohorts. The claim relies heavily on cherry-picked success stories like Uber and Airbnb, which reflect survivorship bias, not statistical outperformance. No credible aggregate data supports the claim as stated.
“Colossal Biosciences has successfully de-extincted the dire wolf.”
Colossal Biosciences has not de-extincted the dire wolf. The company's own chief scientist confirmed the animals are cloned gray wolves with roughly 20 gene edits targeting traits like size and coat — not resurrected members of the extinct genus Aenocyon dirus, which diverged from gray wolves millions of years ago. Independent experts and peer-reviewed commentary agree the result does not meet any credible scientific definition of de-extinction. The "dire wolf is back" framing reflects marketing, not biology.
“The year 2025 had the highest global average temperature ever recorded in human history.”
The claim is false. Every major climate authority — WMO, NASA, Copernicus/ECMWF, Met Office, and NOAA — confirms that 2024, not 2025, holds the record for the highest global average temperature. WMO's consolidation of eight independent datasets ranked 2025 as second in two datasets and third in six, with none ranking it first. The year 2025 was among the warmest on record, but it did not set the all-time record.