Is the recent approval of lab-made meat by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to a recent study by two universities stating that the next pandemic might originate in the United States? No, that's not true: The video discussing this is misleading. Even though the speaker does not directly link the two events, her framing of it leads…

Is the fast publication of the book 'Fire and Fury: The Story of the 2023 Maui Fire and Its Implications for Climate Change' proof that it was written before the wildfires started, and that the fires must have been planned to reduce the population? No, that's not true: The author's background indicates that this is rather a work of fiction.…

Is a clip from 'The Simpsons' showing fires caused by beams of light proof the TV show predicted the use of directed energy weapons in the Maui wildfires? No, that's not true: The respective episode shows fires triggered by sunlight reflecting off a statue. Lead Stories has previously debunked the claim that DEWs caused the Hawaii wildfires that started on…

Is the EU going to block bank accounts in Europe if people don't spend at least a certain amount of money, set by Brussels? No, that's not true: The EU does not have the authority to block bank accounts. There are various projects and initiatives in the works, such as the digital Europe programme and the digital identity, aimed at…

Is the woman in the video shown to be paying for her groceries using a microchip hand implant? No, that's not true: the woman in the video, who goes by the TikTok handle @chipgirlhere, admitted that she used Amazon One, a palm-scanning payment system that has been rolling out in Whole Foods stores in the United States since 2021, to…

Did the Mpox (monkeypox) vaccine appear 'suddenly' during A 2022 outbreak of the disease, showing it was part of a plan to sow fear and promote vaccines? No, that's not true: while there's no specific vaccine for the disease, a smallpox vaccine proven to be the most effective at reducing the risk of Mpox has been authorized in the EU…

A impus Guvernul României o interdicție „devastatoare" privind vânzarea porcilor și a cărnii acestora, în contextul în care 80% din carnea de porc vândută în țară este deja importată? Nu, nu e adevărat: un proiect de ordin al Autorității Naționale Sanitare Veterinare le interzicea inițial doar exploatațiilor noncomerciale să vândă porci, dar după ce a fost adoptat, în octombrie 2023,…

Are Romanian reservists receiving orders by mail meant to mobilize them for war? No, that's not true: the claim is from a 2022 news report and this kind of notice is part of Romania's military standard routines, as every year reservists are called for updates on their military status. The claim originated in a video (archived here) published on TikTok…

Does a video show people being scanned in Bucharest to check whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, as a way to control the population? No, that's not true: the news report's footage, which dates from April 2020, shows a temperature scan meant to limit the spread of the Coronavirus, and Lead Stories has previously debunked claims that vaccines turn…

Is a law "discovered" by far-right Romanian senator Diana Sosoaca enabling the state to separate children from their families and was such a bill passed in secret? No, that's not true: Sosoaca is continuing a disinformation trend previously debunked by Lead Stories, about a new law she claimed was regulating how children were going to be taken away from low-income…