Just Because It's Trending Doesn't Mean It's True — Fact checking at the speed of likes since 2015

Fact Check: Croatian Company APIS IT Did NOT Falsely Count Votes In The 2024 Parliamentary Elections

Fact Check

Did the state-owned company APIS IT falsely count votes in the 2024 parliamentary elections in Croatia? No, that's not true: The State Electoral Commission, the Constitutional Court, and the accused company all rejected the claims, stating they were "unfounded and false." The claim originated from a TikTok video (archived here) published by politician Karolina Vidović Krišto on April 16, 2024,…

Fact Check: HDZ President Andrej Plenković Did NOT Refer To HDZ As A Mafia During Victory Speech On Election Night

Fact Check

Did HDZ President Andrej Plenković refer to HDZ as a mafia organization during his victory speech on election night, April 18, 2024? No, that's not true. The claim is circulating in a video created using AI-generated sound. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on April 18, 2024, under the title, translated from Croatian into English by Lead…

Fact Check: Taylor Swift Did NOT Say She Supports HDZ Because SDP Used Her Image To Call For Protests

Fact Check

Did Taylor Swift say she supports the Croatian HDZ party because the SDP party used her image to call for protests? No, that's not true: A video circulating on social media allegedly shows the popular American singer and songwriter making the claim. It originally appeared on March 1, 2024, on the political satirical night show "State of the Nation" on…

Fact Check: Croatian President Zoran Milanović Has NOT Resigned

Fact Check

Has Zoran Milanović resigned from the position of president of Croatia? No, that's not true: A video with an altered audio has been circulating, making the claim. Zoran Milanović has reiterated several times that he will not resign as president of Croatia. The Constitutional Court has warned him that he2024-04-16 cannot run as a candidate for prime minister and participate…

Fact Check: European Commission Is NOT Cancelling International Women's Day

Fact Check

Has the European Commission decided to cancel International Women's Day observance, typically celebrated on March 8th? No, that's not true: The European Commission commemorated International Women's Day and urged women of all ages worldwide to exercise their voting rights, assert their presence in society, and feel empowered to engage in political life. Likewise, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the…

Fact Check: Opinion Polls' Opposite Ratings Of Same Croatian Politicians Do NOT Prove Research Institutes Are Lying

Fact Check

Is the fact that the same politicians in Croatia are rated both most positively and most negatively in opinion polls proof that market research institutes such as Ipsos Puls and Promocija Plus are publishing false information? No, that's not true: Public opinion in Croatia is very divided, so it is not surprising that the best-known politicians are simultaneously rated the…

Fact Check: Study Does NOT Show Mammography Is Connected To 84% Increase In Breast Cancer Mortality

Fact Check

Are mammograms, according to data from a new study, responsible for an increase in breast cancer mortality by 84 percent? No, that's not true: The study that the video on TikTok refers to never claimed that mammography leads to a breast cancer death rate increase. It showed that women with a false-positive mammogram result, i.e. who were found to have…

Fact Check: Citizens Of Bosnia And Herzegovina Will NOT Have To Pay 7 Euros Each Time They Enter Croatia As Of 2025

Fact Check

Will citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have to pay seven euros each time they enter neighboring Croatia or other European countries, as of 2025, because of a "new EU security system"? No, that's not true. A new travel authorisation system for visa-exempt travelers, called ETIAS, will be implemented in 2025 to enter specific European countries, including Croatia. When applying to…

Fact Check: 5G Radiation Is NOT In The Same Carcinogen Group As Lead

Fact Check

Is 5G radiation classified as a carcinogen and included in the same class of carcinogens as the metal lead? No, that's not true: 5G radiation is not in the same carcinogen group as lead because it was never classified as a carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer divided carcinogens into four groups, depending on the potential dangers they…

Fact Check: Croatia Is NOT Allocating 11 Million Euros For Teaching Croatian To Foreign Workers

Fact Check

Is the Republic of Croatia investing 11 million euros to teach foreign workers the Croatian language? No, that's not true: The precise sum allocated from the Croatian budget for teaching Croatian to foreign workers remains undisclosed, and at the time of writing, there was no official documentation on the matter. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published…

Fact Check: Cyanide From Apricot Kernels Is NOT Poisonous To Cancer Cells

Fact Check

Is cyanide from apricot kernels poisonous for cancer cells, and should it be taken as a preventive measure against cancer? No, that's not true: There is no substantiated evidence supporting the notion that apricot seeds can prevent cancer. Consuming apricot seeds can be harmful due to amygdalin, a chemical compound that metabolizes into the poison cyanide when ingested. The claim…

Fact Check: Croatian Nationals Have NOT Become A Minority In Zagreb

Fact Check

Have the demographics of Zagreb shifted to the extent that Croatian nationals are now in the minority, while Nepali, Pakistani, Syrian and Afghan nationals have become the majority? No, that's not true: Based on the official population census of 2021, over 93 percent of Zagreb's population comprises Croatian nationals, with 99.13 percent of citizens being Croatian. Notably, individuals from Nepal,…

Fact Check: Drinking Strained Flaxseed Water Does NOT Remove Helicobacter Pylori Bacteria From Body

Fact Check

Does drinking half a cup of strained flaxseed water on an empty stomach remove Helicobacter pylori bacteria, which can cause gastritis and even cancer, from the body? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence to support this claim. A 2019 study on the eradication rates of H. pylori showed that the use of flax seed had no significant…

Fact Check: European Green Party, Croatian We Can! Are NOT Advocating For Decriminalization Of Sex With Minors

Fact Check

Are the European Green Party and Croatian Party We Can! advocating for decriminalization of sex with minors? No, that's not true: There is no evidence or record that the European Green Party or their new member from Croatia, the party We Can!, advocates lowering the minimum age for sexual consent to 12 years. The claim appeared on TikTok in a…

Fact Check: Professors' Article Does NOT Prove List Of Jasenovac Camp Victims Was Fabricated

Fact Check

Did Zagreb University professors Neven Elezović and Nikola Banić prove in a scientific article that the list of victims of the Ustasha Jasenovac camp was fabricated? No, that's not true: Several experts told Lead Stories that Elezović and Banić used a deeply flawed and inapplicable mathematical method in their 2020 article. In addition, the two authors have been publicly promoting…

Fact Check: Lemons Are NOT Scientifically Proven Natural Chemotherapy

Fact Check

Are lemons a scientifically proven natural chemotherapy? No, that's not true: Even though lemons demonstrate certain properties that are beneficial for human health, no evidence supports this claim. A study referred to in a video on TikTok claims that their findings suggest a potentially feasible approach to fight cancer using the combination of natural agents and chemotherapy. So, contrary to…

Fact Check: Yugoslavian Leader Tito Did NOT Say 'You Are Replacing The Population With Foreigners'

Fact Check

Did Josip Broz Tito, president of the former Yugoslavia, say: "Congratulations. Really genius. First, you sold everything, and now you are replacing the population with foreigners"? No, that's not true: The audio has been edited. Tito died in 1980. Lead Stories found the original scene in a YouTube video of a 1980 documentary titled "Tito's Memoirs" in which Tito talks…

Fact Check: Detox, Compresses With Natural Remedies Do NOT Work Better Against Breast Cancer Than Surgical Removal

Fact Check

Do detoxification, compresses with aloe vera, comfrey and elm or compresses with finely chopped garlic and castor oil fight breast cancer better than surgery? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence that using compresses with natural remedies has any therapeutic benefits on women with breast cancer. Aloe vera and castor oil are not effective against cancer, and comfrey…

Fact Check: France Did NOT Adopt New Law To Criminalize Criticism Of mRNA Technology

Fact Check

Did France adopt a new law that allows for any criticism of the mRNA technology to be criminalized? No, that's not true: The bill has nothing to do with mRNA technology, but with a bill aimed at strengthening the fight against "sectarian tendencies." Article 4 of the bill criminalizes the incitement to abandon or to abstain from medical treatment, which…

Fact Check: Numbers On The Bottom Of Milk Cartons Do NOT Indicate How Many Times Expired Milk Has Been Re-pasteurized At 190ºC

Fact Check

Do the numbers printed on the bottom of Tetra Pak milk cartons indicate the number of times the milk has been re-pasteurized after the expiration date, at 190°C? No, that's not true: At Tetra Pak, milk is packaged simultaneously on multiple conveyor belts, and the packaging is numbered for traceability purposes, not to signify the number of times the milk…