Was a relatively recent variant of COVID-19 given its name because of 5G mobile phone signals? No, that's not true: New COVID strains are given names according to defined classification systems. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on September 27, 2023, with a text overlay (translated from Croatian to English by Lead Stories staff) that read:…

Did Reuters news agency report that Poland, Sweden and Norway filed a lawsuit against the World Health Organization for infecting Europe with a chemical sprayed from airplanes that causes pneumonia? No, that's not true: The recycled claim involving the WHO, so-called chemtrails and the three European countries has been previously debunked by Reuters. A far wider conspiracy involving so-called chemtrails…

Are "chemtrails" spreading whooping cough in Croatia? No, that's not true: Croatia is facing a whooping cough epidemic due to falling vaccination rates that one health official says is due to online misinformation. Also, chemtrails don't exist, experts say. The claim originated in a video (archived here) on TikTok on November 19, 2023, with the title (translated from Croatian to…

Did Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević import mosquitos to transmit diseases and vaccinate people with mRNA vaccines? No, that's not true: 100,000 sterile male mosquitoes imported from Italy were released in Zagreb as a way to fight a tiger mosquito infestation. They were not imported to spread diseases or to vaccinate people. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here)…

Does a picture being shared on social media prove that COVID-19 tests are being used to cause cancer in the general population? No, that's not true: The image just shows a list of different COVID-19 diagnostic tests available, with the names of their manufacturers. No elements in the list or the picture indicate that they have been used to harm…

Did an electric bus catch fire in Bradford, England, highlighting issues with lithium-ion batteries? No, that's not true: The fire started on a diesel bus, an email from the transport operator that owns the vehicle and a search of the U.K. government's vehicle tax records confirmed. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on October 13, 2023,…

Does drinking a mixture of apple cider vinegar and warm water cause healthy bacteria to spread in the vagina? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to prove the diluted acidic mix works, according to health care experts and a peer-reviewed study. The claim originated in a video (archived here) on TikTok on April 1, 2023, with the caption…

Do PCR tests and COVID-19 vaccines contain the enzyme luciferase? No, that's not true: Luciferase, an enzyme that produces bioluminescence and is widely used in biotechnology, is not contained in PCR tests used to detect COVID-19 infection, nor in COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on September 9, 2023. It opened…

Do Ukrainian refugees in Croatia have all their expenses paid, receive free villas on the Adriatic coast, free pensions and health insurance, and receive a monthly allowance of 2000 euros per month? No, that's not true: Refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection in Croatia, can access free care through public health care institutions, have open access to the Croatian labor…

Do Rainforest Alliance labeled products contain herbicide that changes human gender and is the organization owned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? No, that's not true: The Rainforest Alliance logo indicates that the product comes from farms that meet environmental and human rights standards as defined by the Rainforest Alliance certification program. Bill and Melinda Gates do not own…

Did directed energy weapons cause the wildfires and destruction in Maui, Hawaii? No, that's not true: There's no evidence the technology was used despite numerous theories posted on social media. The claim reappeared as a video published by TikTok on August 13, 2023, by a Serbian account called "Teorije.istine" (archived here). The video starts with shots from a helicopter showing…

Are PCR tests only designed to study DNA samples, making the tool unsuitable to show whether an infectious disease is present? No, that's not true: the tests search for a match to the RNA/DNA of an infectious disease. While scientists report that the tests sometimes return false positive and false negative results, the tests are regarded as effective. The claim…

Did US Vice President Kamala Harris intend to say the population should be reduced so more of our children can breathe clean air? While it is true that during a speech about climate change Harris said the words "reduce population", it's understood that the vice president misspoke and meant to say "reduce pollution". Now Croatian politician Marin Miletić has labeled…

Did a viral travel video show overwater villas and a lagoon in Split, Croatia? No, that's not true: analysis by Lead Stories proves that two of the locations in the video are thousands of kilometers away on a different continent. The claim originated from a video (archived here) where it was published by TikTok on June 11, 2023, with captions…

Did a trans woman wearing a dress made of condoms attend Zagreb Pride naked and harm children? No, that's not true: the person was wearing underwear, and Croatia's children's ombudsperson says children "were not directly threatened." The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on 06/14/2023 under the title, translated from the Croatian language by Lead Stories…

Is the World Health Organization planning to dictate when governments worldwide should impose new lockdowns with its Pandemic Preparedness Treaty? No, that's not true: the draft treaty does not give the health body any powers over sovereign governments. The claim reappeared as a video (archived here) published by TikTok on 06/06/2023 by a user from the Balkans under the title…