Accurate information is the foundation of a functioning democracy
A worldwide network of scientists sorting fact from fiction. Our goal is to empowering readers to discern trustworthy news.
Recent Reviews
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IncorrectClaim that the HPV vaccine increases risk of cervical cancer misleads by cherry-picking data from FDA document
Claim:
HPV vaccine increases the risk of developing cervical cancer
Source: Instagram, Pierre Kory, 2024-03-27 -
InaccurateNo, a court didn’t rule that the FDA broke the law with advisory warning against using ivermectin for COVID-19
Claim:
Court rules FDA broke the law with advisory warning against using ivermectin for COVID-19; FDA lost lawsuit, proving ivermectin is effective against COVID-19
Source: Gateway Pundit, Twitter, Vigilant Fox, Jim Hoft, Pierre Kory, Roger O'Handley, 2024-03-22 -
InaccurateData shows temperatures rising in Greenland and around the world; current global warming is driven by CO2, not solar activity
Claim:
Ice cores from Greenland show no significant warming, casting doubt on the climate change theory
Source: Daily Sceptic, Stephen Andrews, 2024-03-08 -
InaccurateClaims that long COVID doesn’t exist misrepresent study by Queensland Health researchers
Claim:
Queensland Health Researchers find that long COVID doesn’t exist
Source: New York Post, The Blaze, One America News Network, Paul Sacca, David Landsel, Brook Mallory, Brooke Mallory, 2024-03-14 -
UnsupportedCastor oil is only medically recognized as a laxative; other alleged medical benefits, including treating cancer, lack scientific support
Claim:
“Scar tissue, bone spurs, tumors, [castor oil is] excellent for breaking that up”
Source: Facebook, TikTok, Barbara O'Neill, 2024-03-12 -
UnsupportedInsufficient evidence for the claim that benzoyl peroxide in skincare products poses cancer risk
Claim:
Benzene in benzoyl peroxide-containing skincare products poses a cancer risk
Source: TikTok, Social media users, 2024-03-07
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Health Reviews
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Incorrect
Claim that the HPV vaccine increases risk of cervical cancer misleads by cherry-picking data from FDA document
Claim:
HPV vaccine increases the risk of developing cervical cancer
Source: Instagram, Pierre Kory, 2024-03-27
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Inaccurate
No, a court didn’t rule that the FDA broke the law with advisory warning against using ivermectin for COVID-19
Claim:
Court rules FDA broke the law with advisory warning against using ivermectin for COVID-19; FDA lost lawsuit, proving ivermectin is effective against COVID-19
Source: Gateway Pundit, Twitter, Vigilant Fox, Jim Hoft, Pierre Kory, Roger O'Handley, 2024-03-22 -
Inaccurate
Claims that long COVID doesn’t exist misrepresent study by Queensland Health researchers
Claim:
Queensland Health Researchers find that long COVID doesn’t exist
Source: New York Post, The Blaze, One America News Network, Paul Sacca, David Landsel, Brook Mallory, Brooke Mallory, 2024-03-14
Insights
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Are claims linking recent U.S. trends in cancer diagnoses to COVID-19 vaccines plausible? A look at the available data
Since it takes several years to gather, verify, and consolidate cancer data at the national level, there’s no real-time way to monitor national cancer trends. Medical experts have also explained that there is no plausible mechanism or data that connect COVID-19 vaccines to cancer.
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How health problems after COVID-19 vaccination are sometimes used to feed misinformation narratives
While illness can occur shortly after vaccination, it doesn’t mean that the vaccine must be the cause. Illness can also occur simply by coincidence, since diseases have existed long before vaccines arrived. Part of evaluating whether a vaccine is the cause of an illness requires determining if vaccinated people are at a higher risk of the illness compared to unvaccinated people—something that anecdotes alone cannot provide.
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“Disease X”: How pandemic preparedness talks spawned conspiracy theories online
On 17 January 2024, public health experts including Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), held…
Climate reviews
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Inaccurate
Data shows temperatures rising in Greenland and around the world; current global warming is driven by CO2, not solar activity
Claim:
Ice cores from Greenland show no significant warming, casting doubt on the climate change theory
Source: Daily Sceptic, Stephen Andrews, 2024-03-08
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MisleadingStudy calls for people to grow their own food for many years to come, despite finding higher carbon footprint compared to conventional agriculture
Claim:
Study and headline saying homegrown food is more carbon intensive than conventional agriculture is meant to discourage and stop people from growing their own food
Source: Facebook, The Atlas Society, Social media users, 2024-01-26 -
IncorrectEvidence greenhouse gasses cause global warming denied by Willie Soon in Tucker Carlson interview, resulting in mass social media climate misinformation
Claim:
Carbon dioxide does not cause global warming, scientists are 90% sure it’s the Sun; The climate problems blamed on carbon dioxide (such as ocean acidification and negative impacts on polar bears) are not real
Source: Tucker Carlson Network, Willie Soon, 2024-01-09
Analyses & Investigations
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Use of information panels on YouTube videos containing misinformation – a ’quick check’ study
This quick check study suggests that the information panels applied by YouTube are highly unlikely to have the desired effect of connecting users to authoritative information on topics prone to disinformation.
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Who’s Behind The (Mis)Leading Report?
Reputable news sources demonstrate transparency in all aspects of their operation. They disclose their sources of funding, identify staff who produce their content and clearly indicate their sources of information. If they commit errors, they openly acknowledge and correct these errors. Our investigation shows Leading Report exhibits none of these characteristics. The two individuals who run the website and its X/Twitter account appear to hold no relevant credentials in health, medicine or journalism.
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Authorities undertaking climate action targeted by viral “Climate lockdowns” narrative on social media
The increasing number of measures to limit greenhouse gas pollution that can be expected in the future will certainly present opportunities for future weaponization and misrepresentation. Writers, editors, and journalists should be aware of these manipulation tactics when discussing the aftermath of COVID-19 restrictions or future climate policies, knowing that some actors are trawling for any evidence to boost the manufactured ‘climate lockdown’ outrage.
News & events
press
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DPA (German Press Agency)
La banquise arctique en déclin depuis les années 80
« Il est important de comprendre que la glace de mer, en tant qu’indicateur du changement climatique, fluctue d’une année à l’autre », explique Stephen Bell, rédacteur scientifique pour le réseau international Climate Feedback, créé pour lutter contre la désinformation climatique.
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NPR
Hard times are here for news sites and social media. Is this the end of Web 2.0?
One recent study by Science Feedback, a fact-checking organization, found that user engagement with so-called superspreaders of misinformation increased 44% on the platform since Musk took over.