The Most Viral False Claims of April 2026

Is the Slippery Slope Fallacy Label Part of a Conspiracy?

No, the slippery slope is classified as a logical fallacy by academic philosophers and educators, not conspirators. The label exists to promote evidence-based r…

Is club soda and soda water the same?

Club soda and soda water are very similar but not always identical. Both are carbonated waters used as mixers, but club soda often contains added minerals for a…

Is carbonated water the same as tonic water?

Carbonated water and tonic water are not the same. Carbonated water is plain water with dissolved carbon dioxide for bubbles. Tonic water is carbonated water wi…

Does distilled water go bad?

Distilled water does not go bad or spoil when unopened and stored properly. Because impurities and microbes are removed during distillation, it remains stable …

Does bottled water go bad?

Unopened bottled water does not go bad or spoil. Water itself is stable, but bottles can degrade over time, affecting taste or quality. Once opened, bottled w…

Does water have calories?

Plain water contains zero calories because it lacks carbohydrates, fats, proteins, or alcohol, the only sources of dietary calories. Multiple nutrition database…

Did Israel cause 9/11?

Israel did not cause the 9/11 attacks. The attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda terrorists led by Osama bin Laden, as confirmed by the 9/11 Commission Report an…

Did Israel create Hamas?

Hamas was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin during the First Intifada. Israel tolerated and indirectly supported Y…

Did Vikings invent braids?

Braiding predates the Viking Age (793-1066 AD) by thousands of years, with evidence from 4,000-year-old mummies and ancient African, Asian, and indigenous cultu…

Did Sam and Dean kill the Trickster?

Sam and Dean did not kill the Trickster in the Mystery Spot episode. They stabbed a fake version disguised as Bobby, but the real Trickster ended the time loop …

Did Raj sleep with Penny in The Big Bang Theory?

Penny and Raj did not have sex in The Big Bang Theory. In season 4 finale, they got drunk and woke up together, but Raj ejaculated prematurely while Penny helpe…

Did Darth Vader know Leia was his daughter?

Darth Vader did not know Princess Leia was his daughter until Return of the Jedi, when he read Luke's thoughts during their confrontation and learned of her exi…

Did Snape love Harry?

Severus Snape did not love Harry Potter. His protection of Harry stemmed solely from his deep, unrequited love for Harry's mother, Lily Potter, and a promise to…

Did Bill Gates buy McDonald’s?

Bill Gates did not buy McDonald’s company. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust purchased shares in McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) as part of its investment …

Did Elon Musk buy Boeing?

Elon Musk has not acquired Boeing. No official announcements, news reports, SEC filings, or statements from Boeing or Musk confirm any purchase. Fact-checks fro…

Did Meta buy TikTok?

Meta did not buy TikTok. No deal occurred despite U.S. political pressures and rumors in early 2025 for ByteDance to divest. TikTok remains owned by ByteDance, …

Did Disney buy Crunchyroll?

Sony acquired Crunchyroll from WarnerMedia/AT&T for $1.175 billion, completing the deal on August 9, 2021. No evidence exists of Disney purchasing Crunchyroll; …

Did Disney buy DreamWorks?

Disney did not buy DreamWorks. DreamWorks Animation was acquired by NBCUniversal for $3.8 billion in 2016. Disney only had a temporary distribution deal with Dr…

Did Home Depot file for Chapter 11?

Home Depot has not filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A property owner leasing to Home Depot filed Chapter 11 in 2017 to halt foreclosure amid a lease dispute ove…

Did Sprite ever have caffeine?

Sprite has always been caffeine-free since its launch in 1961. All varieties, including original, Zero Sugar, and flavored options like Sprite Chill or Lymonade…

Did West Germany have Abrams tanks?

West Germany did not have M1 Abrams tanks. The Abrams entered U.S. service in 1980, after West Germany's main tank development shifted to the Leopard 2, which b…

Did Mississippi eliminate income tax?

Mississippi has not eliminated its state income tax. The official Mississippi Department of Revenue lists a 4% rate on taxable income over $10,000 for tax year …

Did anyone survive Flight 93?

No one survived United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001. All 40 passengers and crew, plus four hijackers, w…

Did John Gotti kill Ralph Galione?

John Gotti did not kill Ralph Galione. Galione was a Gambino crime family hitman in Gotti's crew who died on December 20, 1973, murdered in retaliation for kill…

Did Michael Crowe kill his sister?

Michael Crowe did not kill his sister Stephanie. A San Diego Superior Court judge ruled him and two friends factually innocent in 2012, ordering arrest records …

Did Marshawn Kneeland have kids?

Marshawn Kneeland did not have any children. His girlfriend Catalina Mancera was pregnant with their first child at the time of his death on November 6, 2025. N…

Did Kirk Herbstreit play in the NFL?

Kirk Herbstreit never played in the NFL or entered the draft after college. He was a quarterback for Ohio State from 1989-1993, starting in 1992, but his stats …

Did LeBron James go to college?

LeBron James did not attend college. He graduated from St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, and entered the 2003 NBA Draft directly from high school…

Did dinosaurs have two brains?

No dinosaur had two brains; this is a persistent myth originating from 19th-century paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh's misinterpretation of enlarged neural …

Did Abraham Lincoln own slaves?

Abraham Lincoln did not own slaves. His father-in-law Robert Todd's estate included slaves, and Lincoln consented as Mary Todd Lincoln's husband to their court-…

Did Alexander Hamilton sign the Declaration of Independence?

Alexander Hamilton did not sign the Declaration of Independence. In 1776, he was a 19- or 21-year-old student at King's College (now Columbia University) in New…

Did Benjamin Franklin discover electricity?

Benjamin Franklin did not discover electricity. Electricity and static electrical forces were known for over a thousand years before his time, with extensive pr…

Are Muslim warlords selling Christian kids as slaves in Congo?

No credible reports confirm Muslim warlords stuffing Christian children in bags or selling them as slaves in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Islamic-affiliate…

Did SEC approve ending Pattern Day Trader rule?

The SEC has not approved ending the Pattern Day Trader rule or eliminating the $25,000 minimum; FINRA filed a proposed rule change on December 29, 2025, to repl…

Is the New Jersey Devil Real?

The Jersey Devil is among the oldest and most persistent regional cryptids in American folklore: a winged, hoofed, bat-faced creature said to inhabit the Pine B…

Are Fairies Real?

Fairies — small winged humanoid beings with magical properties, ranging from the benevolent Tinker Bell to the dangerous Fair Folk of Celtic tradition — appear …

Is the Panama Alien Real?

In September 2009, a story went global: a group of teenagers in Cerro Azul, Panama, claimed they encountered a pale, hairless creature crawling out of a cave ne…

Is Goatman Real?

The Goatman appears in regional folklore from Maryland to Texas to Kentucky: a half-human, half-goat creature, sometimes said to be the result of a government l…

Are Spirit Boxes Real?

Spirit boxes appear on nearly every ghost-hunting reality show: a handheld device rapidly scanning AM/FM radio frequencies, producing a continuous sweep of stat…

Is the Russian Sleep Experiment Real?

The Russian Sleep Experiment is one of the most-shared pieces of horror writing on the internet: five Soviet prisoners sealed in a chamber with an experimental …

Are Elves Real?

Elves appear across an enormous range of human storytelling: Old English and Norse mythology, Victorian fairy tales, Tolkien's high fantasy, modern role-playing…

Is Snaptroid Real?

Snaptroid-branded websites and videos promise something irresistible: the ability to view private Snapchat snaps, deleted stories, and My Eyes Only content for …

Is the Grinch Real?

For children who have grown up watching the Grinch on television every December, and who live in a world where Santa is presented as real, the question of wheth…

Are Discord Nitro Generators Real?

YouTube tutorials, Discord DMs, and Reddit posts regularly advertise programs or websites claiming to generate unlimited free Discord Nitro codes. They are eith…

Are Blue Roses Real?

Blue roses appear in florist shops, Pinterest boards, and wedding inspiration galleries. They look vivid and beautiful. Almost none of them are naturally blue. …

Are Black Lions Real?

Images of jet-black lions circulate regularly on social media, often captioned with claims like 'the world's only black lion, photographed on a private reserve'…

Is Apple Teleport Real?

The idea of Apple selling a sleek white teleporter is irresistible, which is exactly why 'Apple Teleport' went viral across TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Videos sh…

Is Photographic Memory Real?

'Photographic memory' gets thrown around whenever someone remembers a phone number or a movie quote with uncanny precision. Pop culture amplifies it into someth…

Is the $2,000 Stimulus Check Real?

Every time the economy feels rough, social media starts promising mystery checks. Viral posts and short-form videos claim that a $2,000 'tariff rebate' or 'Chri…

Is the Sea Eater Real?

The Sea Eater hits all the right notes for viral horror: an impossibly large creature beneath the waves, distorted audio, shaky footage, and captions suggesting…