All 50 terms

The 15-minute city is an established urban planning concept promoting walkable neighborhoods where daily needs are reachable within 15 minutes on foot or by bicycle. The claim that it constitutes a plan to confine citizens or create open-air prisons has no basis in any policy document, implementation plan, or stated objective of the concept.

Claims that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was stolen through widespread fraud have been rejected by more than 60 courts, election officials of both parties, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and independent audits including one commissioned by Republicans in Arizona.

No adverse health effects have been causally linked to 5G radiofrequency exposure at levels within international safety guidelines. Extreme claims, such as that 5G causes cancer or spread COVID-19, are without scientific basis, though some researchers call for continued monitoring of long-term non-thermal effects.

The conspiracy theory that global elites harvest adrenochrome from tortured children for its supposed psychedelic or life-extending properties has no factual basis. Adrenochrome is a simple oxidation product of adrenaline that can be chemically synthesized, has no documented psychedelic or anti-aging properties, and is not subject to any illegal trafficking.

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a real multilateral framework adopted by 193 UN member states in 2015, containing 17 Sustainable Development Goals focused on poverty, health, education, and climate. Conspiracy theories falsely attribute to it covert population control or sovereignty-undermining objectives not present in any UN documentation.

AI-powered voice cloning is a real and rapidly growing fraud vector. Scammers use readily available tools to clone voices from short audio clips and impersonate family members or executives, causing significant financial losses documented by the FBI, FTC, and academic research.

Alkaline water (pH 8-10) does not meaningfully change blood or tissue pH due to the body's robust buffering systems, and there is no clinical evidence that it cures, prevents, or treats diseases including cancer. Minor potential benefits for acid reflux or post-exercise rehydration have been noted but remain unconfirmed in larger trials.

In July 2023, IARC classified aspartame as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' (Group 2B) based on limited evidence. The same month, JECFA reaffirmed the acceptable daily intake of 40 mg/kg body weight, concluding that evidence of an association with cancer in humans is not convincing at normal consumption levels. EFSA and FDA do not consider aspartame a safety concern at approved levels.

Oral or intravenous sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) as a standalone cancer cure has no clinical evidence supporting it. While early-phase research explores sodium bicarbonate as an adjunct to conventional therapies, based on the observation that tumors create an acidic microenvironment, there is no evidence that consuming baking soda prevents or cures cancer in humans.

Claims that Bill Gates plans to reduce the world's population through forced vaccination are false. They originate from a misquotation of his 2010 TED Talk, in which Gates argued that improving health and vaccination reduces child mortality, which leads to lower birth rates in developing countries, not to population reduction through harm.

Bluetooth devices emit very low-power radiofrequency radiation, typically 10 to 400 times less than a mobile phone, that is non-ionizing in nature and well within safety limits set by international regulatory bodies. No scientific evidence establishes a health risk from Bluetooth at consumer exposure levels.

The persistent white trails left by aircraft at high altitude are condensation trails (contrails) made of ice crystals formed when hot exhaust meets cold, humid air. There is no scientific evidence of any covert large-scale atmospheric spraying program.

CO2's properties as a greenhouse gas, absorbing and re-emitting infrared radiation, were established experimentally by physicist John Tyndall in 1859 and have been confirmed by countless laboratory measurements and satellite observations since. This is foundational physics with no credible scientific dispute.

Cryptocurrency investment fraud is one of the largest and fastest-growing categories of financial crime globally. The FBI's IC3 documented $9.3 billion in crypto-related fraud losses in 2024 alone, a 66% increase from the prior year, confirming this as a major and well-evidenced public threat.

The claim that deepfakes are completely impossible to detect is an overstatement: automated detection tools exist and continue to improve, but the gap between deepfake generation and detection remains significant, and humans alone are poorly equipped to identify modern deepfakes reliably.

Delivery phishing, fraudulent text messages or emails impersonating parcel carriers such as USPS, FedEx, and UPS to steal personal and financial information, is the most commonly reported text scam in the United States and is widespread globally. The FTC recorded $470 million in losses to text scams in 2024, with fake package delivery being the top reported category.

The human body continuously removes waste and metabolic byproducts through the liver, kidneys, lungs, and digestive system. 'Detox diets' and commercial cleansing products have no randomized controlled trial evidence demonstrating that they enhance this process or remove specific toxins, and some pose risks of harm.

E-numbers are a European Union classification system for food additives that have passed mandatory safety evaluations by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The 'E' designation signifies regulatory approval and safety assessment, not danger. Many E-numbers are familiar substances including vitamin C (E300), citric acid (E330), and beta-carotene (E160a).

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have higher manufacturing emissions than comparable petrol cars, primarily due to battery production, but produce significantly lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions in almost all regions and grid mixes. The environmental advantage grows as electricity grids become cleaner.

Fraudulent charity solicitations, particularly those timed to exploit natural disasters, wars, and mass casualty events, are a well-documented and prevalent form of consumer fraud. In 2024, the FBI's IC3 received more than 4,500 complaints reporting approximately $96 million in losses to fraudulent charities, crowdfunding accounts, and disaster relief campaigns.

Fake online giveaways, often using impersonated celebrity or brand accounts, are a well-documented and widespread internet scam. Regulatory agencies including the FTC have formally documented this fraud pattern and issued consumer guidance.

Fraudulent online shops and deceptive pricing practices, including fake discounts, inflated reference prices, and copycat shopping websites, are a documented and widespread form of consumer fraud. Regulatory bodies including the FTC, the European Commission, and Europol confirm these practices cause significant financial harm to consumers globally.

The Earth is an oblate spheroid, a sphere slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator. This has been established by multiple independent lines of evidence spanning over 2,000 years, from ancient Greek geometry to modern satellite imagery and GPS systems.

Community water fluoridation at recommended levels (0.7 mg/L in the U.S.) has strong evidence of reducing dental decay by approximately 25%. A body of recent research has raised concerns about possible neurodevelopmental effects at higher fluoride exposures, primarily above 1.5 mg/L, leading to active scientific debate about optimal levels and regulatory review.

Major scientific and regulatory bodies worldwide, including WHO, EFSA, and the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, have concluded that currently approved genetically modified foods are as safe to eat as their conventional counterparts. More than 3,000 studies support this conclusion.

HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) is a legitimate scientific facility in Alaska that studies the ionosphere using radio waves. Physicists and atmospheric scientists have consistently explained that HAARP cannot influence weather, as its radio waves do not interact with the troposphere where weather occurs.

Homeopathy, a practice based on extreme dilution of substances to the point where no molecules of the original substance remain, has no plausible mechanism and no high-quality clinical trial evidence demonstrating efficacy against cancer. Regulatory and scientific bodies worldwide classify it as ineffective for treating serious diseases, and relying on it in place of evidence-based cancer treatment is potentially fatal.

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2021-2023) concludes it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land. More than 97% of actively publishing climate scientists and over 99% of peer-reviewed climate papers endorse anthropogenic climate change.

The claim that mail-in voting is systematically fraudulent or rigged is not supported by evidence. Decades of data from states that conduct elections primarily by mail show fraud rates that are infinitesimally small, and multiple independent studies find no systematic evidence of mail ballot fraud.

COVID-19 vaccines do not contain microchips, RFID trackers, or any tracking technology. Vaccine ingredients have been independently analyzed and contain no such components. The claim originated from a misinterpretation of Bill Gates' remarks about digital health records.

The claim that immigrants receive more welfare and public benefits than native-born citizens is contradicted by the weight of evidence across multiple countries. In the United States, immigrants consume on average 24% less in welfare and entitlement benefits than native-born Americans on a per capita basis.

Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) is a mixture of sodium chlorite and acid that produces chlorine dioxide, an industrial bleaching agent, when prepared as directed. The FDA, Health Canada, the European Commission, Medsafe New Zealand, and other regulatory bodies warn that ingesting MMS is equivalent to drinking bleach, has caused hospitalizations and deaths, and has no scientific evidence of efficacy for any medical condition.

The belief that the full moon increases violent crime, psychiatric crises, or erratic behavior is not supported by the weight of controlled evidence. Large systematic reviews and prospective studies have found no reliable association between lunar phase and rates of violence, psychiatric admissions, or crime. Some preliminary evidence suggests a subtle effect on sleep duration, but this is modest and the mechanism unclear.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was an act of military aggression that violated international law. NATO's eastward expansion is cited by Russia as justification, and some geopolitical scholars have argued it created security tensions; however, academic and legal consensus holds that expansion does not justify or legally excuse the invasion.

Pizzagate is a thoroughly discredited 2016 conspiracy theory falsely claiming that a Washington, D.C. pizzeria was the site of a child sex-trafficking ring operated by Democratic Party officials. No evidence of any kind supports it: no victims came forward, no physical evidence was found, and the Metropolitan Police Department characterized it as 'fictitious.'

Pyramid schemes are illegal financial structures where returns for existing participants are paid using money from new recruits rather than from genuine business activity. They are well-documented by regulators, inevitably collapse, and cause significant financial harm to the vast majority of participants.

QAnon is a debunked far-right conspiracy theory that claims a secret cabal of satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles controls governments and media, and that a figure called 'Q' is revealing this information online. The FBI has designated QAnon adherents as a domestic terrorism threat, and all specific QAnon predictions have failed to materialize.

The claim that a race of shape-shifting reptilian extraterrestrials secretly controls world governments and prominent institutions has no empirical support and is rejected by all scientific disciplines. The theory was popularized from 1998 onward by British conspiracy theorist David Icke and has been associated with antisemitic tropes.

The claim that solar panels are a financial or environmental scam is not supported by evidence. Multiple independent analyses confirm that solar photovoltaic systems generate positive returns over their lifetimes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially.

The recurring claim that billionaire philanthropist George Soros directly pays protesters to attend demonstrations has not been supported by any credible evidence across multiple independent investigations. While Soros's Open Society Foundations fund civil society organizations, no evidence demonstrates that funds were directed to compensate individual protesters.

The ECB's digital euro project is designed with privacy protections and is explicitly intended to complement, not replace, cash. Extreme claims that it would enable totalitarian financial surveillance are not supported by the design or legislation. Legitimate civil liberties concerns about the balance between privacy and compliance monitoring exist and are subject to ongoing democratic debate.

The EU has not banned cash and has no plans to do so. An EU anti-money laundering regulation sets a €10,000 cap on cash payments to businesses in professional transactions from 2027 onward, a targeted measure that does not affect everyday cash use, private transactions, or the right to hold cash.

The 'Great Reset' is a real public initiative launched by the World Economic Forum in 2020 to promote sustainable post-pandemic economic recovery. However, widespread conspiracy theories attribute to it covert goals, such as abolishing private property or installing a world government, that are not reflected in any WEF documents or credible evidence.

The Apollo Moon landings between 1969 and 1972 are among the most thoroughly documented events in human history, supported by independent evidence from multiple nations. No credible scientific or technical evidence supports the claim that they were staged.

Decades of large-scale epidemiological research across multiple countries have found no causal link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder. The original 1998 study that sparked the controversy was retracted after being exposed as deliberate scientific fraud.

AI-generated images, video, and audio depicting fabricated events are regularly shared on social media as genuine documentation of real occurrences. This is a confirmed, documented phenomenon that affects political discourse, crisis communication, and public trust. UNESCO, the Brennan Center, and numerous fact-checking institutions have documented the harms.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient with well-established roles in immune function and tissue repair. However, evidence does not support claims that megadose supplementation prevents or cures most diseases. A Cochrane review of 29 trials found no reduction in common cold incidence from vitamin C supplementation in the general population, though it modestly reduces cold duration.

WHO has no authority to impose health measures, lockdowns, vaccine mandates, or any policies on sovereign countries. Both the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the pandemic accord explicitly affirm national sovereignty and state that WHO recommendations to member states are non-binding.

Wi-Fi operates using radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) classified as non-ionizing radiation. Major health and regulatory bodies including the WHO and ICNIRP have concluded that exposure from Wi-Fi at levels encountered in everyday life is below thresholds associated with established health effects. Some researchers argue that non-thermal effects warrant further study, keeping the topic contested at the margins.

The term 'Wind Turbine Syndrome' is not a recognized medical diagnosis, and the scientific consensus from over 100 peer-reviewed studies is that wind turbines at proper setback distances do not directly cause physical illness. However, some people living near turbines do report annoyance, and evidence supports a causal link between turbine noise and feelings of annoyance.