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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
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FACT BRIEF

Has Monsanto, the agribusiness controversial for its widely used herbicides, been banned in 15 locations?

By Christiana Dillard
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NO

A social media post listing 14 countries and a region in Portugal claims "Monsanto" has been banned there and poses the question, "Why not here?"

In fact, the company no longer exists under the name "Monsanto" since it was acquired in 2018 by German-based Bayer, best known for its health care products.

A company spokesperson told Lead Stories, "Bayer is not banned in any country."

The company now produces Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide. Glyphosate has been deemed "probably carcinogenic to humans" by the World Health Organization, although according to the FDA, the chemical compound "has a low toxicity for people."

The Bayer spokesperson told Lead Stories: "There are a few countries that have implemented country-wide restrictions on glyphosate, but these restrictions are politically driven and are not based on any new science or regulatory risk assessment showing glyphosate is unsafe."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Bayer Bayer announces agreements to resolve major legacy Monsanto litigation
National Pesticide Information Center Glyphosate General Fact Sheet
World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer—Monograph on Glyphosate
Food and Drug Administration Questions and Answers on Glyphosate
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.