public static function are_any_comments_waiting_to_be_checked() {
    return !! get_comments( array(
      // Exclude comments that are not pending. This would happen if someone manually approved or spammed a comment
      // that was waiting to be checked. The akismet_error meta entry will eventually be removed by the cron recheck job.
      'status' => 'hold',
      
      // This is the commentmeta that is saved when a comment couldn't be checked.
      'meta_key' => 'akismet_error',
      
      // We only need to know whether at least one comment is waiting for a check.
      'number' => 1,
    ) );
  }