Category Fact checks / debunkings

Posts Misrepresent Federal Response, Funding for Hurricane Helene Victims

In a misleading Oct. 3 Instagram post, conservative commentator Benny Johnson wrote, "We can send BILLIONS to Ukraine but Americans who have lost everything only get $750 dollars?!" The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided more than $210 million in immediate assistance to communities affected by Hurricane Helene, which the Department of Homeland Security secretary has described as the start of "a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery." The $750 payment is an initial payment survivors may receive while FEMA determines eligibility for its many other offerings within the Individual Assistance Program.

Read MorePosts Misrepresent Federal Response, Funding for Hurricane Helene Victims

Fact Check: Italian PM Meloni Did NOT Say ‘If Russia Does Not Agree To The Terms Of The Peace Summit, We Will Force It To Surrender’ | Lead Stories

Did Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni say, "If Russia does not agree to the terms of the peace summit, we will force it to surrender"? No, that's not true: The comments attributed to her come from a falsified Russian translation of what she said in English at the Ukraine Peace Summit held in Switzerland in June 2024. While Meloni has strongly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine, no credible sources report her saying that Russia should be forced to surrender.

Read MoreFact Check: Italian PM Meloni Did NOT Say ‘If Russia Does Not Agree To The Terms Of The Peace Summit, We Will Force It To Surrender’ | Lead Stories

Zelenskyy and Wife Photographed with Stacks of Money? | Snopes.com

Because the photograph was digitally edited to include Zelenskyy and Zelenska, we have rated this claim as "Fake."

The TinEye reverse-image search tool showed that the original photograph [with stacks of money] depicted Floyd Mayweather, a former professional boxer.

Read MoreZelenskyy and Wife Photographed with Stacks of Money? | Snopes.com

No, this video doesn’t show a Russian air strike on a NATO arms convoy

A video of a massive fire circulated widely on social media in late April along with captions claiming it showed a strike by the Russian army on a NATO weapons convoy en route to Ukraine. However, it turns out that this is an old video that wasn't filmed anywhere near Ukraine.

Read MoreNo, this video doesn’t show a Russian air strike on a NATO arms convoy

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy Bought a Casino in Cyprus?

The claim that Zelenskyy purchased a casino in Cyprus is belied by the fact that the owners of that casino say they have not sold it, by the fact that the original reporting on the claim was based on a fake website, and by the fact that this original reporting was deleted. Because no real evidence supports the claim, Snopes rates it "False."

Read MoreUkraine’s President Zelenskyy Bought a Casino in Cyprus?

DISINFORMATION ABOUT ZELENSKYY BUYING A £150 MILLION VILLA IN CYPRUS

The information about the purchase of a hotel is disinformation. The President of Cyprus, the Ukrainian Embassy in Cyprus, and the company that owns the hotel have denied the allegation about the purchase of the hotel by Zelenskyy or a related company. Moreover, the website on which the allegation about Zelenskyy's connection to the hotel appeared turned out to be a clone of the hotel's website and a fake website that was created three days before the information was spread.

Read MoreDISINFORMATION ABOUT ZELENSKYY BUYING A £150 MILLION VILLA IN CYPRUS

Russia targets Paris Olympics with deepfake Tom Cruise video | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian

The fake Cruise video, which appeared on the Telegram messaging platform last year, is called Olympics Has Fallen and uses artificial intelligence-generated audio of the film star's voice to present a 'strange, meandering script' disparaging the IOC. The documentary, whose title riffs on the Gerard Butler action film Olympus Has Fallen, also claims falsely to have been produced by Netflix and is promoted with bogus five-star reviews from the New York Times and the BBC.

Read MoreRussia targets Paris Olympics with deepfake Tom Cruise video | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian